Profile

Name: Jonathan Railton

Marital status: Single

Lives: Huntingdon

First Race: MRO Aprilia RS125 Superteens 2005, Brands Hatch

Occupation: Project Engineer, Telecommunications

Favourite Track: Silverstone, Jerez, Brands Hatch GP

Favourite Rider: Troy Bayliss

Ambition: World Champion

Likes: Karting, Mountain Biking, Road Cycling

History

Jonathan began his motorsport career in 1999 at the age of 8 competing in the formula cadet class, which covers an age range of 8 to 12.

In his fifth year the decision to move up to a junior class was determined by his weight. Potentially 2003 would have been Jonathan’s best year in the cadet class, but with a minimum weight restriction of 95kg this will be exceeded sufficiently to affect performance due to the relatively low power output from the engines.

After successfully testing a Formula Rotax Minimax, during the winter of 2002/2003, Jonathan was entered in the major events for 2003, which included the National Stars of Tomorrow series, British Open Championship at Shenington and Kartmasters. In addition he continued his association with the local Hunts Kart Racing Club, which races at Kimbolton.

The Formula Rotax Minimax class is for competitors aged 11-16 and uses adult sized chassis and powerful watercooled 125cc Rotax engines, which are restricted for  this class. There is however a significant jump in power and cornering speed compared to the Cadet class.

As soon as he turned 13 Jon moved up to the Formula Junior Rotax class for 13 – 16 year old drivers, competing at club, national and international level.

Having raced karts for 6 years Jonathan decided that he would like a new challenge. A visit to Brands Hatch for the final round of the Aprilia RS125 Superteens Championship gave him a taste for road racing.

Just in case he did not take to bikes, it was decided to combine karting and bike racing in 2005.

A pair of Aprilia’s were obtained during the winter and Jon managed to learn to ride a motorcycle at 2 wet and cold practise days at Llandow in Wales in Feruary.

Following a steady start at Brands Hatch in March, Jon made rapid progress throughout the year with substantial improvements in his lap times and race results to finish 15th overall in the championship.

He concentrated fully on road racing in 2006, with high hopes of competing for top honours in both the Aprilia RS125 Superteens and ACU Star Championships. He went onto win the ACU Star Formula 125 Championship and finished 4^th in the Aprilia RS125 Superteens Championship.

Having won a Honda RS125GP Bike for the ACU Star Championship win he started the 2007 season competing in the GP125 class in the ACU Star Championship and at British Championship level. There was always the ambition to move up to 600’s as without the necessary funds he would not be competitive at level. The decision was made to race an R6 in the Hottrax National Endurance and MRO Supersport 600 Championships for the remainder of the season.

This proved to be a successful move and the decision was made to enter the National Superstock 600 in 2008. This was an eye opener for Jon as it was his first full season at BSB level and scored a best result of 15^th at Snetterton.

With funds tight it was decided to compete in the KTM RC8 Supercup in 2009 in its first and only season as a support series to BSB. Jon immediately took to the 1200cc V-Twin and had some great rides with a best finish of 4^th at Silverstone. He missed out by only 3 points in the Under 25 Cup Championship.

Jon was approached by IN MOTO Corse in 2010 to ride the new Aprilia RSV4 in the National Superstock 1000 Championship. This was a great opportunity for Jon to move up but it was to be a steep learning curve. With a slow start to the season Jon improved greatly during the year and learnt a lot for the following season. In 2010 Jon stuck with the RSV4 and continued to improve. He came away with a best finish of 15^th at Silverstone, which was promising given that the RSV4 wasn’t the bike of choice.

At the end of the 2011 season Jon rode in the final two rounds of the CEV Buckler Stock Extreme Championship at Valencia and Jerez riding a Kawasaki ZX-10R. This was a great experience and Jon got on well with the ZX-10R.

Based on the performance at the end of 2011 it was decided to race the ZX-10R in the National Superstock 1000 championship. This got off to a great start and Jon was in podium contention at the first couple of rounds. Jon performed strongly throughout the season with multiple top five finishes, which set him up nicely for a strong season in 2013.

For 2013 Jon has signed to ride for Team WD40 in the National Superstock 1000 Championship on a ZX-10R and for Boast Plumbing/Art of Racing in the Ducati 848 Challenge.