The Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk
Jock Clear (OP 1972-1982) Jock Clear left PGS over 30 years ago on track for an illustrious career in race engineering which has since taken him around the world. After leaving PGS he studied for a degree in mechanical engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. His career in motorsport began at Lola Cars, where he worked as a design engineer before moving to the position of head of composite design at Benetton Formula in 1989. Millbrook Proving Ground
with the driver and Chief Mechanic if necessary, he then makes a decision as to whether to address the problem or not and if so, how. Racecars are very different from road cars, even those that are based on road cars, like ours. Many of the settings can be tweaked or tuned to suit a certain type of track, such as the suspension settings, the tyre compound or the aerodynamic kit. The data I collect and analyse influences what alterations are made to the car, hopefully, leading to an optimum set-up to be found in the practice and qualifying sessions prior to the race.
I am responsible for all aspects of the telemetry I love the job very much and to have taken those first steps in a motorsport career I had always dreamed of, means a lot to me. Motorsport is a highly rewarding environment within which to work, with thrills, excitement and pressure in equal measure throughout a race weekend. I hope to continue in the role, building my career as the years progress. JMW Motorsport only keeps me occupied for seven weekends of the year though. I also have an enjoyable day job. I work at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, project managing test work on military
land vehicles. Millbrook tests all manner of land vehicles, mostly cars, buses and trucks, but my department is specifically concerned with military customers. Testing covers everything from dynamic and mobility trials to environmental work. I work with both civil servants and uniformed personnel, and love the exposure I get to specialist vehicles. I feel very lucky to be part of a team that puts them through their paces.
Thrills, excitement and pressure in equal measure My advice to anyone currently at PGS looking to get into motorsport engineering, would be to persevere, get as much experience as you can and work hard, especially at maths and physics. In terms of university, I would recommend a good quality mechanical, automotive or aerospace degree from an established institution. The recent trend for motorsport undergraduate courses are seen by some employers as not academic enough when it comes to key engineering principles. I would also recommend Cranfield’s Motorsport MSc as a postgraduate qualification, it is an internationally recognised qualification that covers the relevant engineering material and also introduces you to key motorsport industry employers.
In November 2007 Jock was awarded the title Doctor of Engineering by HeriotWatt “in recognition of his outstanding success in applying engineering science in the most demanding and competitive environments and as a role model to young engineers”. He is now a senior F1 performance engineer working for Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. Previously he was race engineer for Rubens Barrichello from 2006 to 2009 and Takuma Sato from 2003 to 2005.
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