Racing is one of the fastest moving industries in the world, not just for the teams, mechanics, and engineers, but for the drivers too. Last weekend, after a phone call Thursday afternoon and a flight early Friday morning, Jason found himself in Portugal.

The last race of the European Le Mans Series holds the yearly rookie test, where (some) new drivers test prototype and GT machinery. While the rookie test consists mostly of not rookies, Jason, and a few others took to Portimao in an LMP3 for the first time. With an elevation change of 98 feet and 15 corners, most of them blind, Portimao is one of the most mentally challenging circuits in Europe. But with no time for preparation on the sim, Jason took to it.

“The LMP3 is one of the most interesting cars I’ve ever driven. It takes the ease of a gt or road car, and combines it with the capabilities of a single seater in the craziest ways. The power steering was definitely something to get used to, and ignoring the fact that I was learning Portimao with LMP2 cars flying past me, just learning how the car drives was a challenge in itself.” Says Jason.

The team that gave Jason this opportunity is French team Forestier Racing by VPS Racing. A team with two LMP3 cars competing in both the ALMS and ELMS, with connections to LMP2 team Forestier Racing by Panis. Jason commented on the team, “They were really welcoming and I’m really happy to have had the opportunity. The professionalism of VPS, and the professionalism of the entire ELMS paddock was mind blowing”.

Sometimes racing is about opening and closing doors, and if you’ve been around long enough you have a good idea of when those doors will open. Part of the GB3 plan was securing a test in prototypes, and now that step one is complete, we can look forward to the results of that test. Jason was invited to compete with Forestier next year in both the ALMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup, and while it won’t come easy, the team will be working hard in the off season to secure the funding for that spot on the team