A: When I was six on a go-kart. My dad used to race on Mondello Park when I was a kid and even my grandad used to race as well so it has been bred into me from a very young age. I can remember seeing pictures of me around race cars before I could talk.

Q: When did you know you wanted to take racing on as a career?

A: Probably in my second year of Ginetta Junior Ireland when I won a championship. That’s when I thought there is momentum now and I started looking at what would be the best pathway to get to where I want to be. With that, you get the thoughts of working with sponsors and trying to make your way up in this game.

Q: How did the Leaving Cert go, how did you balance your studies and racing?

A: It was pretty simple. My parents didn’t let me race until after June and they said, “if you don’t get a good Leaving Cert you’ll be repeating and you won’t be doing any racing next year at all.”

"That gave me the motivation to get the good Leaving Cert, and I actually ended up getting the highest results in the school. So I really put a lot of work into it."

Q: Did those months of studying stall your career?

A: There’s a saying in this sport, ‘there’s no substitute for seat time.’ When I went out the next week I was right there in speed, front row for the first race, but my racecraft was a little bit rusty. I was struggling when it came to close combat. But when I got into it and got the first weekend out of the way, it was fine. I really should’ve won the weekend after but the following weekend I actually did win. So I kind of hit the ground running in that respect.

Q: When you started competing in the Ginetta Junior Ireland series, could you have imagined competing in the FIA F4 Chinese Championship only four years later?

A: People ask me where do you see yourself in a couple of years’ time but to be honest, I really don’t know. I just focus on doing the best I can now. People say if you win it will open doors, so I take it race per race, do my best in each one and the rest takes care of itself. Four years ago I probably didn’t think about where I would be headed but when I got here, it felt familiar. It was like a deja vu feeling. It’s a results-based business. If you’re not winning you’re forgotten about very quickly and I’m aware of that. Even at the start of the race, I wouldn’t be thinking about the end result, I’d be thinking about each session, working with my engineers and coaches to fix and change problems. So I go into the race with that attitude of focusing on driving the perfect race.

Q: In 2017 you won the Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year, what kind of doors did that open for you?

A: It opened a lot of doors. One door was opened only a week afterwards when I was in America testing an F4 car, and because of how I’d performed and being The Sexton Trophy winner, I got a once in a lifetime opportunity to drive an F1 car. That’s an experience that everyone is jealous of, I’m nearly jealous of myself after it! I’m so grateful of it, and I can’t thank John Campion enough for his investment there.

Q: What is your daily training routine?

A: Every morning I get up at 5.30am/6am to head to the gym. During the week I work with my dad in the garage working on road cars so I’m in there 9-6 every day and I fit in my training around that. So I might go for a cycle in the morning or in the winter months I’d be on the indoor turbo bike, it’s all about building around work really.

Q: How important is diet and fitness for a competitive driver?

A: It’s everything really. It’s so important. For a racing driver, a lot of your performance is in your head and mentally-based, so if you don’t have the right nutrition there and you’re not fit, it affects your mind as well. If you’re thinking ‘Aw my arms are tired’, you’re not thinking about hitting the next turn, carrying the right amount of speed or what the car is doing. I find when you’re fit, everything kind of goes slower and you think very methodically about the weekend. Nutrition and diet is definitely key.

Q: Are you ever nervous or scared before a race or is it complete focus?

A: A lot of the time I’m very relaxed. In the early days when I used to race, I’d kind of question myself because I was so relaxed before the race. I didn’t get any nerves at all. I would think, ‘why aren’t you nervous? You should be!.’ I used to try to psych myself up but it never worked for me. I need to be really relaxed, thumbs up to the photographer, having a laugh with the mechanics, that’s what I’m like.

Q: Social media plays a huge part in a sportsperson's life, would you pay much attention to that?

A: Yes. It’s a great way of getting your brand out there.

Dempsey wins again to close in on Championship lead in China

🗞 https://t.co/gQ8hGZs4os

📷 China F4@sportireland | @MotorsportIRL | #TeamIRL | #DigitalPlanet | @team_irl pic.twitter.com/MiMpoZU8Wq

— Jordan Dempsey (@jdempseyracing) September 2, 2018

Hats off to Paul Grogan and P1: Digital, they’ve been very good to me over the past couple of years in getting my image out there. That’s part of the reason why I won the MI Yong Driver of the Year, because of how my image was developed over the years. People in Mullingar and Westmeath all know what I’m doing and it’s all based on what Paul does, the media and getting press releases out to the papers. Getting people familiar with what you’re doing.

Q: How important is it to have the right team behind you?

A: It’s everything because if you’re not made of money you need to have people to help you along the way. I’ve been lucky enough this year to have Digital Planet helping me out, along with Motorsport Ireland, Sport Ireland, and Pinnacle Motorsport because without them I can hand on heart tell you that I wouldn’t be racing this year. With all the travel I’m doing back and forth to China, it’s essential to have the backing from sponsors.

Q: You’ve won six times in your last three events in the FIA F4 Chinese Championship, how have those victories impacted you?

A: It gives you a lot of confidence. I’ve learned how to approach the weekend if you want to get the most out of yourself. At Chengdu, I went into the race with a different approach than I had ever used before. I just said to myself, “I have to win this weekend, I’ll do anything I can to win.” And it worked. I won all three races. Last weekend I had a different motivation again to why I wanted to win. I wanted to do it for my grandfather, who passed away only a week before, so I really would’ve done anything to win. Sure enough, I dominated the weekend, I was the quickest in every session. If I really focus on my doing my best it usually works out for me.

Q: All the travelling to and from China must take its toll?

A: It can be repetitive but it has to be done if you want to build up your profile in this sport. It’s hard but it has to be done.

Q: What does 2019 hold for Jordan Dempsey?

A: Well, I’m looking at F3 in Asia because they have a very good championship there with a lot of good drivers. It’s an FIA championship again so it’s a step up from where I am now. If you win the F4 there’s a prize there for F3 the year after so that’s my goal. I won’t be able to get there on my own, I’ll need all the help I can get so we’ll weigh up the options and pick the best route to get there.