As we gear up towards the 2024 edition of the FIA Motorsport Games, take a trip down memory lane…. 

The second edition of the FIA Motorsport Games took place in Marseille, France, after a hiatus due to COVID-19, which saw Team UK claim their first medals. 

The squad of 17 athletes, competing across 10 disciplines touched down in the South of France to attend the opening ceremony at Marseille’s Mucem in the port, before making their way to one of three venues – Circuit Paul Ricard, Rally Saint Baume, or Autocross Veynois – to begin the competition.  

Motorsport UK – one of over 70 ASNs to field a team in the FIA’s global celebration of the sport – ended the four-day competition with their first medals, in Esports and GT respectively, placing Team UK fifth in the final medal table. 

Here’s our round-up of the action from France… 

Esports: Baldwin makes history with first Team UK Gold 

As one of the pre-event favourites, there was always a chance that James Baldwin remained in the reckoning for Saturday evening’s Grand Final. 

The two-time SRO Esports Champion and British GT race winner dominated qualifying and his subsequent quarter final. 

25-year-old Baldwin was able to overhaul his rival from second and win, marking a first ever Gold medal at the FIA Motorsport Games for Team UK, and an elated Baldwin was presented with his prize on the podium by 11-time Formula 1 ® Grand Prix winner, Felipe Massa. 

“Wow, what a day,” exclaimed Baldwin after stepping from the rostrum. “I’m over the moon to bring back the Gold medal for Team UK at the FIA Motorsport Games. 

“It was such an intense final race; I feel knackered now. Assetto Corsa Competizione is my favourite game, so it was really good to race on that. I hope to come back in the future.” 

Watch the action again here. 

GT: Loggie and Neary battle to the Bronze 

Also on the medal-winning trail for Team UK were Ian Loggie and Sam Neary, the pair taking the Bronze medal amongst the GT runners. 

2022 British GT Champion Loggie had been due to share the #93 RAM Racing-run Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Team UK’s Captain and experienced GT racer, Chris Froggatt, but illness shortly after arriving in France ruled the latter out of racing. 

A replacement – British GT race winner Sam Neary – was flown in from the second practice session onwards, and the Motorsport UK Academy graduate rose to the challenge with aplomb. 

Two solid qualifying races put the pairing fourth on the grid for the Final, and sixth on the road when Loggie pitted to hand over to Neary halfway through the contest. 

From there, the 21-year-old was in superlative form, charging up to seize third before a late-race safety car neutralized the action, and enabled Neary to bring it home and spark celebrations in the garage. 

“I’m absolutely over the moon to win the bronze medal for Team UK,” exclaimed Neary. “Ian had a mega stint, and we were able to bring it home from there. A huge thanks to the entire team, what a whirlwind of a few days it’s been!” 

“I’m really pleased with the race, and our performance,” added Loggie. “We didn’t quite have the pace to be right on the front, but we’ve hardly done any laps around here. I think it’s a great result, and Sam has flown in as a reserve and done fantastically well.” 

Catch up on the action here. 

Motorsport UK – one of over 70 ASNs to field a team in the FIA’s global celebration of the sport – ended the four-day competition with their first medals, in Esports and GT respectively, placing Team UK fifth in the final medal table.