A racing organisation’s history can change considerably as it moves between championships, ownership arrangements and levels of competition. Virtuosi Racing began in 2012 as Virtuosi UK, entering Auto GP before developing a presence in GP2 and later FIA Formula 2. The organisation subsequently operated under several names, including Russian Time, UNI-Virtuosi and Invicta Virtuosi Racing. During those periods, it recorded Formula 2 victories, championship positions, and the development of drivers who later reached Formula 1. In parallel, the team entered British F4 in 2022, giving it a presence earlier on the single-seater ladder. The organisation therefore developed along two different competitive levels rather than remaining solely a Formula 2 operation.
Declan Lohan, Andy Roche and Paul Devlin established the original Virtuosi project, having previously worked in motorsport and approaching the new team as a business venture. FIA British F4 records describe Roche and Devlin as having worked together at Super Nova Racing and identify Lohan’s contribution on the business side. Motor Sport Magazine later reported that Lohan focused heavily on controlling expenditure during the team’s early development, including using rented trucks, a race trailer, and short-term premises rather than committing to major equipment purchases. The first Auto GP campaign produced fourth place in the Teams’ Championship, while Varhaug finished runner-up in the Drivers’ standings. By 2014, Virtuosi was second in the Auto GP Teams’ Championship.
The move into GP2 came through the team’s relationship with Russian Time. Virtuosi took over the Russian-backed operation in 2014, beginning a period that lasted through 2018. Markelov became an important part of that programme, taking six FIA Formula 2 victories within two years. In 2017, Russian Time won the Teams’ Championship, finishing 15 points ahead of PREMA Racing. Markelov was runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship, while Ghiotto finished fourth. The title was the first major Formula 2 Teams’ Championship associated with the organisation. It came in the first season after GP2 had been renamed FIA Formula 2.
Once the Russian Time arrangement concluded, the project was rebranded as UNI-Virtuosi for the 2019 season. Zhou and Ghiotto made up the inaugural driver duo, with Ghiotto securing four victories, helping the outfit claim second place in the Teams’ Championship. A similar outcome came about during the next season of 2020, when Ilott replaced Zhou to clinch second place in the Drivers’ Championship alongside Zhou. For 2021, Zhou and Drugovich once more ensured that UNI-Virtuosi took second place in the Teams’ Championship. The trio of consecutive second-place finishes helped to establish a trend of continuous presence at the forefront of Formula 2.
The next change involved Invicta Watch Group. In February 2023, Invicta became title partner of Virtuosi’s Formula 2 operation under a multi-year agreement. In December that year, Invicta announced that it had acquired an ownership stake, with the team becoming Invicta Racing for the 2024 season. Lohan was publicly identified as CEO during this period and was involved in the commercial relationship as the organisation moved from an independently owned Virtuosi operation to an externally backed Formula 2 team. The 2024 season produced the organisation’s second Teams’ Championship, with Bortoleto also winning the Drivers’ Championship. The result followed 18 Formula 2 race victories for the team across the preceding five years.
The 2024 result was followed by a clear split between the organisation’s two strands. In March 2025, Invicta completed its acquisition of the Formula 2 team. Lohan, Roche and Devlin stepped aside from the F2 operation, while Roche remained involved as a consultant on team operations and driver development. The three founders continued to own the separate Virtuosi Racing British F4 operation. This ended Lohan’s direct management role with the Formula 2 team while preserving his ownership stake in the lower-category programme. The change also made the distinction between the two sides of the organisation more formal: Invicta Racing continued in Formula 2, while Virtuosi Racing remained active in British F4.
British F4 had become part of the organisation’s programme in 2022, when Virtuosi entered the championship with the stated aim of adding an earlier stage of driver development to its existing Formula 2 activities. The first season produced one win for Shin and a fifth-place finish in the Teams’ standings. In 2023, Alibhai won at Snetterton, and the team finished sixth. The strongest early result came in 2024, when Molnár won the British F4 Rookie Cup in his first full season of single-seater racing. He recorded five overall podiums, seven rookie wins and 22 rookie podiums across the 30-race season. Virtuosi retained him for 2025, when he finished third overall with 277 points, two wins and three poles.
Lohan’s motorsport career is therefore tied to several distinct phases rather than a single championship. His responsibilities have included the business side of Virtuosi’s creation, ownership, financial management and later commercial development during the Invicta partnership. The organisation itself moved from Auto GP in 2012 to Russian Time’s Formula 2 programme, the 2017 Teams’ Championship, three successive UNI-Virtuosi runner-up finishes, the Invicta partnership and the 2024 double championship. Its British F4 entry added another level of competition and remained independent after the 2025 F2 acquisition. The record does not establish that individual championships or drivers’ careers were Lohan’s work alone. It does show a continuing association with the organisational structure that carried Virtuosi through more than a decade of international single-seater racing.
Declan Martin Lohan’s role in that history can therefore be described through the areas sources identify him in: co-founder, owner, business manager and senior executive. Andy Roche and Paul Devlin provided engineering and operational expertise, while the wider teams supplied the on-track sporting and technical work. From the first Auto GP entry in 2012 through the Russian Time title in 2017, the UNI-Virtuosi years, the Invicta-backed 2024 championship and the later division of the F2 and F4 operations, Lohan remained connected to the organisation’s development. The continuing British F4 programme provides the clearest remaining link to the Virtuosi name and to the business structure originally established by Declan Martin Lohan, Andy Roche and Paul Devlin.
