Megan Bruce claims runner-up finish on return to Caterham competition at Knockhill

Returning to the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship at Knockhill, Megan Bruce achieved her first 2024 podium with a thrilling comeback drive from 14th to 2nd in race two, followed by a promising run in race three, showcasing her impressive racecraft across two different track layouts.

Returning to the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship at Knockhill, Megan Bruce stood on the podium for the first time in 2024. Competing on two separate layout across the course of the weekend at Knockhill, Megan qualified third before a technical issue prevented a strong finish in race one.

Racing on the anti-clockwise layout on Sunday, Bruce charged through from 14th on the grid to finish second in race two, before leading a lap in race three on her way to a 13th place result.

Together with competing in the GB4 Championship, Bruce has continued to race in the highly competitive Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship in 2024. After a tough start to the season at Snetterton, Bruce bounced back at Silverstone where she qualified inside the top-5, before securing a pair of top-10 results in a 40-car field while setting the overall fastest lap in race one.

Due to her commitments in the GB4 Championship, Megan missed round three at Cadwell Park but was looking to carry forward her momentum from a positive single-seater outing at Silverstone into round four at Knockhill.

Knockhill was set to pose a greater challenge to the drivers than a regular race meeting, with track action on Saturday and Sunday taking place over two different layouts. Saturday’s action featured qualifying and race one on the conventional clockwise layout, before the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship racers would switch to the anti-clockwise layout on Sunday. A morning practice session allowed drivers to familiarise themselves with the different circuit, before two races took place during the afternoon.

Qualifying on Saturday morning took place in good conditions with Bruce immediately setting a number of overall best sectors. She continued to improve her times throughout the twenty-minute session, completing 20 laps with a best time of 58.098. This placed Megan third on the grid, just one tenth of a second away from a front row starting position.

Lining up from the second row of the grid, it was a tough opening lap for Bruce who experienced gearbox issues which saw her fall to 20th at the end of the first tour.

Nonetheless, Megan was able to slowly regain speed and began fighting back in order to secure a strong result. After Rrutuj Patki fell to rear of the field, Bruce was up to 19th before overtaking Gary Cross on lap four. Moving ahead of Robert Lowe for 17th on lap five, Bruce was showing the speed which saw her qualify at the front of the field.

After passing Oliver Kibblewhite, Bruce set a personal best time on lap six and came within a few hundredths of a second of claiming the fastest lap of the race as she gained on Benja Hedley. On lap nine, Megan was into the top-15 following a nice move on Hedley before she set a series of consistent times.

Now in a close midfield battle, Bruce overtook Andrew Bailey before breaking away from this group along with a recovering Patki. Bruce and Patki enjoyed a fantastic battle in the closing stages with the two rivals displaying frontrunning pace. Megan was able to come out on top to secure a 14th place result and complete a nice recovery in the opening race of the weekend.

Sunday morning saw the drivers tackle the anti-clockwise layout of Knockhill with just ten minutes of running to familiarise themselves with the circuit. Despite an early trip to the pits during the first half of the session, Bruce set the seventh fastest time and would therefore be looking to make progress in the two remaining races.

After a promising practice session to start the day, Bruce was looking to fight back in race two of the weekend. Megan lined up from 14th on the grid following her race one result and immediately moved forward, ending lap one in tenth position while setting the fastest final sector of any driver.

Two more positions were gained by Bruce on lap two as she overtook both Harvey Lawrence and James Emson. The strong slipstreaming effect of the cars on the anti-clockwise layout meant that Megan remained in contention with the leaders in the early stages of the race.

Continuing her progress on lap four, Bruce made a nice move on Rob Kennerley while also setting the overall fastest lap of the race. After passing Craig Boyle, Megan immediately caught Toby Ballard and following an overtake on lap seven, Bruce set another fastest lap. She was now making steady progress towards the podium positions and by the halfway point of the race, Bruce was just one second away from the race lead.

After overtaking Nick Bryant on lap 11, Megan was up to fourth position and was now battling for the lead. The top-5 drivers were now engaged in a fantastic fight for position with Bruce into a provisional podium spot by the end of lap 15.

The final five laps were a superb advert for Caterham racing with Bruce, along with Ryan Wilby, Ben Timmons and Nick Bryant all in contention for the race victory. Running in third with one lap remaining, Megan overtook Timmons at the first corner and took the checkered flag in second position to complete a remarkable comeback at Knockhill.

Bruce lined up second on the grid after her excellent race two result and was aiming for another podium finish to close out the weekend. At the end of the first lap, Megan fell behind Ben Timmons but immediately set the fastest first sector of the race to begin lap two. The top three drivers were running nose-to-tail and the slipstreaming effect was proving powerful as the leading drivers were unable to break away from the chasing pack.

On lap four, Bruce successfully repelled a challenge from Ryan Wilby before turning her attentions to lead driver Timmons. Briefly moving ahead of her rival on lap seven, the pair often ran side-by-side as they exchanged top position.

Building up a significant amount of momentum, Bruce led her first lap as the halfway point was reached and there was still nothing to separate the frontrunning drivers. After falling back to second position on lap ten, Wilby closed in once more and completed the pass to take away the runner-up spot.

On lap 13, Megan had a solo spin while fighting for position and this dropped her down to 14th position. After Robert Lowe found the gravel trap, the safety car was deployed and good work from the marshals allowed the race to be restarted with Bruce in 13th position. Just one lap was remaining and the racing was close which prevented her from making any further progress, however it was an extremely positive weekend on Bruce’s return to the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship.

Megan enjoyed a thrilling weekend of racing at Knockhill as she successfully tackled two track layouts over one weekend. A sensational comeback drive in race two resulted in a runner-up finish and she was set for a second podium result of the day before an off-track moment dropped her down the order.

Nonetheless, she gained valuable experience while displaying her racecraft and she will be looking to carry this forward into the next round of the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship which takes place at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 31st August/1st September.