Pickup Truck Racing | News | Q & A with Glenn Burtenshaw

Glenn Burtenshaw made his debut in the pickup truck racing series at Donington Park for rounds 11 and 12 of this years championship. Glenn (sponsored by Viscom Design and Vegetarian Shoes) hired the Chocolate Pizza Company backed #77 pickup truck from JFF Motorsport which is owned and operated by Stuart Annible.

We caught up with Glenn a week or so after the event to find out his thoughts;

Question: How did the weekend go?
Glenn: We avoided the rain, which was a top result!! Loved the trucks, loved the track, and really enjoyed the atmosphere and friendliness in the JFF Motorsports/Team Rogers Racing camp and the paddock as a whole. Stuart (Annible) made sure everything went smoothly leaving me to worry about driving and learning the car.

Question: What are your first impressions of the pickup truck racing championship?
Glenn: To be honest, my first impressions of the championship were set 7 years ago wandering around the pits at Rockingham the evening before one of the big oval meetings, at that point it was clear in my mind that I'd like to come and play. Since then the Legends and Pickups have regularly been on the same bill, so I've been a regular face in the truck paddock for a long time - it's just taken a ridiculous amount of time to get around to actually racing!

Question: You came into the trucks following the 'taster day' back in November at Rockingham. Did that day make your mind up to race a truck?
Glenn: To be honest -no! For a few reasons:

The weather wasn't great and it was very damp and the track was wet; the trucks felt like a real handful. The Rockingham international long circuit is a pretty complex and featureless track - a lot of bends to remember. I came away thinking - well they're a lovely bunch of people, but I'm not hooked into the idea of the trucks until Stuart then offered a further test session at Brands Hatch in May which bore little relationship to the taster day; the weather was good, the track was simple and familiar, all I had to think about was mastering the car, and I came away loving it!!

Having said all of the above, the 'taster day' concept itself is excellent and it gave me (and many others) the opportunity to sample the trucks which has finally lead to me racing one!

Question: How were the teams in the paddock?
Glenn: Being back with the lovely 'Tresslers' (pickup truck #37) was a big draw for me, their family inclusive attitude to the weekends racing is perfect, and I can see that the Rogers and JFF teams have a similar way of going racing.

Question: How were the trucks different from what you have done/are doing?
Glenn: Coming from Legends cars I was surprised at how pleasingly robust the trucks felt - I learnt through the course of the weekend that the pickups demanded; and could cope with, a fair amount of punishment and indeed needed it to hustle the truck round at an impressive speed.

I guess the whole weekend was a learning curve, it was my first time on track with slicks, brakes that worked well, and of course the sheer size of the trucks compared to the Legends.

Question: What are your initial thoughts for the future?
Glenn: If money was no object I'd be racing the Legends and Pickups all the time! I'm in my 2nd season competing in the Scottish Legends Championship and loving it. I can see myself doing some sort of combination of the two for many years. I'll definitely be back for more, and maybe when I'm feeling braver have a go at the big oval!

Thanks to Glenn for his time. Glenn is currently working with Stuart and the JFF Motorsport team on a possible further appearence later in the year. (Further details of hiring this truck or for test/taster days can be obtained by contacting Stuart Annible on 07734 531441).