As they say, everyone must start somewhere, and that is very true of British marshal James Lewis who made his debut this year as a commissaire de piste [track marshal] for the great race. But he started officiating by marshalling the paddocks at the Goodwood Festival of Speed back in 2008 with the local Bognor Regis Car Club.

From there, things developed when he joined the British Automobile Racing Club in 2011 and, since then, he has worked his way through the system to now be graded as an experienced marshal. But that experience hasn’t included Le Mans until now.

“I was bitten by the Le Mans bug when I came as a spectator in 2012.

“When I arrived, I thought it was just a race, but an hour into practice on the first day, I realised it's man and machine against time, distance and fatigue. It was an eye-opening experience and I have been eager to get back every year until, finally, this year when I can actually be a part of the world's greatest race!

“I'm most looking forward to working alongside marshals from across the world with one objective – to help make the racing as safe as we can.”

James officiated at sector 30, along with experienced colleagues who helped him through the registration process prior to his poste allocation. With them at his side, he learned a lot and enjoyed the camaraderie that comes with meeting marshals from other nationalities.

While at Le Mans, James had another personal task to fulfil, in support of Team Brit, a race team created for the rehabilitation of injured military personnel in Great Britain.

“At the end of last year, I was gifted a coin by the team and, in return, I'm travelling with it to every event I do this year. I'm looking forward to posting online about its travels with me during the course of this season, with the Le Mans race being the biggest event I'm doing this year.”