Meet Josh
Josh Steed
13/07/02
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Whist Josh began his racing career in karts, like many of today’s motor racing greats, Josh’s focus has always been on GT Racing. Josh enjoyed a vast amount of success in karting, winning multiple races and claiming fastest laps, then to go on and win the Rye House Championship in 2015.
Shortly after at the age of 14, Josh took his first step into car racing in the fiesta junior championship, where he recorded 2nd in the rookie championship and 2x top 5 finishes. The following year Josh claimed 3rd in the fiesta junior championship scoring 2x wins and then went on to make a step up into the Ginetta GT5 challenge in 2019.
Although a late entry into the season due to injury Josh was still able to claim his first podium at the end of the season. 2020 with the uncertain circumstances of COVID-19 occurring Josh was not able to race so he shifted his focus onto the next season, unfortunately Josh’s father passed away during this time so Josh has had to work even harder than before to secure his future.
In doing so, Josh came back to the Ginetta GT5 championship a year later, dominating all season achieving 8x wins, 13/18 podiums, 4 pole positions and best of all winning the Championship!
Winning the GT5 championship unfortunately did not guarantee Josh's future. Not having enough budget to take the step up to GT4 meant Josh had to take 2 years out of racing and pivot into driver coaching.
During this time, Josh was coaching an Amateur driver who gave Josh the opportunity to race with him in the British Endurance Championship in 2024. Going onto achieve 4 wins, 5/5 podiums and the GT4 Championship WIN!
With the traction gained from competing at a high level in UK motorsport, Josh took the step to European racing in 2025 in the Ligier European Series. Collecting a podium at Paul Ricard and racing at the legendary Le Mans circuit.
Josh is now continuing this pursuit for success and has the aim to continue to climb the GT ladder, to become a factory driver for a manufacturer and go on to win multiple championships and prestigious races globally.
Career History
The Early Days
Who knew that at the age of six years old starting off as a hobby became so much more! The inspiration came from watching Formula 1 and seeing the pure excitement of the sport. So, I thought I would give it a go myself. My first taste of driving was at Buckmore Park in the Bambino Kart school. There I learnt the very basic fundamentals of driving and the flags as well. After six weeks of learning how to drive a kart safely I was ready to step up into a Honda Cadet. My parents bought me my first kart at the age of seven. It was far from the best, but it did the job. With its faults it made me work harder and adapt to the damaged chassis. I started off at my local kart track at Rye House, where some of the greats started. There I joined the Honda cadet club, where I was able to practice in my new kart and learn the very basics of racing. At the age of eight I was now able to start racing, quite scary at first, but I gradually overcame that fear and was getting faster and overtaking more. I felt confident then to drive at other tracks in the UK, like Whilton Mill, Kimbolton, Buckmore Park, etc.
Stepping On The Podium
Once I got to grips with all the basic race craft and techniques by the age of ten, I started to step foot on podiums and setting fastest laps too. So, my parents thought it was time to finally upgrade my kart and engine. Once we did that, I couldn’t get off the podium! 2015 was my best and final year in karting. It was a tough year, racing 42 weekends, but I was able to win my first championship at Rye House, also multiple wins and pole positions throughout that year at other circuits too. I was able to claim second in two other championships at Whiton Mill and Kimbolton and I won the Josh O’Malley Cup.
Karts To Cars
After my success in 2015 I was spotted and approached by a European company called CIDT. They said, “we saw potential in Josh’s driving, he is a very marketable and an approachable young lad.” They wanted to take me from karts into cars and asked if I was interested…well of course I was! They then purchased my first race car in the Fiesta Junior Championship which I could start racing at fourteen.
1st Year In Cars
2016 for me was the preparation to be able to race in 2017 in cars. Only being 13 for the first 6 months of the year left me with nothing to do as there was no point in me starting a fresh season in a higher class in karting. Once I passed my ARDS test by the time I finally turned 14 I was able to start testing my new race car to prepare for 2017. 2017 was a very successful rookie year for me, coming 7th in the championship out of the 20 drivers and learning all the new tracks and nature of tin top racing.
Fiesta Juniors Success
2018 was my second and best year racing in the fiesta junior championship, with a freshly built car beneath me I was straight on the podium for the first round of the year. It was a year of ups and downs having a few mechanical failures that cost me the championship, but I still achieved 3rd in the championship, 10 podiums and 2 wins. Now that I had mastered the front wheel drive machine it was time for me to move on into a bigger and better car and series, the Ginetta GT5 challenge.
The Big Move To GT5
My GT5 winter testing was going exceptionally well, after 3 test days I was on the pace and ready to kick off the season with a bang. Until I severely broke my arm during my time at the Motorsport UK academy college course in Loughborough. I was pushed down some stairs by my ‘friend’ as a joke, but it wasn’t a good joke after looking at the state of my arm. I was in a cast for 2 months and missed 2 race weekends of the 2019 season.
Once I was out of my cast, I completed my physio within a week, way faster than the doctors thought, and I was able to make it to the third round at Silverstone and the rest of the season. I arrived back like I hadn’t missed anything. I massively progressed throughout the season and at the last round at Donington I was able to claim my first podium in the championship.
Silverstone
National
Overcoming Adversity to GT5 Champion
2020 was due to be my second year competing in the Ginetta GT5 challenge, but due to COVID-19, the season was postponed to later in the year. With intentions to still do some racing, unfortunatley my father passed away suddenly during the time of May. With this, i took the responsible decision to not race for the 2020 season. Looking ahead to 2021 i felt more motivated than ever to get back to the top step of the podium once again. With a change of team and only the first 3 race weekends budget covered, i knew winning was my only option to see the season and my career through. With that i lead the championship all season, claiming 8 wins, 13/18 podiums, 4 pole positions and most importantly the Ginetta GT5 Championship WIN!
Dream GT4 Debut
Following my success from 2021, it didn't guarantee my future for competing in GT4 the following season. Due to my own budget restrictions it meant i couldn't compete for the following 2 seasons. During this time i pivoted to Driver Coaching and this is what created an opportunity for me to race in 2024. I had been coaching an experienced Amateur driver in Ginetta GT5 who also wanted to take the step to GT4. This opportunity saw us competing in the British Endurance Championship in the Porsche Cayman GT4RS for the 2024 season. It was a debut season for us in GT4 endurance racing, but we couldn't have asked for a more perfect season. 4 wins, 5/5 podiums and the GT4 British Endurance Championship WIN! At the end of the season we took on the challenge of British GT at Donington Park, again a debut for us and the team, but we knew the winning formula. An incredible experience it was, showing off some incredible pace in practice and qualifying, the end result saw us P6 in Pro/AM which was something for us to be proud of.
European Rollercoaster
With the momentum built from 2024 i was determined to take on the next challenge in my career by racing in Europe at some of the best circuits globally. Not only was it a change of scenery, but also a change of machinery, racing a Ligier JSP4 prototype. This demanded a different driving style to what i had been used to, but i was up for the challenge. We had a slow start to the season, with the car needing more development to improve our overall pace, but at the second round in Paul Ricard we came back stronger with a podium! Round 3 saw us take on the legendary Le Mans circuit, an unforgettable experience it was and one i hope to have the privilege of driving again soon. The season was cut short for us due to a number of factors, but it was a great taste of what the future can hold.