Junior Bannock
| Junior Bannock | |
| |
| Age | 19 |
| Nationality |  Jamaican
|
| Formula 3 Rejects World Race Series | |
|---|---|
| Car # | 18 |
| Years Competed | 2016- |
| Debut Season | 2016 |
| Current Team | ZombieKart |
| Former Team(s) | None |
| Championships | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 1 |
| Points | 41 |
| Reject of the Race Awards | 0 |
| First Win | N/A |
| Last Win | N/A |
| Last Start | 2016 F3RWRS Round of Japan |
| Best Result | 16th (2016) |
| RWRS Canon Driver | |
Junior Bannock (born 30th September 1997) is a Jamaican racing driver, currently racing for ZombieKart in the 2017 Formula 3 Rejects World Race Series season. He dreams to one day represent Jamaica at F1RWRS level, or more importantly have a movie created about him.
Early Life
Bannock was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a family with a rich racing heritage, however it was not one that included motorsport. His grandfather, Derice Bannock raced in the Jamaican bobsled team in the 1988 Winter Olympics, after abandoning a promising career as a sprinter. His story was made into a film, Cool Runnings. Ironically, Junior doesn't realise that the characters in Cool Runnings (including his so-called grandfather Derice) are fictional. Perhaps one day he will discover the truth and meet his real grandfather - currently believed to be a manager of a small juice bar.
Early Racing History
From a young age Junior simply wanted to race, and after discovering that he was not able to run on ice he abandoned all hope of ever running as a bobsledder like his grandfather. Instead he took up billy-cart racing, and then was promptly disqualified from his first event when his billy-cart was in fact discovered to contain a V8 Ford Mustang engine.
From then onwards, Bannock secured a decent amount of funding from the Jamaican government (who are keen to see more films created about Jamaicans attempting sport). He raced in various open-wheel categories in nearby Venezuela with solid results.
F3RWRS
2016
Bannock is currently racing for ZombieKart in the 2016 Formula 3 Rejects World Race Series season, marking his first foray into a major international motorsport series. He partners American Shane Walsh, already an established and respected F3RWRS driver. His first race saw him travel to Adelaide, where he fought through carnage to record an impressive 6th place. However the second Adelaide round saw him crash heavily on just the first lap and he was lucky to escape without injury.
Bannock's next round at the United Kingdom was solid if a little underwhelming, with 19th and 12th. However, his teammate Shane Walsh was at this point leading the championship and Junior seemed to be feeling the pressure, spinning Samora Mondlane and earning himself some penalty points. Bannock continued to struggle in Italy and France, earning no points while Walsh continued to put in solid performances. But he returned to the points at the first race in Canada by finishing 13th, before the second race was cancelled due to poor weather. Germany saw him put in more minor points finishes, before a retirement at Zandvoort meant no points for the weekend. Belgium saw a mixed weekend for Junior, with 13th in the first race and 29th in the second, although he managed to set his first fastest lap in the second race.
The Jamaican finished in 15th place at both San Marino races, before following it up with a career-best 4th at Fuji - the first time he beat his teammate on merit. However the last race of the season at Surfers Paradise saw Bannock retire due to suspension issues. That resulted in Junior finishing in 16th place in the championship - well off teammate Shane Walsh who took 2nd, but their combined efforts gave ZombieKart 2nd place in the constructor's championship. Junior expressed his interest in sticking with the team for the 2017 season, but also shared his frustrations in working with a team that he perceived to not share their intentions with him.
2017
Bannock was confirmed to retain his seat for ZombieKart for the 2017 Formula 3 Rejects World Race Series season, partnering rookie Herberto Santana.
Results
F3RWRS
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Pts | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ZombieKart | Dallara F3R16 | BMW F31/6 | AUS | GBR | ITA | FRA | CAN | DEU | NED | BEL | SMR | JAP | SUR | 16th | 41 | ||||||||
| 6 | Ret | 19 | 12 | 20 | 35 | 18 | 13 | C | 13 | 14 | Ret | 13 | 29 | 15 | 15 | 4 | C | Ret | ||||||
* Season in progress