Any driver will tell you that the transition from single-seaters to saloon cars is fairly daunting. Whilst this holds true for Josh le Roux, the 2022 Investchem Formula 1600 Champion handled the challenge last weekend, with a maturity far beyond his years.
The first round of the 2023 GTC Championship took place over the weekend (24 / 25 February) and was fraught with on track incidents, at what turned out to be an unforgiving Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Despite the many trials, Josh proved the old adage “to finish first, you must first finish”.
Josh tackled the weekend with the sensible attitude that he needed to come to grips with his Audi and the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit before challenging for positions. He got faster with every session and put himself sixth on the grid for race one.
Josh had a good start to the first race, maintaining his position into turn one. The race was, however, immediately placed under safety car conditions, following an incident in the VW Supa Polo class. Following the restart, and a few more incidents, Josh managed to get himself up to fourth. He eventually took the flag in fifth place.
The second race started from a reversed grid, which placed Josh on the front row. Understanding the dynamics of the grid and not wanting to hold back the more experienced saloon car campaigners, Josh opened the door into turn one, allowing the faster competitors to move ahead of him. Whilst this would have gone against everything he knows as a strong competitor, the maturity of his choice is definitely a mark of a champion. Josh’s actions were also well rewarded as the competitors ahead of him tangled. By the last lap, Josh found himself up in second place.
His race results were enough to secure first overall for the day, in his debut event.
“The WCT team were so welcoming. The vibe in the team is always good and everyone is really friendly. They do as much as they can to improve the cars and make us go faster on the track, but it’s not all about racing there’s also friendship and support in the team, it feels like family already,” commented Josh.
The next round of the championship will take place in Cape Town on 18 March 2023.
Josh is proudly sponsored by: Master Stairs, Investchem Chemical Logistics, Vitro Frameless Glass and MS Technic – Sparco Store Africa and New Heights.
Published by: Motorsport Marketing Services
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