Megan Bruce concluded her 2024 season with an outstanding performance at Donington Park, securing four podium finishes out of five races across two Caterham racing series, including a remarkable charge from 28th to third, gaining 25 positions in the 20-minute race.
Megan Bruce enjoyed a superb final weekend of the 2024 season as she competed in two separate Caterham racing series at Donington Park. Alongside her regular appearance in the Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship, Bruce joined the SIM Motorsport Caterham Graduates Championship – Sigma 135 grid.
Megan finished on the podium in four out of the five races across both series, claiming three runner-up finishes. However, a particular highlight came in race two of the Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship where she finished in third position after starting from 28th on the grid, gaining 25 positions in the twenty-minute race without the aid of a safety car intervention.
After finishing her single seater campaign in the GB4 Championship with nine top-10 finishes and zero retirements, Bruce was aiming to end her 2024 season on a high. It was set to be a bumper weekend of action for Megan who was entered to compete in both the SIM Motorsport Caterham Graduates Championship – Sigma 135 and the Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship.
It is the latter of which Bruce has spent the majority of the season racing in, with the young driver a consistent frontrunner in grids which have often reached 30 cars.
Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship
By competing in both series at Donington Park, Bruce would take part in five races across the weekend with qualifying for the Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship her first session of the weekend. Conditions were treacherous with the track extremely wet and all drivers taking care on their initial laps. Bruce was consistently one of the fastest drivers in the opening stages before ending the session in a strong third place.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with track conditions now predominantly dry. Bruce made a good initial start and was challenging for the lead, before an incident in the midfield saw the red flag displayed and the race stopped prior to one lap being completed. A swift cleanup job saw the race restarted for the full distance of twenty-minutes at Donington Park. At the conclusion of lap one of the restart, Bruce was in fourth position with the top-5 drivers already trying to break clear of the field.
On lap four, an off-track moment for second-place driver Ben Wheatley promoted Megan to third position with the top-3 drivers now forming a sizeable gap over the chasing pack. After passing Adam Keene one lap later, Bruce set the overall fastest lap of the race by a margin of almost half a second.
During the middle portion of the race, Megan enjoyed a thrilling battle with Keene as the drivers traded the runner-up position on multiple occasions, while ensuring racer leader Charlie Lower did not break away.
The racing remained intense between Bruce and Keene as the race entered the final five minutes, with Lower opening out a gap of one second. Misfortune then struck with three minutes to go as Megan’s car suffered a broken radius arm and was crabbing down the main straight. This forced her to retire from the race from a strong position after the leading trio had opened up a margin of over ten seconds ahead of the chasing pack.
After her unfortunate retirement in race one of the weekend, Bruce started the second race of the weekend from the rear of the field with grid positions based on the previous race results. Conditions were wet on Sunday morning, although there was little spray from the Caterham machines. Bruce avoided a multi-car incident ahead and gained eight positions on lap one, before the race was red flagged in order for the marshals to recover the stricken cars.
A full restart was required with Bruce once again lining up from 28th position. The young driver produced an exceptional restart in which she gained 16 positions in a single lap to move up to 12th position.
After overtaking Matt Larbey, Nick Bryant and Craig Boyle on lap two, Bruce was up to ninth position with her progress showing no signs of stopping. Her speed in the challenging conditions was superb as she often matched the leading drivers while completing multiple overtakes. Bruce was in seventh position at the end of lap three with two further moves on Daniel Hope and Ryan Wilby.
Following a move on Toby Boyes, Bruce now had a sizeable gap ahead and without the aid of a slipstream, bridging the deficit would be tough. Nonetheless, she pushed hard to break away from the group of drivers behind and after Adam Keene went off the track on lap seven, Megan was into the top-5. Although the leading two drivers had formed a considerable gap at the head of the field, an unlikely podium was still a realistic possibility despite starting from 28th on the grid.
On lap nine, Bruce capitalised on a mistake from Rob Kennerley to move into fourth position. Stephen Merritt was now ahead and Bruce quickly closed the gap for the final step on the podium. A nice move saw Megan claim third position on lap 10 and she was even able to break away in the closing stages to take the checkered flag in third position, a remarkable effort from the 14th row of the grid in just a twenty-minute race.
For the final race of the Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship season, Bruce lined up from third position. The sun was now out at Donington Park, although the track remained damp and therefore setup choices were tough.
Bruce made a good initial start and held her position through the opening turns with overtaking opportunities difficult on cold tyres due to a drier racing line. Nonetheless, she was able to pass Ben Wheatley during the second half of the first lap to move into the runner-up spot.
