Lydia Walmsley ends challenging Knockhill weekend on a high with top-5 finish

Lydia Walmsley once again showed her tenacity and determination to fight back from a tricky start to the weekend to end the event on a high, as she secured a strong fifth-place finish in the final race of the latest Vertu Mini Challenge round at Knockhill.

Lydia Walmsley showed fantastic determination to end the latest round of the Vertu Mini Challenge with a strong fifth-place result at Knockhill. Starting race one from 11th position, Walmsley took the checkered flag in ninth before contact saw her finish race two in 11th. Nonetheless, she fought back admirably to finish the final race of the event in fifth position, while consistently being the fastest driver on track in the closing stages.

Walmsley enjoyed an excellent previous meeting at Croft where she consistently raced among the leading group of drivers, culminating in a fourth-place finish in race two of the weekend. The determination shown throughout the event saw Lydia take significant steps forward in performance and she was aiming to replicate this at Knockhill.

The Scottish track has proven challenging for Walmsley in the past, however in a season of achieving new milestones she was confident of securing a career best result at the demanding circuit.

After a successful test session in the week leading up to the event, Walmsley and her fellow Vertu Mini Challenge drivers took part in two free practice sessions on Friday. Lydia completed 42 laps across the day and her fastest time, set in session two, placed her inside the top-10. The short nature of the Knockhill circuit often leads to close times throughout the field and this was once again the case with Walmsley just three tenths of a second away from third.

After dry sessions leading into the official race weekend, rain on Saturday morning led to tricky conditions for qualifying at Knockhill. The track was damp and had just dried sufficiently for slick tyres in the early stages of the session, however generating heat into the rubber was set to be a challenge. A fast start to the session was backed-up by consistent lap times to close out qualifying with Walmsley setting the 11th fastest time, just three tenths of a second away from a third row starting spot.

Courtesy of Walmsley’s second fastest time in qualifying, she lined up tenth on the grid for the opening race of the weekend. Lydia made a good start and held her position at the end of lap one, before the drivers closed up significantly during the second lap. Walmsley was running directly behind Marlo Cordell and ran side-by-side with her rival as the racers started lap three. Although unable to complete the pass, Lydia stayed directly behind the JamSport Racing driver and applied significant pressure.

On lap six, an issue for Nathan Edwards elevated Walmsley to ninth position and this was followed by Lydia setting her fastest lap of the race. At this point of the race, she was faster than the drivers ahead and was looking to clear Cordell in order to push towards the top-5.

Completing the overtake on her rival was challenging and although running side-by-side with the two-time podium finisher on several occasions, gaining the advantage into turn one was difficult. Walmsley’s speed through the middle sector was particularly strong and she was aiming to use this to good effect as she gained a slipstream into Taylor’s Hairpin.

Into the closing stages of the race, a pitstop for Nelson King promoted Lydia into eighth position and she continued to run just a quarter of a second behind Cordell. Josh Porter was also remaining in close proximity to Walmsley and Cordell and looking to mount a late challenge. As the JamSport Racing driver defended smartly on the final lap, Porter was able to pass Walmsley at the final corner with Lydia taking the checkered flag in ninth position.

The grid positions for race two were based on the results of race one, with a reversal at the head of the field, meaning Walmsley lined up from ninth position. Lydia made a good start and moved ahead of Josh Porter on the opening lap while a recovering Nelson King and Nathan Edwards duelled for position behind. On lap two, Walmsley received contact through the middle sector which saw her drop to the rear of the field and therefore a recovery drive would be needed in order to secure a strong finish.

Firstly, Lydia had to make her way ahead of the six drivers running in the JCW Sport division with Chris Mackenzie the first driver to overtake. Walmsley was doing a good job to pass one car each lap and after an overtake on Hannah Chapman, she was up to 14th overall. By lap 13, Lydia had cleared the final JCW Sport machine of Dylan Hotchin and now had a clear track in front of her.

Walmsley’s speed in clear air was exceptional, regularly lapping faster than those inside the top-5 overall. Now running in 12th position, Lydia had the chance to make up positions in the closing stages with Nelson King receiving a significant time penalty for track limits and therefore Walmsley would need to run fast lap times to bridge the gap to the Laser Tools Racing driver.

Also catching debutant Gerry Hendry, Lydia had the chance to finish inside the top-10 despite the early race setback. Coming within just two tenths of a second of passing Hendry, Walmsley’s final laps were fast enough to pass King’s eventual race time and secure 11th position in race two of the weekend.

Looking to end the weekend on a high, Walmsley started the final race of the event from 11th on the grid and enjoyed one of her best opening laps to date. Gaining four position to start lap two in seventh, Lydia was on the charge and was the third fastest driver on track by the conclusion of lap four. This saw her pull clear of Josh Porter and close in on Lewis Selby who was battling hard for positions inside the top-5.

On lap nine, Lydia enjoyed a fantastic run out of Taylor’s Hairpin and drew level with Selby entering Duffus Dip. Holding the inside line, Walmsley cleared Selby through Leslies and was up into sixth position.

Her pace remained exceptional in the middle portion of the race as she broke away from Porter and set a number of consistent lap times. As the top-5 drivers battled for position, Lydia was the fastest driver on track in the closing stages and took the checkered flag just three seconds behind race-winner Nathan Edwards to end an excellent third race of the weekend in sixth position, later promoted to fifth following a penalty for Marlo Cordell.

Walmsley once again showed her tenacity and determination to fight back from a tricky start to the weekend to end the event on a high. The highlight of Lydia’s weekend came in race three where she charged through from 11th on the grid to finish in sixth position, narrowly missing out on the podium.

Comfortably holding a position within the top-10 of the championship, Walmsley will be looking to end the season on a high when the Vertu Mini Challenge season comes to a close at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 5th/6th October.