Ashley Gregory begins her championship challenge with a podium finish at Snetterton
- LIAM REDFORD
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Ashley Gregory began her title bid in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy finishing all three races at the season opener in the top ten and securing a best finish of second, as she leaves Snetterton second in the overall championship standings.
Leaving Snetterton second in the overall championship standings, Ashley Gregory began her title bid in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy. Securing a best finish of second, while finishing all three races inside the overall top-10, Gregory firmly established herself as a title contender. As conditions changed towards the end of race three, Gregory moved from 11th to fourth in half a lap, before the results were counted-back following a red flag to deny her the championship lead.
Gregory lined up on the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy grid as one of the most experienced drivers in the series. Returning to the championship for a third straight season, she was aiming to use her experience to consistently fight at the front of the field. As a former overall podium finisher, Gregory’s next step was to contend for race victories in the competitive one-make championship.
Snetterton was a strong circuit for Gregory in 2024 and she was looking to carry forward this speed into the 2025 season opener. Last season, Ashley secured two top-10 finishes at Snetterton, including a best finish of seventh and was therefore targeting further progress on her next trip to Norfolk.
After an encouraging test session on Friday, Gregory was looking to start the season on the front foot with a strong qualifying performance on Saturday morning. She immediately jumped inside the overall top-5 with her first flying lap and held this position for the majority of the session. At the end of qualifying, Gregory had set the seventh fastest time and was less than a quarter of a second away from third position.
Grid positions for the first race of the weekend were based on the second fastest times set in qualifying. As a result of Ashley’s very consistent one-lap performance, she lined up from third on the grid. As the lights went out, Gregory was defending her position into the first turn with Rhys Hurd able to move ahead.
At the end of the opening lap, Gregory was in fourth position but just half a second away from the race lead. Ashley used the slipstream down the front straight to move ahead of Hurd and reclaim third position as she pushed Gabe Fairbrother into the runner-up spot. At Hamilton bend, Gregory then passed Fairbrother to move into second while also setting the fastest final sector of any driver.
On lap four, the race was red flagged as Olivier Algieri’s car had stopped on circuit with suspension damage. The race was restarted over a duration of eight minutes with Gregory lining up from second on the grid. It was a challenging start for Gregory as she slipped to fourth place through the opening turns.
Gregory held her fourth position through the first restarted lap as the positions at the front remained unchanged. The drivers remained nose-to-tail through laps two and three, with the leading seven drivers covered by less than three seconds with one lap to go. On the final lap, Gregory made a nice move on James Sherrington at the Wilson hairpin, before Gabe Fairbrother went off the circuit from second. This brilliant final lap saw Ashley finish in a career best second position to begin the season on a high.
For the second race of the weekend, the grid was formed by a partial reversal of the race one results with Gregory starting from sixth position. Ashley made a great start and as the drivers went three-wide into the opening turn ahead of her, she took full advantage and used the momentum to move into fourth place. Gregory’s progress was then halted as the race was red flagged after three cars required recovery across the circuit.
A full restart was necessitated and therefore Gregory lined up from sixth position once again. Another good start enabled her to quickly move into fifth, before ending the first lap of the restarted race in fourth. On lap two, the top-4 drivers began to break away from the field with Gregory mounting a challenge for a podium position.
As she ran directly behind James Sherrington, the leading group of drivers closed in further and by lap four, the quartet were covered by just over half a second. With the leading group battling for position, this brought more drivers into contention and on lap five, there were multiple position changes with Gregory holding fourth.
Leo Purches was enjoying an excellent race after starting from tenth on the grid and he overtook Gregory on the penultimate lap. A thrilling conclusion to the race saw the battle for the race victory going down to the final corners with Ashley remaining in contention. As she overtook Jamie Keates at the final turn, this enabled Gregory to finish in fourth position and she assumed the overall championship lead with one race remaining at Snetterton.
The grid positions for race three were determined by the fastest times from Saturday morning’s qualifying session with Gregory set to start from seventh, however a penalty saw her line up from ninth. Using her racecraft to move forward, Ashley ended lap one in seventh position before coming under attack from the drivers behind.
On laps two and three, Gregory enjoyed a close battle with Ronnie Smith and after running side-by-side with the Race Car Consultants driver, she briefly fell to 11th before recovering to ninth. Although she was exchanging positions around the top-10, Gregory remained just five seconds away from the race lead with the powerful slipstream effect ensuring the gaps remained small throughout the field.
At the end of lap four, Gregory was down to 11th after Ronnie Smith and James Sherrington moved ahead. Rain then started to fall at Snetterton and this played into Ashley’s strengths with her experience, coupled with her skill on low grip surfaces, proving advantageous. As a number of drivers ahead of her skated off the road at Coram, Gregory remained calm and passed seven cars to move into fourth.
Due to the worsening conditions, the safety car was deployed and the race was subsequently red flagged with less than a minute remaining on the clock. Therefore, the results were counted back one lap and this was unfortunate for Gregory who was classified in tenth position despite her exceptional progress in the damp conditions.
Nonetheless, it was a superb opening weekend for Gregory who left Snetterton in second position in the overall standings. During the event, she used her experience to move forward and bank vital points in what is set to be an extremely closely contested championship.
The next round of the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy is set to take place on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, in support of the British Touring Car Championship, on the weekend of 10th/11th May.
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