In pursuit of the race leader, Bruce set the fastest lap of the race on lap two and was battling Charlie Lower for the race lead. A further fastest lap saw the leading drivers break clear of the chasing pack, with Megan taking the lead on lap four.
The first three drivers now had a small cushion and this allowed them to fight for position without compromising their provisional podium places. On lap five, Lower ran wide out of the Old Hairpin and this dropped him out of the leading group with Ryan Wilby closing the gap to Bruce and Wheatley.
On lap six, Megan reclaimed the lead before the safety car was deployed after a car was beached in the gravel. The restart came with three laps remaining and Bruce was unable to retain the lead after Wheatley utilised the powerful slipstream. Bruce began the final lap of the race in second position and was closing on Wheatley until a lapped car stalled her momentum.
Therefore, Megan ended the Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship season with an excellent second place result as she secured back-to-back podium finishes.
SIM Motorsport Caterham Graduates Championship – Sigma 135
Qualifying for the SIM Motorsport Caterham Graduates Championship – Sigma 135 machines took place on Saturday afternoon. This specification of this Caterham race car was slightly different and therefore Bruce had to adapt to the change in performance. The track was damp but beginning to dry and this posed tricky conditions for qualifying.
Nonetheless, Bruce was setting an exceptional pace and held provisional pole position for the majority of the session. Following a red flag and a six-minute restart, the majority of the drivers improved their times with Bruce’s final effort sealing her a stunning pole position at Donington Park.
Bruce’s first race in the SIM Motorsport Caterham Graduates Championship – Sigma 135 class took place on Saturday morning with wet conditions at Donington Park. Megan lined up from pole position and made a confident start as she launched off the line and maintained the lead.
Ending lap one in first position, the top-3 drivers immediately broke away with Bruce’s rival from the Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship, Adam Keene, moving ahead on lap two. Jamie Ellwood also remained in contention and had worked hard to break the slipstream from the group behind.
On lap four, Megan set the fastest lap of the race and with a ten second penalty now assessed to Keene for a false start, it came down to Bruce and Ellwood for the race win. Nonetheless, Keene continued to battle hard and he traded the on-track lead with Bruce on a number of occasions during the middle portion of the race. Lapped traffic was now playing a part and negotiating the slower cars in treacherous conditions was a challenge.
Into the second half of the race, the leading trio had opened up a gap of almost ten seconds on the chasing pack and this was allowing them to battle for position without losing too much time. On lap 11, a group of slower drivers caused the top-3 drivers to close up with Keene having an off-track moment which dropped him out of the fight.
On the penultimate lap, a personal best time saw Bruce’s lead grow to a second over Ellwood, however he remained within slipstream range. A fantastic battle on the final lap saw Ellwood claim the victory at the final turn with Bruce crossing the line in a strong second position.
The final race of the weekend was race two for the SIM Motorsport Caterham Graduates Championship – Sigma 135 drivers. Grid positions were based on the second fastest times set in Saturday’s qualifying session and this saw Bruce line up from third. Track conditions had improved from than earlier in the day with a dry line now forming.
Megan made a good initial start and covered the dry line into the opening turns. As the first lap unfolded, she was shuffled down to sixth position but she knew she had the pace to regain lost positions.
On lap two, Bruce was already on the move as she overtook Simon Arnold with the first seven drivers already breaking clear. Megan settled into fifth before passing James Hapgood on lap five while setting the fastest lap of the race by a margin of half a second.
This speed drew her closer to the leading drivers and two laps later she overtook both Thomas Gunter and Adam Keene. The pace at the front of the field was fast and now the leading quartet had broken the slipstream to the drivers behind.
On lap nine, Bruce hit the front for the first time as she overtook Giles Derry with the top-4 drivers now engaged in a thrilling battle. After Derry reclaimed the lead, lapped traffic played a significant role in the outcome of the race. Heading into the final chicane on lap 12, Derry was caught out by a slower car and Bruce capitalised by claiming the lead with the drivers in third and fourth now significantly delayed.
Derry remained within slipstream range and regained the lead heading into the final minutes. As Megan was poised to make a move, the race ended prematurely with the red flag displayed and thus Bruce claimed her third runner-up finish of the weekend.
It was an excellent season finale for Bruce who adapted well to the two different series she competed in. Despite a retirement in race one of the Mission Motorsport Caterham Seven 270R Championship, a sensational drive saw Bruce charge through from 28th on the grid to finish in third without a safety car intervention.
Three further podium finishes followed and Bruce was extremely unfortunate not to claim a victory at Donington Park as she displayed both speed and racecraft to close out the season.
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