Michelin Le Mans Cup

Portimao, Rd.6, 22nd October 2023

Last weekend Josh got the season finale underway for Le Mans Cup underway at Portimao with the Nielsen crew. After two days of testing in changeable conditions the team were looking strong in both dry and wet track conditions, so were hoping for a good result to finish off a difficult season on a high. Tony would be taking over the wheel of the 7 car for the all bronze qualifying, where a damp track would make things difficult, but he would lay down the 6th best lap time to give the pairing a solid position to start Sunday mornings race.

After a Safety Car start to the race due to wet conditions, Tony had held his position for the first few laps before slipping back to 8th. He would make those positions back in the later end of his stint to hand the car over to Josh in P5. After a great opening few laps Josh had terrific pace working his way up to P2 on the track, and quickly bringing the big gap down to the leader by several seconds a lap.

Around halfway into Josh’s stint there would be a FCY for an incident on the track, but with ever worsening rainfall the track conditions were becoming dangerous with too much standing water. Eventually they decided to call the race just under 20 minutes early, and with the lead car receiving a penalty for a FCY infringement earlier in the race, the Nielsen Racing duo crossed the line to take their first victory of the season in the finale.

Josh: “I was looking forward to getting back out in the car at Portimao, to put things right after a difficult season and end the year on a high. We had a few strong test sessions over the week, especially in the wet conditions. Tony did a great job in his qualifying session to give us a solid platform to work from for the race on Sunday morning. The race was looking to be very wet with ever worsening conditions.

Following on from his qualifying performance he did a strong stint to eventually hand the car over to me in P5. I had great pace initially and was able to climb up to P2 and was quickly bringing the gap down to the leader. After the FCY just over halfway through my stint, the conditions became super wet and visibility was near on nothing, so the stewards eventually called the race results.

A penalty for the lead car also meant we managed to pick up the victory. This is a great result for myself and the full team after the year we have had. I’m so happy to finally come away with a great result and what better time to do it. I would just like to say a big thank you to all of Nielsen Racing for all the hard work this year.”

Michelin Le Mans Cup

Road to Le Mans, Rd.4, 24th August 2023

Josh: “Solid start here @motorlandaragon yesterday. Two more sessions up today to get ready for tomorrows race. It’s a warm one!”

Michelin Le Mans Cup

Road to Le Mans, Rd.3, 15th July 2023

Josh Skelton got Rd.3 of his Michelin Le Mans Cup campaign underway at Paul Ricard in the South of France. After two busy days of testing Josh and his teammate Tony Wells both had great pace heading into Saturdays race day. It would be over to teammate Tony Wells for the all bronze qualifying session. After a busy session, Tony managed to set down the 6th best lap time which would see us starting the 1 hour 50 minute race from there later in Saturday afternoon.

Tony would start the race and take the car to around the 50 minute mark before handing over to Josh for the remaining hour of the race. A good start by Tony would see him gain two places up to P4, but unfortunately he would then loose those places again throughout the stint before handing the car over to Josh in P6 at the pitstop. Josh had a great opening to his stint making up 2 places very early on sitting comfortably in P4 and challenging the DKR car ahead for a place on the podium. Unfortunately he would have to make a pit stop with a mechanical fault which put them out of contention. Josh will be next on track for Rd.4 at Motorland Aragon Circuit at the end of August.

Josh Explained: “I was really looking forward to getting started here at Paul Ricard as it is always a circuit that I have got on very well with, and showed great pace over the years. We set off looking very strong in the testing and I was feeling confident within the car. I really wanted to turn our luck around from the start of the season, and get that result that we deserved.”

“Tony would take the car for the bronze rated qualifying session, where he would put us 6th on the grid for the race. After a great start he took us up to 4th, but through the stint eventually dropped back to our starting place in P6. I knew we could race from here and achieve a great result, I had my eyes set on the podium. When I jumped in the car I quickly managed to get us up to 4th again, and subsequently involved in an intense battle for 3rd. Unfortunately an issue with the car meant we had to pit, and our possible race for the podium was sadly gone. However we keep our heads up and keep pushing for the result we deserve. A big thank you to the whole of the Nielsen Racing crew.”

Michelin Le Mans Cup

Road to Le Mans, Rd.2, 9th June 2023

Josh Skelton got Round 2 of the Michelin Le Mans Cup series underway at the legendary Circuit De La Sarthe in France. He would be lining up for the two races in P19 and P22 after some hectic qualifying sessions in the Road to Le Mans. Himself and Tony Wells would work hard to battle strongly through the field in their two 55 minute races, to see if they could recover to the points after a disappointing first round in Barcelona. Tony would start both races, before handing over to Josh for the remaining 30 minutes of each race.

Race 1, Tony had a problem on the opening lap at chicane 1 after making a great start. This would cause him to drop to the back of the full field before handing the car over to Josh. It was a great recovery drive from Josh, to climb all the way back from P43 to P18 at the flag.

Race 2, got underway on Friday morning in front of the big crowds at Le Mans. Starting from P22 the pair had a lot of work to do. Tony once again made a great start and climbed up to P12 at the pit stop window. A slight issue in the stop with radio communication meant the team dropped back to P18. However, a great job by Josh and flying pace saw them climb all the way back up to P4 at the flag, and take the fastest lap of the race.

Unfortunately a post-race time penalty for a collision between Tony and another driver dropped them back to P8. Still some great points on the board. Josh now heads to Paul Ricard for Round 3 of the Championship in the middle of June.

Josh Explained: “It was amazing to come back to this iconic Le Mans circuit, I love this place! The feeling you get is special. I had great pace every time we hit the track, and I felt at ease with the car which is very important at a circuit like Le Mans. Unfortunately, the qualifying sessions were messy for both myself and Tony, so we had a lot for work to do in the races. I was frustrated with this because the potential for pole was there.

Race 1 was disappointing as Tony had an issue on the first lap which dropped us to the back of the field. I had a great recovery drive back up the field from P43 to P18, but unfortunately still scored no points.

Race 2 was great. I managed to climb from P18 to P4 on track and set the fastest lap of the race, which really means something at Le Mans.

I’m feeling confident heading into the next round in a months’ time, and looking to carry on this forward momentum. Big thank you to all of Nielsen Racing for all the hard work.”

Michelin Le Mans Cup

Barcelona, Rd.1, 22nd April 2023

Josh: “Unfortunate race for the first round of @lemanscup. Tony did a mega job in both qualifying and the start of his stint, ultimately getting us up into P2. We were looking strong to challenge for the win until sadly a puncture ended our race early. Massive thanks to all of @nielsen.racing for the hard work this week, enjoyed my first weekend with you guys. We will be back for redemption at Le Mans for Rd2.”

2023 Season

Testing: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Josh: “Great to get things started with @nielsen.racing for the 2023 season with two solid days testing at Barcelona. Looking forward to the first round of the @lemanscup back here in April.”