Team Lotus Notes - Jody Egginton

IT'S IN THE BLOOD

My father was involved in motorsport as a Driver and Mechanic so right from an early age I spent endless weekends at race events helping out, as a result there was always a high probability motorsport engineering would become my profession.

TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH

The single most decisive moment for me was when I decided after only one or two weeks of my graduate training scheme with a mainstream engineering firm to apply for motorsport positions, as my job at the time wasn't challenging. The result, amazingly, was a job offer from Tyrrell. Mike Gascoyne actually interviewed me for the job but doesn't remember it, so I am not going to thank him too much, although he deserves some credit - maybe!?

DEVELOPING OBSESSION

My first motorsport job was in F1™ but having worked also in other formulae I would say the thing that makes F1™ different is the incredible rate of development, which, as an engineer, is a compelling challenge.

NO REGRETS

I have to be honest and say that I have not regretted any career moves and in terms of obstacles it is just a case of sometimes the job being more difficult than ideal! Even then it's simply a case of putting in long hours and asking lots of questions!

IT AIN'T THAT SIMPLE

If you want to work in Formula One™, I think it's really a case of setting your goals and pushing hard to achieve them. But it's also important to realise that things are not always as straightforward as you may like.

THERE ARE ALWAYS WORSE JOBS…

I spent as while as a bin man during a summer break while at university, the smell was terrible and some of the things you see in bin bags is just beyond description. However I do believe that this type of experience does give you a certain grounding.

NEVER STOP LEARNING

Team Lotus is a new team and growing fast, so it's good to be part of that, and to play a small part in shaping it. I am still on a learning curve which for me keeps the job both challenging and interesting. Right now I am more than happy to be part of Team Lotus and grow with the team.