Member Profile – James Driscoll
For those who don’t know me
My name is James Driscoll and I am the son of Mike Driscoll. I joined the QLD Lotus Club about 3 years ago when I was introduced to the club by Daryl Wilson who is my sister’s father in law. One of the first club runs I attended was a club meeting which was held at Triple 8 racing headquarters.
Now a bit about me, I am 34 years old and was born with a profound hearing loss. I tend to be a bit withdrawn from social gatherings as it can be hard for me to follow conversations, but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying getting together with like-minded car enthusiasts.
Ever since I was a toddler, my mother told me stories of how I used to sit in her back seat and could spot all the different makes and models of cars and could recall them on memory. My father, who also is a big car enthusiast and motorsport fan, bought my first pedal car based on a Formula 1 car. My love for cars only grew from there on, progressing into Go Kart Racing at the age of 10 years old. I got to hone my racing skills this way but I gave it all up at the age of 17 when I became more fascinated with cars.
My father and I decided to start our very first car project together and he purchased a 1974 XB Ford Falcon GT Hardtop coupe which had been involved in a collision and was sitting in a former business associate’s backyard for many years. It took us 10 years to restore it to its former glory.
The second project was a 1966 Ford Mustang coupe that we bought off eBay and completely changed the colour and restored most of it with a few extra modifications. Those two vehicles would have been seen on a few club runs, but not very often.
Our third project was the 1976 Jaguar D-Type replica that Dad actually bought while I was recovering from knee surgery. It was very rare for him to buy cars without me being there to inspect and give him my opinion. When he brought the car home for the first time I thought it was really cool, however my mother did not and threatened to divorce him! Now our current and final project (I hope) is a 1983 BMW 633CSI John Player Special, which is undergoing restoration. We were hoping to have it done by the final DTC round for my dad to race in but it is more likely to be next year at this stage.
My father also owns a 1996 Porsche 911 which I entered in my very first DTC race in April 2012 on a smaller version of the track due to rain. However, from that moment I was hooked but did not race again until October 2014 in our newly acquired racecar. I have raced pretty much at every DTC event since then.
I have entered in a few other races such as the Mount Cootha Classic which was held in Sept 2015 – my first hill climb driving on a very iconic race track dating back 100 years. In February this year, I tried out at the Mt Cotton hill climb where I enjoyed doing something different.
Now I am looking at doing other races such as sprints, hill climbs, and time trials. My ultimate would be to enter the Dunlop V8 series. One can only dream.
Last year dad and I got invited to Bathurst by an associate of his to watch the V8 Supercars. We had passes to the corporate box and pit lane, got to ride in the Lexus Pace Car up the mountain, and also took a helicopter ride around the track.
I tried to cram in as much experience I could; it was the best experience in my entire life. I got to meet my hero Craig Lowndes, Steve Richards and the rest of the Red Bull drivers. I tried to get as many autographs as I could from all the race drivers. Dad got to meet Jim Richards and was chuffed to chat with him.
