Porsche Boxster Cup: Eva Nolan makes impressive debut, Faye Noble-Evans suffers misfortune at Silverstone
- LIAM REDFORD
- 4 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Racing rookie Eva Nolan made an impressive start to her motorsport career as she adapted superbly to changing conditions in the opening round of the Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup at Silverstone, where she drove from 19th to ninth in changeable conditions. Faye Noble-Evans experienced a challenging return to the series as contact from a competitor hampered her weekend.
Racing rookie Eva Nolan made an impressive start to her motorsport career as she adapted superbly to changing conditions in the opening round of the Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup at Silverstone. The highlight of Nolan’s weekend came in race one where she drove from 19th to ninth in a race which saw changeable conditions throughout.
Ultimately taking the chequered flag in 12th position, Nolan enjoyed a number of close battles during race one, before finishing 18th in a dry race two. Faye Noble-Evans experienced a challenging return to the series as the former podium finisher retired from both races following a contact from a competitor and subsequent technical issues in race 2.
The Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup provides a great entry-point into Porsche Motorsport and has seen high levels of female participation in recent years. Faye Noble-Evans has been a consistent front-runner in the championship and returns to the series targeting more silverware in 2025. Noble-Evans finished eighth in the overall standings last season in an expanded grid, despite missing one round. In 2023, Noble-Evans secured a third-place finish with consistency being the key to her success.
Joining Noble-Evans in 2025 was newcomer Eva Nolan who lined up on the Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup as a racing rookie. For Nolan, she was targeting continued progress throughout the campaign as she adapted to the challenges of the one-make championship.
For the upcoming season, the Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup retained its effective format of a single qualifying session, followed by two twenty-five-minute races taking place the same day. The highlight of the campaign will be an event held on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in August, however the championship also visits iconic venues such as Brands Hatch and Donington Park.
The season began with two races on the Silverstone National circuit, a perfect venue for rookies and veterans alike. Silverstone did not feature on the 2024 calendar and the National layout has not been utilised by the championship in its current era. Therefore, this provided good opportunities for all the drivers to begin their season on the front foot.
Conditions were challenging for qualifying on Saturday morning with a damp track at Silverstone. Both Noble-Evans and Nolan built up their confidence in the car and by the halfway point of the session, Noble-Evans was inside the top-5, while Nolan had set the 18th quickest time.
With conditions improving during the second half of the session, all drivers continued to set faster laps. At the end of qualifying, Noble-Evans had set a time which placed her in 12th, while Nolan enjoyed a clean session to finish 19th in her debut session in the Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup.
For the opening race of the weekend, conditions remained challenging with a damp track at Silverstone. Lining up from 12th on the grid, Noble-Evans made a good getaway and held her position on the first lap, while Nolan fell one place to 20th after starting from 19th position. Misfortune then struck for Noble-Evans on lap two as she was spun and received damage to her car. Faye was able to return to the paddock under her own power, however she was forced to retire from the race.
Despite the difficult conditions, Nolan was enjoying her debut race as she moved into the top-15 at the end of lap two. After overtaking Simon Dye on lap three and Craig Horvath on lap four, she was up to 13th and was now the sixth fastest driver on track. As she learnt with every lap, Nolan’s confidence grew and this allowed her to apply pressure to series veteran Eric Bridges ahead.
Following a spin for Tony Levy on lap seven, Nolan was now into 12th position and lapping faster than the drivers ahead. A recovering Ben Grewcock then made his way through, however Nolan settled in behind and gained further knowledge from the regular series frontrunner. As the race passed the halfway stage, the rain started to intensify and all the drivers were searching for grip.
Nolan was soon back into 12th position after Brenden Haffner retired with a technical issue. Her position improved further following a moment for Bridges with Eva continuing to thrive in the challenging conditions. On lap 15, she overtook Paul Andrew and now she was the fastest driver on track, an incredible achievement in her debut race.
Nolan was also able to re-pass Grewcock to move into a high position of ninth, before she fell to 12th after the chasing group of drivers moved ahead. Taking the chequered flag in 12th position, it was an excellent race for Nolan who adapted superbly to ever-changing conditions.
For the second race of the weekend, the weather had improved and track conditions were dry. However, with no dry running earlier in the day, it would be a challenge for the drivers to adapt to the increased grip and faster speeds. The grid positions were set by the second fastest times from qualifying and this meant Noble-Evans started from 12th, while Nolan lined up from 19th.
It was a challenging start for both drivers as Noble-Evans continued to battle a technical issue resulting from earlier damage, with the car losing third gear – while Nolan ran wide at Maggotts on cold tyres. Noble-Evans was able to pit and rejoined the race a lap down, while Nolan remained on the lead lap in 18th position.
Following her unscheduled stop, Noble-Evans immediately set her fastest times of the event and had settled into a consistent pace. Nolan was also adapting well and although she was unable to bridge the deficit to the drivers ahead, she was pulling away from David Hussey behind her.
On lap seven, Noble-Evans visited the pits for a second time and with the gearbox issue ultimately preventing her from showcasing her potential, she was unfortunately forced to retire from the race. Nolan, meanwhile, was continuing to make small improvements and with Matthew Shears now ahead following a spin, she was aiming to close the gap to her rival.
Into the middle portion of the race, Nolan had the extra challenge of managing faster cars moving ahead. Eva drove smartly and after tucking in behind some of the more experienced racers, she was able to significantly improve her lap times. On lap 19, she set a time of a 1:09.688 which was over a second quicker than her previous best lap. As a result, she began closing in on the drivers ahead with just five minutes remaining.
Nolan continued to lap within one second of her best in the final stages of the race as her confidence in dry conditions grew. Taking the checkered flag in 18th position, Nolan ended her debut event positively as she continued to learn as conditions changed. Nolan will be aiming to continue this momentum, while Noble-Evans will be looking to bounce back, when the Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup returns at Anglesey on Saturday 10th May.
