Rachel Robertson impresses on Finecut Radical Cup UK Championship debut

Stepping up from karting into the Finecut Radical Cup UK Championship, eighteen-year-old Scottish racer Rachel Robertson secured three top-5 finishes at Donington Park, as she challenged for podium finishes throughout the weekend and banked valuable experience in her debut in the series.

Photo credits: Radical UK

Stepping up from karting into the Finecut Radical Cup UK Championship, eighteen-year-old Scottish racer Rachel Robertson secured three top-5 finishes at Donington Park.

Driving for Radical Racing Rebels, Robertson challenged for podium finishes throughout the weekend as she finished less than half a second away from third position in the fifty-minute endurance race. Battling with Radical veteran John McLeod for much of the weekend, Robertson banked valuable experience in her debut meeting in the series.

Robertson entered the weekend as a circuit racing rookie having been selected to join Radical Racing Rebels for 2025. The young racer was victorious in a six-driver shootout held at Bedford Autodrome last autumn. Robertson impressed the judges with her on and off-track contributions and this achievement also secured her a place as a Wera Alliance Racing driver and ambassador.

Competing in a Radical SR3 XXR machine in the top level of Radical competition in Britain, Robertson is aiming to make consistent improvements in her debut season. The 2025 calendar features six events, including a trip Zandvoort in the Netherlands in July and an appearance at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in August. For the opening round at Donington Park, the race weekend consisted of two sprint races, followed by a fifty-minute endurance event featuring a mandatory pit stop.

On-track action began on Saturday with a twenty-five-minute qualifying session. Robertson immediately showed good performance and was running inside the overall top-5. Two red flag periods during the second half of the session made improvements difficult, however Rachel ended her first qualifying session in the Finecut Radical Cup UK Championship in fifth place, less than a second away from the front row.

Photo credits: Radical UK

For the first sprint race of the weekend, Robertson lined up from fourth position after the development car of James Pinkerton started from the pit lane. The Radical Racing Rebels driver did a nice job to avoid an opening corner spin for teammate Hamish Forrest and this incident triggered the safety car to be deployed. At the end of the first lap, Rachel was in fifth position and running a clean race on her series debut.

On the restart, Robertson was overtaken by Alex Fisher at Redgate as he moved his DW Racing machine ahead. In the middle portion of the race, Robertson was showing superb pace in the high-speed middle sector as she chased after Fisher. Her pressure on her rival told on lap six as Fisher spun and therefore Robertson was back inside the top-5.

As John MacLeod and Andy Lowe began to battle for a podium position ahead, Robertson started catching the duo. Robertson’s continued her consistent pace into the closing stages and as the light was fading at Donington Park, the race was ended a lap early. It was an encouraging debut race in the Finecut Radical Cup UK Championship as Rachel took the checkered flag in fifth position.

For the second sprint race of the weekend, Robertson lined up from third on the grid. The Radical Racing Rebels driver made a good start and although initially falling to fourth, she re-passed teammate Hamish Forrest to end lap one in a provisional podium position. Robertson’s confidence was high in the early portion of the race as she was now challenging John McLeod for second. As she shaped for a move on the Fangio Trophy driver, this brought Forrest back into contention and he overtook both Robertson and McLeod on lap three.

Although Forrest broke clear of this fight, Robertson and McLeod continued to battle for third and the teenager racer briefly moved ahead on lap six. As the pair ran side-by-side, McLeod then pulled clear with Jack Yang now making it a three-way fight. Robertson was able to resist Yang’s challenge for a number of laps before the Valour Racing driver moved ahead on lap 13.

Robertson remained in the fight for a podium finish to the checkered flag as she remained just a second behind McLeod. Taking the checkered flag in fifth position overall, it was a positive race for Robertson who contended for a podium finish throughout the twenty-minute contest.

Photo credits: Radical UK

For the fifty-minute endurance contest on Sunday afternoon, Robertson lined up from the third row of the grid in sixth position. Robertson made a clean start and moved up to fifth at the end of the opening lap while running directly behind Andy Lowe and John McLeod. On lap three, Robertson made a nice move on Lowe at Redgate corner for fourth position before the Fangio trophy driver pitted with a puncture.

The early stages of the race saw Robertson continually applying pressure to McLeod as the Radical Racing Rebels driver remained just half a second behind her rival. McLeod used his vast experience of Radical machinery to keep the young Scottish racer behind, however her pace remained excellent. On lap 10, Robertson briefly moved ahead but McLeod quickly fought back as the duo traded third position on the Grand Prix loop.

As the pit window opened, an excellent move from Robertson saw her briefly claim third before both drivers pitted on the same lap. A faster stop from McLeod saw him emerge four seconds ahead of Robertson with just over twenty-minutes of the race remaining. Robertson immediately gained ground as she set a personal best time while closing the deficit to RSR driver.

On lap 22, the gap was reduced to less than one and a half seconds and following another personal best time, the margin was less than a second. Robertson continued to apply pressure to McLeod in the closing stages, however the veteran held onto the position with Rachel taking the checkered flag in fourth position, just half a second behind McLeod.

It was an excellent debut weekend for Robertson who consistently challenged for podium positions on her first weekend in the series. Despite just missing out on a podium finish, Rachel drove superbly and banked a large haul of championship points with three top-5 results. Robertson will be looking to carry this momentum forward into the next round of the Finecut Radical Cup UK Championship which takes place at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 17th/18th May.