Maggie Webster made history by becoming the first female driver to secure pole position in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship at Silverstone, showcasing impressive speed throughout the weekend, including a strong recovery drive in race 2.
Maggie Webster made history by becoming the first female driver in the history of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship to claim pole position by doing so in the season finale at Silverstone.
Webster drove superbly in race one and held an overall podium position for the majority of the race before late race contact ended in a retirement. An excellent charge through the field in race two following a first lap spin, resulted in a 12th place overall result before an unfortunate retirement in race three concluded her season.
The second half of the season has been extremely encouraging for Webster who had moved up to 14th place in the overall standings prior to Silverstone. In part, this was down to her excellent finishing record with Maggie classified in all 13 races since the season-opening event at Brands Hatch.
As one of only three drivers to boast this record since round one of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, Webster has been able to maximise her track time and therefore gain valuable knowledge.
The Silverstone International circuit also hosted a non-championship round for the young drivers back in March and therefore Webster was aiming to build upon this experience. Maggie raced smartly across the weekend and finished both races inside the top-10, while securing an excellent sixth-place overall result in race two, while claiming victory in the MK6 class.
Now looking to replicate this result and secure second position in the MK6 class championship standings, Webster was aiming to start the weekend on the front foot in qualifying. Two red flag periods led to a disrupted session, however Maggie remained composed ahead of one final run.
An exceptional lap time saw Webster claim overall pole position by five thousandths of a second and in doing so, becoming the first ever female driver to be on pole in the history of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship.
Following her sensational qualifying lap earlier in the day, Webster lined up on pole position with the track now partially damp in places. Despite the added pressure from starting at the head of the field, Maggie made a brilliant start and held the lead on the run down to the opening turns. Champion-elect Jenson O’Neill-Going then moved ahead with Webster settling into a strong second position.
Jacob Hodgkiss then began to close in and a rough move on the main straight briefly moved Hodgkiss ahead at the start of lap three, before Maggie fought back to reclaim the position.
While Webster and Hodgkiss battled for second position, Alfie Garford was able to close in on the pair and made it a three-way fight. The racing was intense between the trio as Maggie was finding it difficult to break away from her rivals with the powerful slipstream effect. On lap eight, Webster briefly fell to fourth position but after a phenomenal move at Vale corner, she reclaimed the runner-up position.
As the trio continued to fight for position, this brought a second group of drivers into contention and therefore it was a six-way fight for second. With just two laps to go, another robust move from Hodgkiss pushed Webster wide and she lost momentum down the Hangar straight which caused her to lose several positions.
As the drivers exited Vale corner, contact was made between Webster and Thomas Merritt, who received contact himself, which left Maggie with terminal damage to one wheel and forced her to retire from the race. It was an unfortunate end to an exceptional defensive drive where she reached new heights in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship.
After her retirement in race one of the weekend, Webster lined up from the back of the field on Sunday morning with race two grid positions based on the results from the previous day. Maggie made an excellent initial launch off the line, however contact was made between Webster and several other cars into Abbey sent her into a spin. Completing lap one in 22nd position overall, sixth in the MK6 class, Webster was targeting a recovery drive despite her car now carrying some damage.
By the end of lap two, Maggie had capitalised on a number of incidents ahead and gained six positions to move into 16th. Despite the opening lap incident, her early race pace was strong as Webster made sizeable gains on the drivers ahead.
One lap later she was into 13th position overall and with a large gap ahead, she could focus forward despite not being able to utilise the slipstream. After fighting off the challenge of MK7 class driver Jack Sant, Webster set a personal best time and continued to close in on the top-10 drivers.
On lap eight, Webster was the second fastest driver on track and this allowed her to catch Aaron Beattie. A nice move then saw Maggie claim 12th position in the closing stages of the race with a strong recovery drive now seeing her run fourth in the MK6 class.
On the final lap of the race, Webster was once again the second fastest driver and this saw her to take the checkered flag in 12th position overall to complete an excellent charge through the field without the aid of a safety car. Maggie also claimed fourth position in the MK6 class, third if the result of guest driver Oliver Heron was discounted.
Following her superb recovery drive in race two, Webster lined up from 12th position for the season finale. Maggie got an excellent second phase of the start and this allowed her to challenge for a top-10 position during lap one.
As the drivers headed into Vale, Webster made a move on Benjamin Doughty with contact made between the cars. This contact rolled Webster’s Ford Fiesta before the car landed on its wheels. Fortunately, Maggie walked away uninjured but was unable to take any further part in the race.
Despite a tough end to the weekend, it was a breakthrough event for Webster at Silverstone who displayed consistent front-running pace. Her stunning pole position was a landmark achievement as she became the first female driver in the history of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship to claim an overall pole position.
Webster will be looking to carry this momentum into the off-season before starting to make plans ahead of the 2025 campaign.
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