Jamie had always wanted to race, following in his dad's footsteps, but never got the chance. He did however obtain his MSA racing licence in 2011.
He had intended to start racing this year (2018) in a Classic Formula Ford, and in fact drove one for the first time just a week before he went into hospital in October 2017.
Jamie had follwed motor racing, particularly Formula One and GP2/Formula 2, influenced by his dad, Tim Arnold, who is a racing driver, instructor and driver coach. Jamie had ridden as a passenger on race tracks with his dad many times and in various types of car during tack days; later he took part in track days himself. His first track day as a driver was in his own 1.2 litre diesel Vauxhall Corsa at Oulton Park, and he was impressively fast even in that.
He went on to drive numerous different cars, mostly at Oulton Park, Donington Park and Anglesey Circuit, and a few others too.
When he applied for his first racing licence in 2011, like everyone applying for a a race licence the first time, Jamie had to pass an 'ARDS Test'. His dad wasn't able to take him for the test, for obvious reasons, so one of Tim's colleagues did it for him. The test comprises of a written exam, in which Jamie scored 100%, and a practical assessment in car on a race track. He was awarded 'A's (the highest score) for every skill on the assessment sheet, and in the comments section of the form his instructor commented:
An excellent, well planned and consistent drive resulting in some very good lines, good braking and corner entry and good heel and toe downchanges. Well done!
In October 2017, only a week before he was admitted to hospital after a scan showed he had cancer, Jamie drove a single-seater racing car for the first time, a Classic Formula Ford (pictured), at Anglesey Circuit.
Incredibly, within just five laps he was right on the pace for this class of car, which indicated that he would be very competitive in the races he and his dad planned to do in the 2018 season. Sadly it was not to be!
Here is a very short video of Jamie passing the pits at Anglesey Circuit during his drive in the Formula Ford:
(UNFORTUNATELY THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE VIDEO TOOK IT IN PORTRAIT ORIENTATION WITH THEIR PHONE)
However... Jamie's name will be on a racing car in 2018 and beyond. His dad Tim runs the Formula Ford cars that Jamie was going to drive, and is renaming the team as "Jamie Arnold Racing" in his honour.
A website for Jamie Arnold Racing will be developed soon and will be accessible via these two domains (which currently divert to this page) - www.jamiearnoldracing.com and www.jamiearnold88.com - JamieArnold88 was something he used a lot for usernames and such like, because 1988 was the year he was born. Wherever possible the cars will bear the race numbers 4, 10 and 88 (Jamie was born on 04/10/88).
The team will carry colour schemes and/or logos which are currently being designed, to reflect Jamie's personality and chosen liveries. When Jamie was younger he played rugby. One day, rushing because he was late, he got to the match to find he had picked up odd boots and had no choice but to play in them. He scored and his team won. So from then on he always wore odd boots. Sometimes he would deliberately wear odd shoes when casually dressed. He carried this assymetrical theme into his driving, both with his helmet livery and his racing boots!
Jamie's helmet design was based on a hero of his who died at the same age as him, 29, 15 years before Jamie was born. In a conversation with him, Jamie asked his dad which driver from the past he thought should have been a world champion but wasn't. His dad told him about François Cevert, a very talented French driver who was set to take over from Jackie Stewart in 1974 and would with almost certainty become world champion, but sadly lost his life at the final race of 1973 in a horrific crash in qualifying for the United States Grand Prix... Jamie then researched Cevert and became a fan some 30+ years after the French ace died. Jamie modelled his crash helmet design on Cevert's but in his own colours. The colours represent: blue - French blue in respect of François Cevert; red - cherry red for Jamie's favourite rugby team, Wigan Warriors; yellow with green pin stripe and blue text: to commemmorate his other racing hero, Ayrton Senna; black with red pin stripe and white text: reflecting his dad, Tim Arnold's racing helmet colours.
A Special Commemorative Helmet
Before Jamie passed away, his dad, Tim, came up with the idea of having a special commemorative helmet painted, combining the designs of both their helmets...
Jamie's helmet and his dad's were painted by Piers Dowell Paintwork. In 2019 Piers and his assistant Lewis painted a special helmet for Tim. Before Jamie passed away his dad discussed the design with him, so he knew this was going to happen. The idea was to combine their two helmet liveries on one helmet. Tim also decided to add a few other features. It was always going to have the logo of friend, client and sponsor Colin Lawson's company logo, Equilibrium on it; Tim also wanted to include the logo of the Beaujolais Run which is owned and run by Tim and Jamie's friend Rob Bellinger; Jamie had a bar in Lymm, Cheshire, and Tim decided the logo of "J. M. Lestvelter's" should go on the helmet too; he also wanted a sunflower on the helmet - this was because the room Jamie had in St. Rocco's Hospice in Warrington was called "Sunflower" and Jamie requested sunflowers for his funeral; and finally Tim wanted a picture of Jamie on the back of the helmet. So a new Arai GP6 was bought and handed to Piers who along with Lewis then painted this very special helmet. Here's the result:
The picture of Jamie on the back of the helmet is an awesome hand painted airbrush painting, not a transfer or sticker!
In addition to this very special helmet PDP also painted a 1/2 scale replica of Jamie's helmet for Tim. This will be mounted on a wooden plinth and covered with a transparent perspex box. It will contain a small portion of Jamie's ashes:
Piers Dowell Paintwork is without doubt one of the best helmet painters in the business, in Tim Arnold's opinion THE best! If you're considering getting a helmet painted or are looking for a painter, he would strongly recommend Piers Dowell Paintwork!
