FFSA GT: Jodie Sloss returns to winning ways with victory and runner-up finish at Magny-Cours
- RACERS
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Jodie Sloss bounced back in style at Magny-Cours with another highly productive weekend alongside David Levy, claiming an AM-class victory and a runner-up finish despite tackling an unfamiliar car for the first time in the fourth round of the FFSA GT Championship.
Jodie Sloss bounced back in style at Magny-Cours with another highly productive weekend alongside David Levy, claiming an AM-class victory and a runner-up finish despite tackling an unfamiliar car for the first time in the fourth round of the FFSA GT Championship.
Returning for a second season with Mirage Racing in the French GT Championship, the Scottish racer had established herself as one of the leading contenders in the AM class after an impressive rookie campaign in 2025. The 2026 season had started on a high note with podium finishes at Nogaro, before Sloss and Levy converted their pace into their first victory of the year at Dijon. Their momentum, however, was halted at Spa, where a qualifying incident prevented Sloss from taking part in the races.
Magny-Cours therefore represented an opportunity to fight back - but it also presented a new challenge. For the fourth round of the championship, Mirage Racing fielded Sloss and Levy in a Porsche Cayman GT4, meaning both drivers would have to adapt to different machinery over the course of the weekend.
Friday's practice sessions therefore focused almost entirely on learning the characteristics of the Porsche around the technical Magny-Cours circuit. Nevertheless, the duo made encouraging progress throughout the day, steadily improving their understanding of the car ahead of qualifying.
Saturday morning brought cloudy conditions for qualifying. Sloss took the wheel of the #5 Mirage Racing Porsche Cayman for the opening qualifying session. Her initial benchmark of 1:49.8 placed her fourth in the AM class before she immediately began finding significant improvements.
As confidence in the Porsche increased, Sloss steadily lowered her lap times: she first improved into the 1:47s before producing another excellent final run, setting a 1:47.545 while improving across all three sectors to secure fourth place in the AM class.
David Levy then climbed aboard the Porsche for Q2. Like Sloss, Levy continued adapting to the car throughout the session; initially third fastest in AM, he continued to improve before posting a 1:47.2 to secure second in class, giving the Mirage Racing pairing a strong platform for the weekend's two races.
Saturday afternoon's opening race saw Jodie Sloss line up fourth in the AM class for the opening stint.
She settled quickly into rhythm after the start, remaining close to the JSB Competition Porsche of Ferrarin while maintaining fourth in class over the opening laps.
Soon breaking below the 1:50 barrier, Sloss continued to improve as the stint unfolded. Her lap times dropped to a competitive 1:49.2, and although Ferrarin initially managed to extend the gap slightly, Sloss gradually reeled the Porsche back in as her pace continued to strengthen.
By the midpoint of the stint she had reduced the deficit by around half a second, placing herself in a good position before the driver changes. When the pit window opened, Sloss remained on track for a couple more laps before bringing the Porsche into the pits on lap 14.
David Levy took over the #5 Mirage Racing machine, and an efficient pit stop immediately elevated the team's position after they jumped Julien Briche during the pit cycle.
Moments later, problems for the #7 Mirage Aston Martin promoted Levy to second in the AM class.
With clear track ahead, Levy immediately set about chasing class leader Auriacombe. The gap disappeared rapidly: by lap 18, Levy completed the decisive overtake to seize the AM-class lead before immediately pulling away.
The Mirage Racing driver quickly built an impressive advantage, stretching the margin to approximately ten seconds by lap 23. Although Julien Briche later reduced the gap, a track-limits penalty removed any realistic threat, allowing Levy to comfortably control the closing stages.
After Sloss' consistent opening stint laid the foundations, Levy converted the opportunity into a commanding AM-class victory for Mirage Racing. It marked another important triumph for the pairing, the second of the season, and represented the perfect response following the misfortunes of Spa.
Sunday's second race provided another opportunity to complete a perfect weekend. David Levy took the start from second in the AM class and tenth overall. However, the race immediately descended into confusion: the starting lights failed to extinguish correctly, yet the field accelerated away regardless, with Levy holding second in class behind Julien Briche.
Officials quickly red-flagged the race following the procedural error, bringing the entire field back to the pit lane. Following the restart behind the Safety Car, racing finally resumed.
Drama again struck almost immediately when overall leader Julien Briche suddenly slowed after the restart with a mechanical issue, promoting Levy into the lead of the AM class while moving him into eighth overall.
Levy immediately began opening a small but valuable advantage over Auriacombe, his closest class rival. Another interruption followed when Alpine Cup leader Neveu stopped on circuit, triggering a Full Course Yellow.
When racing resumed with 41 minutes remaining, Levy once again controlled the restart perfectly. Lapping consistently in the 1:48.6 range, he gradually extended his lead to just over two seconds while continuing to run strongly inside the overall top ten.
As the mandatory pit window opened, Levy handed the Porsche over to Jodie Sloss. The pit sequence shuffled the order slightly: Julien Briche's later stop reshaped the class battle, while Sloss emerged behind Lemeret and also found herself overtaken in the AM standings by the #7 Aston Martin after the driver changes.
Tasked with defending a podium while chasing the Aston Martin ahead, Sloss focused on building speed. She quickly returned to laps under the 1:50 barrier and steadily closed the pace deficit to the cars ahead.
Although several quicker Pro-Am entries eventually worked their way past, Sloss remained securely inside the overall top ten while holding third in the AM class. Crucially, the #7 Aston Martin ahead carried a penalty for an under-time pit stop.
Knowing she simply needed to remain within the penalty margin, Sloss managed the gap expertly over the closing laps, keeping the Aston within approximately eight seconds while maintaining a safe advantage over the cars behind.
At the chequered flag, the penalty elevated the Mirage Racing Porsche into second place in the AM class. It completed an excellent weekend for Sloss and Levy, who left Magny-Cours with an AM-class victory and a runner-up finish despite starting the weekend adapting to the new Porsche Cayman.
Following their extremely productive weekend, the Mirage Racing pairing now sits second in the AM-class championship standings heading into the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard on 10–11 October.
