Alisha Palmowski had another strong weekend at Donington Park in the GB4 Championship, securing two podium finishes and moving up to second in the standings with one round remaining.
Up-and-coming racing star Alisha Palmowski had another remarkable weekend in GB4 Championship as the series visited Donington Park for the sixth triple-header of the season, and claimed two podium finishes that move her into second in the championship standings with one round to go.
Palmowski, on her first season in single seater, therefore continued her consistent rookie season showcasing once again great pace in both wet and dry conditions, as well as racecraft and overtaking skills while recovering from a tricky qualifying where she couldn't quite fully capitalize on her speed.
Coming off a third place at the previous round at the Silverstone GP circuit, the Elite Motorsport driver has finished in the top three at every single round so far, including victories at Oulton Park in her first ever race in the series and back to back wins at Snetterton. This outstandings rookie season has gained her the prestigious nomination for the Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, which provides the winning-emerging British racing talent with a significant prize and the opportunity to complete a Formula 1 test.
Coming into Donington third in the championship standings, Palmowski aimed to keep climbing the ranks at the series' second visit to the track, and her start if the weekend showed she had the potential to do so. On Thursday's testing, she led the second session with a 1:28.926 lap, and finished the other two sessions consistently in the top three. The trend contniued on Friday, with a second place in the morning that fueled optimism ahead of qualifying.
Saturday morning at Donington Park saw challenging weather conditions with a wet but drying track, typical of the British autumn. Alisha Palmowski immediately showed her speed by setting a lap that temporarily put her second on the timing sheets. As the track continued to evolve, she found more grip and laid down purple sectors momentarily claiming provisional pole.
However, just as she looked poised to retain the top spot, her Elite Motorsport teammate Finn Harrison topped her lap by a narrow margin. A red flag interrupted the session due to Ava Dobson’s off at Old Hairpin, with only nine minutes remaining once the green flag was waved again.
As the session resumed, times began to drop quickly: Palmowski, Harrison, and Blakely all improved their times in the final few minutes. Palmowski managed to reclaim provisional pole for a brief moment, but in the closing laps, her rivals found even more time: Harrison ultimately took pole position, while Alisha was bumped down to fourth after a tightly contested session. Although not fully capitalizing on her pace, Palmowski knew she had the racecraft to fight for the podium in the upcoming races.
The first race took place under drizzling skies, adding to the challenge of the 4.020 km Donington GP track layout. Starting from fourth, Palmowski had a great start, retaining fourth and quickly challenging the drivers ahead as Granfors hesitated off the line. With Blakely taking the early lead, Palmowski focused on hunting down Leon Wilson, who was defending the final podium position.
Up front, Harrison and Blakely opened a two-second gap, leaving Palmowski locked in a tense battle with Wilson. Their scrap allowed Baxter and a recovering Granfors to close in on the pair, turning the fight for third into a four-way battle.
Palmowski applied relentless pressure, looking for any opportunity to get past Wilson. On lap 8, she saw her chance, making a decisive move to snatch third place. Granfors followed her through, and Palmowski immediately had to shift focus from attacking to defending against the championship leader.
As the race continued, Palmowski held her ground against Granfors, demonstrating remarkable defensive driving in increasingly tricky conditions. By the checkered flag, Blakely took the win with Harrison second, and Palmowski claimed a hard-fought third-place finish—her eighth podium of the season. It was a mature drive, with Palmowski gaining a position from the start and crucial points in the championship.
Race 2 was held in properly wet conditions, and Palmowski once again enjoyed a great start, jumping from fourth to third by the first corner. Granfors, however, took the lead from Harrison in the early stages.
While Palmowski pushed hard to keep pace, she came under pressure from Lucas Blakely, who made a daring move to pass her on lap 2.
Despite the tricky conditions, which saw several drivers make mistakes, Palmowski kept her cool, showcasing great car control, making a big save on the kerbs.
After settling back into fourth, she set personal bests in the first two sectors and began closing the gap to Blakely, while pulling away from Burgoyne, who was behind in fifth.
Up front, Harrison put pressure on Granfors, reducing the gap to just 1.6 seconds, but could not ultimately challenge the race leader.
As the rain eased slightly, Palmowski continued to push, but Blakely managed to hold onto third, and Palmowski finished in fourth, just three seconds off the podium. Although she missed out on another top-three result, it was another strong performance with more valuable points.
The final race of the weekend was the reverse grid race, and for the first time, drivers would contend with dry conditions. Palmowski started from ninth but was immediately on the move. A slow start for the front-row drivers allowed her to gain three positions on the opening lap, putting her in sixth by the end of the first lap.
As Burgoyne led from Blakely and Hickey, Palmowski set her sights on Chloe Grant, who was running in fifth. The Scottish driver defended well, but Palmowski, undeterred, continued to pile on the pressure. By lap 5, she found an opening and made a great move to pass Grant.
Now in fourth, Palmowski was not done yet. She quickly closed the gap to Hickey, who was struggling to match the pace of the leaders. On lap 10, Palmowski forced Hickey into a mistake at the Melbourne Hairpin. Though Hickey defended hard, Palmowski’s determination paid off with a bold pass at turn 1, moving her into third place.
By the time she claimed the podium spot, the leaders were too far ahead to catch, with Burgoyne taking a dominant win over Blakely. Nonetheless, Palmowski’s third-place finish marked her ninth podium of the season, capping off another action-packed weekend.
"Good weekend with mixed weather conditions coming into play, taking our ninth podium of the year and with it, bringing home some solid points which has moved me up to second in the championship with one round to go", commented Palmowski.
With 356 points, Palmowski now sits second in the championship, 35 points behind leader Linus Granfors. The season finale takes place at Brands Hatch on 28-29 September, with Palmowski still in mathematical contention for the title.
コメント