Apex’s James Wormstone on bringing Beijing’s street circuit to life

For James Wormstone, a design engineer at Apex Circuit Design, this past autumn’s GT World Challenge Asia finale in Beijing was more than another project — it was the moment he saw months of digital work become a living, breathing race track.

“You lose perspective when you’ve been staring at plans for months. Then suddenly you’re standing trackside, and the cars are flying past barriers you helped position. It’s an incredible feeling.”

A career milestone in a global capital

Wormstone joined Apex in 2024, stepping into one of motorsport’s most demanding design teams. His first major assignment was the Beijing Street Circuit, a temporary venue built in the city’s fast-growing E-Town technology hub.

“The project had already started when I arrived, but I quickly took on responsibility for the FIA documentation and the evolving circuit layout,” he said. “Every few weeks something in the city changed — a new building, new infrastructure — so we had to stay agile.”

Beijing, a metropolis of more than 21 million people, offered a setting unlike any other. Known for its historical grandeur and technological ambition, the city wanted a modern motorsport showcase that mirrored its future-focused identity.

“E-Town feels like the future,” Wormstone said. “It’s full of tech companies, research centres, and new energy facilities — a perfect home for a race that represents innovation.”

Learning by doing — the Apex way

Apex Circuit Design has long been known for giving young engineers real responsibility. With a compact, highly skilled team, its designers are involved in everything from initial CAD modelling to on-site delivery.

“It’s a hands-on environment,” Wormstone said. “You’re not siloed behind drawings; you’re talking to FIA officials one day and standing on a bridge the next making sure barrier alignments work.”

The Beijing assignment encapsulated that philosophy. Wormstone helped refine track geometry, coordinate survey data, and oversee final preparations for homologation. The process required not just technical skill, but diplomacy and adaptability.

“Street circuits are living systems — you’re designing around traffic, utilities, and local regulations,” he explained. “That means compromise, communication, and problem-solving every day.”

Seeing the design in motion

When race week arrived, Wormstone travelled to Beijing to support circuit setup and verification. The experience was transformative.

“The first session was wet, so drivers were feeling their way around. But by qualifying, they were pushing flat out — using the width of the roads, finding overtaking lines. Watching that was validation that the design worked.”

He recalls specific corners vividly: the fast curved approach and braking zone into Turn 3, the precision of the 90-degree mid-section, the high-speed run through T8 and the technical navigation of the chicane.

“Turn 3 is my favourite — it’s high-risk, high-reward. Get it right and you gain tenths; get it wrong and you ruin your lap or lose a position,”

Building a career through global experience

For Wormstone, Beijing’s success is just the start. Apex’s portfolio spans Dubai Autodrome, Miami’s F1 street course and Kyalami’s latest upgrade — a mix of permanent and temporary circuits that provide constant learning.

“Projects like this teach you how design and reality meet,” he said. “You can’t learn that from theory alone. You have to see the decisions you made months ago come alive.”

That hands-on exposure is shaping his future path.

“I want to keep working on projects that push what’s possible — more street circuits, more sustainable layouts, maybe even future EV-based venues. Apex gives you that opportunity.”

A new generation of circuit designers

As motorsport enters a new era of sustainability, digital modelling, and urban integration, engineers like Wormstone represent a new generation — one as fluent in simulation data as in the feel of asphalt underfoot.

“James and his colleagues are part of the next wave of motorsport engineers — globally minded, technically sharp, and able to turn complex cities into functioning race environments,” said Apex Circuit Design’s Managing Director, Dafydd Broom.

“Beijing proved that talent and teamwork matter as much as technology.”