Mat Jackson, from Henley-in-Arden, is one of the most exciting names in British motor sport.

The 27-year-old has just completed his Second full season in Britain's premier motor racing series - the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship - and has already named him the 'Fans Favorite' and runner-up in the 2008 Championship in his BMW Dealer Team UK 320si  5 x wins, 5 x 2nd places, 4 x fastest laps, 7 x races led, 102 laps leading, 25 out 30 points finishes, 2nd place in independents with 10 race wins.

In his debut season in what is one of the world's most famous race series, Mat achieved two race wins, four more podium finishes and a fastest race lap to finish seventh in the highly prestigious BTCC Drivers' Championship. He also came close to winning the Independents title, taking six wins in the privateer category to finish a close runner-up.

Since the 2007 BTCC's opening rounds in April he has won over thousands of new fans and at each event is one of the most popular drivers both on and off the track. In addition his successes have been followed by millions of TV viewers - his second race win was watched by more than 1.5 million ITV viewers.

But to those who have followed his career, success for Mat is nothing new - in 2006 he won the hotly-contested SEAT Cupra Championship with an unrivalled 11 race wins, earning the Champion's prize of £100,000 cash and a test drive with SEAT's BTCC team. The previous season he'd finished championship runner-up with eight wins - again, more than any other driver.

Mat has been winning ever since his earliest days on the track.

It was inevitable he would take up a racing career. Mat's grandfather and his father both enjoyed competing in motor sports in their youth and older brother Dan was a multiple karting champion (before going to university to study mechanical engineering - he is now putting those skills to good use as Mat's team manager)!

Mat first took up racing at the relatively late age of 13 in karts but rose rapidly through the ranks, competing at national and international level. In his first full season he won two club titles and went on to battle against the likes of future DTM champion and McLaren-Mercedes F1 team test driver Gary Paffett.

In 1999, Mat graduated to car racing, competing in the Formula Honda single-seater category. He was a revelation, winning seven times.

In 2000, there was a fresh challenge and a change of direction - Mat moved into saloon car racing when he entered the new Renault Clio Cup series. Mat was still aged just 18 and up against much more experienced saloon car drivers, but he quickly adapted to a roof over his head and front-wheel-drive to firmly establish himself as a front-runner. By the end of the season, he'd won twice and finished 4th overall. So impressed was Renault that Mat earned its Michelin Driver of the Year Award.

In 2001, Mat moved up onto the BTCC grid, contesting the smaller Production Class. His Ford Focus was not a match for the Hondas, but still he pulled out a class win to finish 4th in the points. He also concentrated on his mechanical engineering studies that have helped him gain an edge over other drivers with his understanding of car set-up and behaviour in a variety of conditions.

To the present; Mat returned to racing full-time in 2005 with a stunning debut season in the SEAT Cupra series. In his family-run car, he overcame the fact he was up against teams and drivers with at least a year's experience of fine-tuning the Cupra to end the season with an unrivalled eight race wins, eight pole positions and eight fastest laps. One of his victories, at Oulton Park, was achieved by the biggest winning margin in Cupra Championship history - some 20 seconds.

In difficult weather conditions, he then showed his talent in his prize test drive in SEAT's BTCC car. So impressed was SEAT Sport UK that it invited him back for a second evaluation test - something not asked of its one-make series drivers previously.

Now, in one season, Mat has established himself as a future BTCC Champion. It was fitting his first win in his family team's BMW should be achieved by beating SEAT's superstar driver and past title-winner Jason Plato and that his second, at Thruxton, he should be joined on the podium by newly-crowned champion, Vauxhall's Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi - reckoned by many to be the best touring car driver in the world. Mat of course has only just set out on his touring car career but already he's made a huge impression on the watching world.