Jade Goodwin takes step forward in sophomore Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge season

Jade Goodwin wrapped up a successful partial season in the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge with a strong run at the Oulton Park finale, showing steady improvement and consistently competing within the midfield despite missing rounds and facing challenges throughout the year. Here's a season summary.

Photo credits: James Roberts Photography

Jade Goodwin continued her progress in the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge with a strong performance in the season finale at Oulton Park. Goodwin returned to the championship in which she made her debut last year, once again completing a partial season.

Driving for SBR Motorsport, Jade secured her first ever top-10 finish at Croft while consistently challenging for positions within the midfield. Despite an expanded grid of drivers for the season finale, Goodwin drove well to secure a best result of 14th coming in race two.

Goodwin made her debut in the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge in 2023 where she completed a partial-campaign. It was an encouraging transition from karting to circuit racing as Jade banked vital experience at some of the most iconic circuits in the country. Her best result came on the Oulton Park Island circuit where she finished in 11th position while adapting to the skills required to drive in front-wheel drive machinery.

For 2024, Goodwin returned to the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge for a second partial campaign alongside established team SBR Motorsport. Goodwin has supplemented her car racing season with another successful karting programme as she continues to display both speed and versatility. Entering the final round of the championship sitting 17th in the standings, despite missing one round altogether, Jade was aiming to end the campaign on a high.

The season began at Brands Hatch in April where the drivers tackled the Indy circuit. Goodwin qualified a solid 15th on her return to the series and a strong race one saw her finish in 13th, already lapping faster than she did in qualifying. An unfortunate retirement in race two was caused by a trip to the gravel after running over fluid from a competitor, before a safety-car interrupted final race resulted in a 19th place finish.

Photo credits: James Roberts Photography

For the second round of the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge season, the drivers took the trip north to Croft in Yorkshire. Qualifying was held in tricky conditions with a drying track and Jade set the 20th quickest time. However, she continued to gain in confidence during the races and this saw her gain six positions in race one to finish in 14th.

In race two, Goodwin secured her first ever top-10 result in the series with a smart drive in which she maximised her potential, before an unfortunate incident in race three led to a retirement.

An expanded field of 26 drivers headed to Wales for round three of the season which took place at Anglesey. Goodwin secured her best starting position of the season in qualifying by setting the 13th fastest time as she established herself as a consistent midfield contender. In race one, Jade was caught up in a multi-car incident which resulted in a retirement.

After excellent work from the SBR Motorsport team, Goodwin was able to line up for race two and finish in 19th position to bank valuable championship points despite managing a hand injury following the earlier incident.

After missing the fourth round of the championship at Oulton Park, Goodwin returned to the grid for her first ever trip to the technical Cadwell Park circuit. Despite having never driven the tight and twisty circuit prior to Friday’s test session, Goodwin enjoyed a great weekend. Jade qualified 15th, before making good progress in race one to finish in 11th position.

In race two, she also finished 11th and after taking the checkered flag 12th in race three, Goodwin left Cadwell Park having banked her largest haul of Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge points in her career to date.

Photo credits: James Roberts Photography

Donington Park hosted the penultimate round of the championship and although overcoming some challenges prior to the weekend, Goodwin qualified in a solid 16th position.

Despite fighting some small technical issues in race one, Jade was still able to continue her good run of form by taking the checkered flag in 13th position. A second strong result looked on the cards in race two, before the race was abandoned due to heavy rain and deteriorating light.

Goodwin therefore arrived at Oulton Park aiming to finish her season on a high and emulate her superb weekend at the Cheshire circuit from 2023. Despite not racing alongside her Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge rivals at Oulton Park earlier this season, Jade remained confident of a strong end to the campaign.

Qualifying at Oulton Park took place on Saturday morning with an expanded field of Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge drivers including British Touring Car Championship star Mikey Doble. Conditions were challenging with a wet track leading to lap time improvements coming throughout the session. At the end of qualifying, Goodwin had set the 23rd fastest time and was therefore targeting improvements during the two races.

The track was drier for the first race of the weekend with Goodwin lining up from 23rd position. It was an excellent start for Jade as she gained four positions on the opening lap to move up to 19th, before the safety car was deployed for an incident involving Dillon Davis. As the race restarted, Goodwin was shuffled back in a midfield battle and fell to 22nd position at the end of lap three, before she mounted a good comeback drive.

On lap four, she was able to pass both Ron Loffstadt and Neil Marsh before setting a personal best time. Goodwin was now faster than the next five cars ahead and although time was running out, she was still able to make some late moves. As she caught Graham Malam, Jade used her momentum to pass her rival and therefore she was able to take the checkered flag in 19th position at Oulton Park.

Photo credits: James Roberts Photography

For the season finale, track conditions were almost fully dry with Goodwin lining up from 19th after her race one result. Jade made a good start and gained one position on the first lap, while showing great pace in the initial stages. The safety car was then deployed with the restart coming with just five minutes remaining.

Goodwin was determined to finish her season on a high and she was able to pass Andrew Ward on the restart lap before running side-by-side with Dan Wyke. Jade cleared Wyke on lap six, while also passing Mac McCarthy to move inside the top-15 for the first time all weekend. Her progress did not stop there as a final lap overtake on Antony Sullivan saw Jade end the campaign with a strong 14th place result, while finishing inside the top half of a highly competitive field.

It was a great end to the weekend for Goodwin who raced confidently in the midfield at Oulton Park, despite missing the first round at the circuit earlier in the year. Jade has taken a step forward from 2023 and has overcome challenges during the campaign which saw her compete well against more experienced drivers.

She will now be aiming to put together a programme for the 2025 season and continue her upward trajectory.