NEW Ginetta GT5 Challenge Am champion Nick Halstead reached another motorsport milestone last weekend as the Fox Motorsport driver claimed his first 24-hour race podium position.

Taking part in the Citroen C1 Racing Club 24 Hours at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, the Andwell race ace and his co-drivers Graham Davidson, Andy Perry and Daniel Quintero came home third in what was only the team’s second race with their Citroen C1.

The quartet qualified 10th in the C1 UK section of the race, which ran concurrently with the annual 2CV 24 Hours in a field that totalled 111 cars, and were indebted to the quick work of the Fox Motorsport mechanics, who changed a faulty fuel pump that had brought their session to an early end.

Starting cautiously, the Fox team ended the first hour 20th, but as each driver’s confidence grew, they began to make excellent progress and hit the front of the field by the end of the fifth hour.

After a challenging night, the 69bhp C1 reached Sunday morning in third place and was nearly six minutes away from second with three hours remaining.

An incredible late surge brought the team within just 10 seconds of the position by the chequered flag.

After the race Halstead said: “I’m so pleased for the whole team, who did a fantastic job all weekend. That’s my second time in the Fox Motorsport C1 and I’ve had an absolute blast both times.

"At Rockingham we qualified second but didn’t finish, but this time we had bulletproof reliability and ran competitively throughout the race – and that’s despite me being the only member of the Rockingham driver line-up that was in the car this time.

"If you’d told me ahead of my first race at Oulton Park last March that 18 months later I’d have a championship under my belt and a 24-hour podium at Spa – one of the most legendary circuits in the world – I’d have told you to go away. This feels awesome.”