Interview with…….Richard Jepp

In the first Rocked-IT Interview With post we have one of the most successful City Car Cup drivers of all time, Richard Jepp. The South Coast based driver has won numerious races and Student Motorsport Championships over the years and is now stepping up the motorsport ladder.

Question 1 - Who are you and what do you race? 

My name is Richard Jepp, 40 years (very!) old, from Portsmouth. I currently compete in both the CityCar Cup and Student Motorsport Championship with Northbrook College's Team Northbrook Racing, as well as the MINI Challenge Trophy Championship with Pro-Am Racing.

Question 2 - What got you into motorsport? 

I've been into cars and pretty much anything with an engine for as long as I can remember. My Dad and I always watched Formula 1 together, but the BTCC was the championship we really loved. What actually got me behind the wheel though was a company karting day with my Dad when I was about seven years old. From that moment I was completely hooked, and I've been chasing that feeling ever since.

Question 3 - What is your dream car, track and era combination and why?

For a road car, it has to be the Ferrari F40. It's an absolute weapon of a machine, raw, unforgiving, and it'll definitely bite back if you don't respect it.

From a motorsport point of view though, I'd have to go with the 1992 BTCC BMW E36 around Oulton Park. BTCC has always been my favourite championship; proper elbows-out racing where the whole field is competitive and anyone could win on their day.

As for Oulton Park, it's my favourite circuit in the UK. Blind apexes, crests, dips, cambers, bumps, narrow sections... it's got absolutely everything. In my eyes, it's the ultimate driver's circuit.

Question 4 - You have done lots of work with Education and inclusion providers in motorsport, why is this so important to you?

I was never the most academic person at school. I always wanted to be making things and getting my hands dirty rather than sitting in a classroom reading about how to do something from a textbook. Thankfully, that's much more recognised now, with colleges and universities offering courses that combine practical experience with theory.

I genuinely believe that hands-on learning creates better engineers. That's one of the reasons I've been involved with Northbrook College and Student Motorsport for the last five years. The students regularly tell me they learn more in a single hour at a race circuit, working under pressure, solving real problems and operating as a team, than they can in weeks in a classroom. Being able to play a small part in that is something I'm really proud of.

Alongside that, my partner and I founded WiRE – Women in Race Engineering. The idea came from her Master's research into the barriers women face progressing through STEM careers, combined with what we'd both seen first-hand at grassroots motorsport, where female engineers are still hugely underrepresented.

This season we're giving 21 early-career female motorsport engineers the opportunity to join us across seven MINI Challenge Trophy race weekends. Three engineers attend each event and work alongside our experienced team, gaining genuine trackside experience that's incredibly difficult to access elsewhere.

It still amazes me how many talented people struggle to get that first opportunity, despite experience being exactly what employers are looking for. We're now three events into the season and have already seen the confidence, knowledge and careers of our engineers grow. That's exactly why we started WiRE.

We're currently completely self-funded, so we're actively looking for partners who want to help us continue creating these opportunities.

For me, grassroots engineering is where motorsport talent is really developed. Nobody jumps straight into Formula1, despite what social media sometimes makes it look like. The real learning, the long hours and the problem-solving all happen at this level, and that's where we need to keep investing in the next generation.

Question 5 - People may have seen you on YouTube, what inspired you to start the channel and share your race weekends?

The channel was never about chasing huge viewing numbers or trying to make money from YouTube. It actually started as a way for me to document my own journey and look back at experiences I never thought I'd have; racing at some of the UK's most iconic circuits.

As motorsport has grown, the channel has naturally evolved into something more. It gives me another way to work with my partners and create content they can use as part of their marketing, which adds even more value to our partnerships.

Filming and editing everything myself alongside racing isn't easy, so I definitely don't capture as much as I'd like. But if people enjoy following the journey and get a bit of behind-the-scenes insight into grassroots motorsport, then that's a bonus.

Question 6 - What's your favourite Rocked-IT product and why?

It still has to be the original full kit bag. I've had mine for three or four years now and, honestly, it still looks as good as the day I got it.

The best thing about it is that absolutely everything fits in. Race suit, helmet, HANS, boots, gloves, balaclava, fireproofs, rib protector, race licence, 360 camera, helmet cleaning kit... the lot. I just throw everything in one bag, zip it up and I'm ready for the weekend.

You really can't ask for a better race kit bag.

Question 7 - Motorsport looks like an individual sport but it requires a team behind you. Who deserves a special mention?  

Although I'm the one sat behind the wheel, motorsport is 100% a team sport. There are so many people who put in huge amounts of time behind the scenes to make it possible.

Firstly, my partner Charlotte deserves a massive mention. She supports me through everything, from the highs to the lows, and somehow manages to put up with motorsport taking over so much of our lives! She's also my partner in WiRE, so we're usually juggling race weekends and that project at the same time.

The teams I race with, Pro-Am Racing and Team Northbrook Racing, also deserve huge credit. The mechanics, engineers and everyone behind the scenes work incredibly hard, often with very little recognition, to give me the best car they possibly can.

I'd also like to thank all of my partners and sponsors. Without their support, none of this would be possible. They don't just help fund the racing; they genuinely believe in what we're trying to achieve both on and off the track.

And finally, my family. They've supported my passion ever since that first karting session when I was seven years old. Thank you.