In today’s version of 10 in 10, we look at GhostSpeed Racing Team. A team with a lot of prestige and a lot of history running through its veins dating back to its birth in 2003. Moving onto this year though, GhostSpeed Racing has every reason to fancy their chances at a good finishing position as they have fielded World Championship race winner Jernej Simoncic alongside team owner, James Sadler.
Jernej must be beaming at the prospect of this season. His strong performances last season which lead to 2nd place in the Driver Standings will be a massive morale boost heading into this season. He also has a mass of experience under his belt with 48 World Championship starts. The odds certainly look in his favour.
Across the garage, James must also be eager for the season to get going again. He has experience in multiple divisions up and down the Formula SimRacing ladder starting all the way back in 2013. On World Championship level, he may look inexperienced, but don’t count him out to mix things up in the midfield this year.
Jernej Simoncic
WC STARTS: 48
WC WINS: 1
WC POINTS: 389
BEST WC POSITION: 2nd (2016)
OTHER FSR ACHIEVEMENTS: 2nd in Winter Series (2016)
James Sadler
WC STARTS: 16
WC WINS: 0
WC POINTS: 30
BEST WC POSITION: 16th (2016)
OTHER FSR ACHIEVEMENTS: 6th in Winter Series (2016)
We managed to catch up with Jernej and James to ask them a few questions about the season ahead.
What are your goals for the upcoming season in Formula SimRacing?
Jernej: “When being asked about goals 12 months ago, I confidently claimed that I would fight for the championship. But when I finally discovered some setup trick and gained 3 tenths per lap, half the season was already gone and I could only get up to 2nd behind Jeroen in the end. This season I hope to have a bit more luck with the setup; We also have a stronger team now which will surely be helpful. But my real goal is to have great fun battling for the race wins and enjoying the season.”
James: “Honestly, just to improve on last year. I made mistakes in my debut season of WC. Some things went really well and some things didn’t go to plan. I mean stalling at the start 3 times wasn’t the plan! But hey we all make mistakes and it’s how you learn from them. I want to push on this year and improve on the things that hindered me the most. For example, my consistency over the course of a race. Ultimately, I just want to do the best for my team because they all work incredibly hard.”
Who do you think will be your biggest rival this season?
Jernej: “I don’t even know for half of the grid, so I can’t really say much about rivals. But for sure Stefanko will be up there, also we mustn’t underestimate Parisis, and then you never know about the Twister team, they have many fast guys and the superior brain power when it comes to setting up the car.”
James: “Honestly, I am not looking at one specific person. I am looking at drivers who are around the bottom of the top 10. I have to be realistic, though if I develop myself into a better driver over the course of the season then who knows!”
How strong do you think the grid looks this year?
Jernej: “Grid is stronger than I thought it would be, and honestly I don’t think it’s much less competitive than last season. It is true that OFR with Jeroen and Kuba is gone, but in the end, it all comes down to how much the Twister guys will test and at which point in the season they bring in the Petar guy.”
James: “I would say that the grid looks positive. A good depth of field with some great drivers. New teams that definitely bring excitement and I welcome them to FSR and WC. You will have the usual suspects, such as Twister, ACR and Madcape to name a few. Though there could be some surprises this year. It is a shame that OFR aren’t joining us this year because they did a fantastic job on winning the championship last season.”
Join us tomorrow where we will review Twister Racing Team.
'23 Champion Jernej Simoncic
PRO Champion Victor Ivanov
ACA Champion Thomas Smit
