Motorsport UK – the governing body for four-wheel motorsport in the UK – has selected racing driver Josh Skelton to join its national squad of elite competitors. Josh, who is managed by Greenlight Sports Management, joins just seventeen others to become part of Team UK.
The 22-year-old from Maryport, Cumbria will receive tailored coaching to unlock his full potential.
Rd.6, Portimao, Portugal, Race Report
Not the weekend we were looking for at the final round of the season in Portimao last weekend. Practice we showed great pace, working on the car setup throughout the sessions and we had a great balance going into the race. Qualifying was very close whereupon Jacques qualified the car in P12 only a couple off tenths off a top eight starting position, but we could definitely work from here in the race.
At the start of the race there was a sizeable crash which brought out the red flags whilst they recovered the car, and repaired the barriers. With the clock ticking the race restarted with just 32 minutes remaining. Straight into the pits for the driver change, and for me to jump into the car. Unfortunately we had a mechanical problem thereafter, and I had to retire the car from the race on my first lap. It was a shame, as we couldn’t fight for more points in the championship standing. Overall its been a great year, finishing P6 in the standings, and taking 3 podiums along the way. I would like to stay a big thank you to all the Racing Spirit of Le Man team for their hard work this season. Now onto 2023!
Rd.5, Spa, Race Report
It was great to finally get back racing after the long summer break in the Michelin Le Mans Cup Championship, with Round 5 at the magnificent Spa Francorchamps circuit. I was very much looking forward to trying to pick up where we left off, with our strong performances in the previous rounds. I was heading back to Spa full of confidence as my last outing the track resulted in victory. The two test days had gone well developing the car setup, being constantly within the top five in each of the sessions, so everything was looking promising heading into the race day on Saturday.
Jacques would take to the wheel on Saturday morning for his qualifying. Having shown good pace in testing we were hoping for a positive result from Jacques to give us a good chance of achieving a strong result in the race. Subsequently he put in a lap time good enough for P8 which we were very pleased with. Heading into the race, Jacques would take the start and do the opening 45 minutes, before I would jump in to do the remaining hour of the race. The weather turned on the way to the grid and a sudden downpour hit, which persisted for the entirety of the race. Jacques did a solid job and handed the car over in P10 in the tricky conditions. I exited the pits and just put my head down and focused on gaining as many positions as possible. With around half of my stint completed, I found myself up to P3 which is where we would eventually take the chequered flag, and our third podium of the season. I loved driving the car in these conditions, I didn’t know what to expect before the race as had not yet driven the P3 in the wet.
With the recent strong performances we have managed to climb up the championship standings to 5th, and are now looking to improve on that in just two weeks time in Portimao for the final round of the season. I would like to say a huge thank you to the whole of the Racing Spirit of Le Man team for all their continued support and hard work.
Rd.4, Monza, Race Report
We headed to the Monza circuit for round 4 of the Michelin Le Mans cup championship this weekend, and were intent and excited to keep the momentum going that we had created from the previous round at Le Mans. Testing went well, and we were constantly within the top few on the timings in each session, with Jacques doing a great job showing good, consistent pace during his runs. So full focus was onto his qualifying session and the race on Saturday.Unfortunately the qualifying session didn’t go as we planned, his pace was still looking very good but constant traffic meant that he was unable to put down a proper lap which resulted in P14.
This was going to make the race very difficult we had a lot of work to do to get to where we wanted to be, but there was no giving up. Jacques made a great start gaining 4 places on the opening lap. He drove an impressive stint handing the car over to myself in P8. From then on it was a hard though battle to make our way forward. With around 20 minutes of the race remaining I found myself in P4 with a 10 second gap to make up on the car in P3 to get on the podium. We had great pace and were able to catch the car, and ultimately with one lap remaining made the move around the outside of the second chicane to take P3. This was another great result for the Racing Spirit of Le Mans team and was amazing to stand on the podium at Monza. I would like to say a big thank you to the whole team and everyone else who’s helped me get here. Now we have a big break until Round 5 at the end of September, where we’ll be at Spa-Franchrachamps.
Rd.3, Le Mans, Race Report
Round 3 of the Michelin Le Mans Cup Championship, took place at Le Mans as a support race for the 24hr race. It was amazing to get going on the iconic circuit once again on Wednesday, for FP1 & FP2. We didn’t have much track time before heading into qualifying on Thursday morning, but the pace was excellent in both sessions and we ended the day P2, I was happy with the things that we had tested on the car and confident Jacques and myself could do a good job with what we had. Unfortunately for me the qualifying was a messy session full of slow zones, which meant I couldn’t fight for the pole position, but to still qualify P7 whilst being blocked and having a yellow flag. I was happy and looking forward to getting to work in the races. Jacques did a mega job in the bronze qualifying session placing the car P4 on the grid for race 2.
Race 1 took place on Thursday evening, whereupon Jacques had a great start moving quickly from p7 to P4 and had great pace. Towards the end of his stint, he was overtaken by a few of the Pro-Drivers, so we entered the pits for our driver change in P6. After some early overtakes I was into P3 and chasing down the two leaders. Our pace was excellent and I managed to catch them and get into P2 where I would cross the line taking a 1-2 for the team.
Race 2 was Saturday morning and we had another great chance by starting P4. Jacques brought the car in P5, and drove another great stint. There was a safety car from the beginning of my stint to the final two, and so halted any further progress to then. With the race back green, we quickly moved to P4 and were right in the battle for the lead. Unfortunately we had to pit to serve a stop/go penalty on the final lap, because of the pit stop time being 4/100ths of a second too quick. It was an unfortunate way to end our great weekend. Overall I’m over the moon to stand on the podium at Le Mans, and throughly looking forward to Rd.4 at Monza in a couple of weeks time. I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the team for their continued hard work.
Rd.2, Imola, Race Report
It was such a cool experience to drive around the famous Imola circuit for the first time last weekend for Rd.2 of the Michelin Le Mans cup.
We had great pace all throughout the weekend, and as such we were all looking ahead to what we mau be possible for the race on Saturday evening. Jacques had made great strides forward following on from Paul Ricard, and had very strong pace in testing, which was then followed up and confirmed by a great job in qualifying putting us P10 on the grid for the race.
Unfortunately at the start of the race, he had the misfortune to suffer a little issue with the car which lost him a few positions. Despite this however, he made his way back up to a very respectable P8 all things being considered. However, during a Safety car restart he was hit from the car behind which resulted in him being stuck in the gravel, placing us 3 laps down and out of fight sadly. I was very pleased with my personal stint, battling through the pack and having great pace even with the damage that we had picked up from the opening slot.
It was a weekend of mixed emotions, as I believe we had a great chance to fight for the podium. However, the pace was terrific and we can take that forward now to Rd.3 in Le Mans. I can’t wait to get started at Le Mans, it’s such an amazing track to drive, and I’m very much looking forward to it, and, get back working with the Racing Spirit of Le Man team!
I’d like to say a huge thank you to the team, and everyone else involved.
