Words: Andy Lloyd – Head of Media
Images: JAS HW Motorsports
JAS Autosport, the team led by Jenson Jackson and Harry Smith, has partnered with the Heriot-Watt University Motorsports Society in a joint entry for the 2026 Student Motorsport Competition, under the team name of JAS HW Motorsports.
JAS Autosport first entered the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship in 2025 when Jenson Jackson drove the team’s #5 Peugeot 107 to 30th overall and 7th in the Rookie standings. Over the course of the season, Jackson recorded a best overall finish of 15th in Race 1 at Silverstone in August.
A Strategic Alliance: Experience Meets Academia
Heriot-Watt University Motorsports Society, led by Mirren Angus, had been considering an entry into the Student Motorsport Competition but wanted to gain experience with an existing CityCar Cup entry before building and competing with their own car.
“I discovered the Student Motorsport Competition and thought that it would be a great idea for us to enter but we quickly realised that building our own car was not going to be feasible for us for the 2026 season,” said Mirren Angus. “We connected with Jenson via social media and the relationship has developed really well. We carried out a shakedown at Snetterton in early March and it was absolutely incredible to get to see the car on track. It just seems like the perfect pairing!”
The Heriot-Watt students are studying a mix of subjects including engineering and aerospace and electrical engineering, which will mean that JAS HW Motorsports will have a mix of both practical racing experience and academic engineering skills supporting the car for their 2026 campaign.
“For us, much of our experience will be learning – which we’re more than happy to do – in areas like how JAS Autosport run their car,” said Mirren. “For next year, if we end up developing our own team, we then have that knowledge. In a sense, we are helping JAS Autosport as much as they are helping us to gain valuable experience.”
Progression into Student Motorsport Competition
For Jenson Jackson, who began his motorsport journey as a team member of Alan Barrett’s West Suffolk College ME squad, the relationship with Heriot-Watt Motorsports Society meant that a Student Motorsport Competition was a logical progression for 2026.
“Last season was definitely an eye-opening experience,” he said. “There were lots of learning curves, we had lots of good moments and overall, we had a fantastic time. I’m confident that we’ve taken everything we’ve learned from last year and I think we’ve got a brilliant team and a real chance for success this year.”
“I’ve always wanted our team to be part of the Student Motorsport Competition and Heriot-Watt were looking for a team that they could join,” explained Jenson. “We made contact in 2025 and developed a relationship which grew into what we have entering this season.
“Harry Smith and I have over 15 years’ experience in motorsport and Heriot-Watt want to learn how to run their own race team. Harry will be Chief Mechanic and he’ll work alongside me and we’ll all work together to teach Heriot-Watt as much as we can to help them on their journey in motorsport. In return, they will be learning with us and gaining experience so we’ll work together as a team and hopefully, we’ll have some good moments as a team this season.”
From Rookie to Contender: Jenson Jackson’s 2026 Vision
The experience gained in 2025 has proved invaluable to JAS Autosport as they prepare their entry for the new season.
“We built a new car for this year and used everything we learned from last year to the point that our car is exponentially better in every single way,” Jenson explained. “As a team we are dedicated and we want to start getting on the podium and winning races, whether that is in the Student Motorsport Competition or in the overall BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship.
“We’ve got the experience, the knowledge and the team backing us so I think we’ve got a very good chance of finishing inside the top ten and getting on the podium.”
The 2026 Student Motorsport Competition, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, gets underway at Brands Hatch on April the 11th – 12th.