Gracie Mitchell showcases speed and adaptability in Fun Cup Championship

Gracie Mitchell concluded her first Fun Cup Championship season with two solid finishes at Oulton Park, showcasing adaptability and progress alongside multiple teammates in her debut year in circuit racing. Here's a season summary of her rookie campaign.

Photo credits: Gracie Mitchell Racing

Gracie Mitchell completed her debut campaign in the Fun Cup Championship with an encouraging performance in the season finale at Oulton Park. Racing with her sixth different teammate in 2024 while competing for the GMR/Eco team, Mitchell and debutant Will Antrobus secured two 17th place finishes in a field of drivers including champions from both the British Touring Car Championship and the British GT Championship.

After making her circuit racing debut in the final round of the 2023 Fun Cup Championship, Mitchell has enjoyed an excellent season of car racing in 2024. Along with her commitments in the single-make endurance series, Gracie stood on the podium in her first appearance in the Ginetta GT Championship. Mitchell impressed despite the significant step-up in performance as she adapted superbly in changeable conditions at Donington Park.

However, endurance racing has sat at the core of Gracie’s plans and she also has been able develop her skills alongside Dragon Sport in the Silverlake C1 Endurance Series. After securing a top-30 finish in a grid of over 50 cars at Donington Park, Mitchell secured an exceptional top-15 result in a three-hour event at Silverstone in September. In partnership with Amigo Motorsport, Gracie and teammates Matt Hyde and Oran Hickinson were consistently challenging for a top-10 result.

Mitchell’s main programme has remained in the Fun Cup Championship where she has competed in five of the seven events throughout the season, alongside six different teammates. Prior to the season finale at Oulton Park, Gracie had finished all but one race inside the top-15 overall and banked vital knowledge by gaining significant competitive track time.

In her circuit racing debut at Oulton Park last year, Mitchell displayed significant promise and secured a best result of 13th across the two races. The Cheshire circuit also played host to the opening round of the 2024 season where she teamed up with Rob Croydon in the four-hour race.

Photo credits: Gracie Mitchell Racing

After qualifying in 14th position, the GMR/Eco teammates were drawn to start from the second row of the grid with the unique format of the Fun Cup Championship seeing grid positions decided by a random draw. The pair raced consistently to finish in 18th position overall, tenth in the Masters class, with Croydon ensuring the team were eligible for this award.

Continuing her partnership with Croydon, Mitchell arrived at Croft targeting strong results at her home race. A season’s best qualifying performance saw the pair set the ninth fastest time, fourth in the Masters class, before being drawn to start in 20th position for the first race which was one-hour in duration. A fantastic drive from the GMR/Eco duo saw Mitchell and Croydon take the checkered flag in tenth position, while securing a top-5 Masters class result.

The second of two races at Croft was a longer three-hour endurance contest and after once again being drawn to start towards the rear of the field, the pair produced a strong performance in the race. It was a weekend where Mitchell and Croydon maximised their results and ending the weekend in 13th position, seventh in the Masters class, displaying a solid return in just their second event together.

Mitchell elected not to enter the next two rounds of the Fun Cup Championship which took place at Anglesey and Snetterton respectively. Mitchell spent this time both preparing for her debut in the Silverlake C1 Endurance Series, while also travelling to Le Mans to race in an endurance karting event in which she finished second in class with Teesside Karting.

Round five of the Fun Cup Championship was held on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit with Gracie teaming up with brothers Ed and Chris Bridle. The Bridle brothers had prior experience in much faster Praga machinery and were aiming to utilising their endurance racing knowledge to assist Mitchell in the four-hour race.

After qualifying in 18th position, just over a second away from pole position, the GMR/Eco team were drawn to start from ninth position. It was a solid and consistent race for the new partnership who finished a season’s high eighth in a competitive grid of drivers.

Photo credits: Gracie Mitchell Racing

Donington Park hosted the penultimate round of the championship with 27 cars entered in the Fun Cup Championship. Mitchell raced alongside John Perriott and Nickolas Ellis, the latter of which had experience in single seaters. In a three-hour race, the team finished in a credible 13th position while securing an impressive lead lap finish and coming within one second of matching the overall fastest lap of the race.

For the season finale at Oulton Park, Mitchell would be joined by another new teammate, Will Antrobus. The sixteen-year-old driver has a successful background in karting and was making his circuit racing debut driving for GMR/Eco. The weekend format at Oulton Park saw a qualifying session followed by two races, the first of which was one-hour in length, followed before a three-hour race to close out the campaign.

Qualifying took place on Saturday morning and the Fun Cup Championship grid was arguably the strongest in recent years. Entries included British Touring Car Champion Jake Hill, together with stars of GT racing including Phil Keen, Ian Loggie, Marcus Clutton and Johnny Mowlem. However, low visibility conditions meant the qualifying session ran behind the safety car to ensure all drivers could get sighting laps ahead of the two scheduled races.

Conditions had improved for the first race of the day which was a one-hour contest with two mandatory pitstops. Damp conditions remained and Mitchell and Antrobus were drawn to start from tenth position with Gracie getting behind the wheel for the opening stint.

Mitchell made a great start and moved up to eighth position at the end of the opening lap, before the safety car was deployed as the Fun Cup Tifosi machine was stranded in the gravel. Before the intervention, Gracie had moved up into seventh position and was dealing superbly with the tough conditions.

Mitchell made a great restart and held her position well, before the safety car was deployed for a second time after the JPR KL Racing car spun and required recovery. The first pit window opened during the safety car period, however the race was red flagged as Ian Loggie had damaged the barrier. The race resumed behind the safety car and Gracie peeled into the pits to hand over to Will Antrobus for his first ever car racing stint.

With such a busy pit lane, it was a tough stop for the GMR/Eco team and following the pit cycle, Antrobus remained inside the top-20 and was improving his lap times as the track continued to dry. Antrobus was displaying excellent pace and was inside the top-15 before making the final stop of the race.

A quick final stop saw the GMR/Eco duo in a good position for the final ten minutes of the race, before a stop and go penalty halted their progress. At the end of the opening one-hour race, Mitchell and Antrobus finished in 17th position in an extremely competitive field.

Photo credits: Mat Acton Photography

For the three-hour season finale, Mitchell and Antrobus were drawn to start from 14th position at Oulton Park. Gracie started the GMR/Eco machine and although she fell outside the top-20, Mitchell avoided contact as the race entered an early safety car period. As soon as the pit window opened, Mitchell pitted to hand over to Antrobus as they remained on strategy with the majority of the field.

It was a stint of progression for the GMR/Eco team who moved back inside the top-20 and began challenging the top-15 competitors. The second stop for the duo came after 25 laps and with just under two hours of the race remaining. Following the pit cycle, the pair of young drivers ran in 18th position and continued their consistent run while duelling with the Wave 9 squad.

The third stop of the race was made with 80 minutes remaining and this came just as the GMR/Eco team were set to fall a lap down. As the final hour began, the duo were in 17th position and targeting a late rally to a top-15 finish. Further consistent laps from the pair saw them take the checkered flag in 17th position to round-off a good day of progress for both Mitchell and Antrobus.

Gracie ended her Fun Cup Championship season with two solid races at Oulton Park as she banked further valuable experience. The range of teammates she has driven with has shown both her versatility and adaptability despite competing in just her first ever circuit racing season. Mitchell will now be looking ahead to the 2025 season where she aims to develop her skills and continue her journey in endurance racing.