For James Cottingham, racing has long extended beyond his current World Endurance Championship efforts. For the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games, James joined the Tempesta Racing team alongside team captain and friend Christopher Froggatt. A multi-disciplinary motorsport event, the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games brought together 646 athletes representing 82 nations, spread across Circuit, Rally, Off-road, Karting, Electric street and Esports
Over the weekend, James took part in the GT racing category in Valencia and represented the United Kingdom as they took to track in a Ferrari 296 GT3.
In a fierce battle for the podium, James started at pole position; however, Herbert Haupt of Germany in the Mercedes-AMG was chasing the 296 GT3 at Turn 2 and slid past. Despite leading his segment in qualifying, Haupt couldn’t shake off the British. James proved to be more than a worthy adversary, running between five-tenths and one second apart. Having lost some time in the pits, Team UK gave Finn Wiebelhaus a few seconds’ advantage. Despite this, with Froggatt at the helm, time was made up, and thanks to a bold overtake, Team UK soared into the lead.
As a final hurdle in an action-packed race, Froggatt faced a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits. Although he managed to pass Wiebelhaus and take the lead, he still needed to make up those five seconds to establish a gap from the German competitor. Despite the Tempesta Racing team putting in a tremendous effort, they sadly received a second track limit penalty
As the Germans trailed behind Froggatt, the penalties ultimately decided the outcome, resulting in their victory, despite Team UK crossing the chequered flag first. An unfortunate silver medal for Team UK.
James Cottingham: “Chris managed a mega move to take the lead, but, unfortunately, we had one too many track limit warnings, so it was silver rather than gold. We still had a fantastic race – we will now be cheering on Team UK in everything on Sunday.”