Fiona James, Founder & CEO of Walero, kickstarted her 2024 season in the McLaren Artura Trophy this weekend at sunny Misano alongside young racer, Jayden Kelly as the pair look to take on some of Europe’s best tracks in GT machinery.

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Fiona has always been a keen racer, with her passion for racing initially being spurred by a track day experience in a Porsche 996 Turbo. Since then, Fiona has campaigned varied machinery including a Ginetta G50, Praga R1 and Lamborghini Gallardo LP520 GT3 through the intervening years up to Walero's launch, before settling on GT racing as her chosen field, where she competed for two years in the European GT4 championship with Academy Motorsport.

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After establishing a strong working relationship with the team in the initial tests, Fiona was delighted to be teaming up with the experienced and vastly successful Speedworks Motorsport organisation as she made her return to the European GT racing ranks.

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The opening round saw Fiona teaming up with young Australian racer, Jayden Kelly and the pair enjoyed a positive debut with plenty of experience gained across the weekend as they look to push on in 2024.

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The McLaren Trophy will see the pair contest five races across some of Europe’s most iconic circuits from Misano to Spa Francorchamps and it is a challenge Fiona is certainly relishing as the season gets underway in earnest.

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Commenting on the weekend and the season ahead, Fiona James said:

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“It was a great feeling to be back behind the wheel of a race car this weekend and to be getting 2024 underway on a positive note was fantastic. It was a learning experience, as is any debut race in a very competitive series but we learnt so much about the car and that put us in a great position moving forward. Jayden was brilliant all weekend and has a maturity well beyond his years behind the wheel which will only grow as the season progresses.”

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“It looks set to be an exciting season ahead for all involved and a great feeling to be stepping into the McLaren Artura Trophy for 2024 alongside the team at Speedworks Motorsport. The team are true professionals, led by Danny Buxton, and that was evident as we enjoyed a positive and productive first round of the season. Now all the focus switches onto building the momentum and seeing what the rest of this season has in store!”

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