Sherrie-Ann Powell made an excellent start to her second season in the Junior Saloon Car Championship by securing a top-10 finish at Donington Park, taking significant steps forward in both wet and dry conditions.
Sherrie-Ann Powell made an excellent start to her second season in the Junior Saloon Car Championship by securing a top-10 finish at Donington Park. The teenager racer took significant steps forward on her return to the series as she excelled in both wet and dry conditions.
Moving forward from her qualifying position of 14th, Powell finished races one and two, both held in wet conditions, in 11th position. Improving to ninth in a dry race two, Sherrie-Ann displayed great racecraft throughout the event.
Powell returned to the Junior Saloon Car Championship following a promising rookie campaign in 2024. The teenager racer ended the year 19th in the overall standings while enjoying her best weekend at Thruxton. Powell showed particularly strong pace in wet weather races as she pushed towards the top-15 in a competitive grid of racers. Now entering her second season, Sherrie-Ann was aiming to close the gap to the top-10 drivers and use her past experiences to begin campaign on a high.
Donington Park was a new circuit for Powell as it did not feature on the 2024 Junior Saloon Car Championship schedule. Therefore, it was important for all drivers to get up to speed quickly in the fifteen-minute qualifying session which was held on Saturday afternoon. With the driver’s three fastest times from qualifying setting each of the grids, consistency was also of paramount importance.
Conditions were dry for qualifying on Saturday afternoon with Powell targeting her best qualifying performance to date. The majority of the field set their fastest laps in the early portion of the session when the tyres produced the best performance. Powell did likewise and her quickest time of a 1:29.707 placed her 14th as she looked ahead to the three races which followed.
Now facing wet conditions for the opening race of the year, Powell was looking to push forward in conditions which she enjoyed last season. Sherrie-Ann made a confident start and immediately gained two positions on lap one. Showing excellent initial pace, Powell was catching the drivers ahead and by lap three, she was inside the top-10. Overtaking Matthew Swatton and capitalising on an off-track moment for Kyle Wells, Powell was enjoying her best race in the Junior Saloon Car Championship to date.
Although Wells was able to move back ahead on lap five, Sherrie-Ann remained close to her rival as the race reached the midway point. As she consistently matched the drivers inside the top-10, this allowed her to catch debutant Leon Holly. Powell and Holly then enjoyed a fantastic battle as the pair traded tenth position with Sherrie-Ann slotting in just behind her rival. Finishing the race with a personal best lap, Powell secured a career best result with an 11th place finish at Donington Park.
Conditions remained wet for race two of the weekend which took place on Sunday morning. Courtesy of her second fastest qualifying time, Powell once again lined up from 14th on the grid. It was another excellent start in tough conditions as Sherrie-Ann moved into 12th position by the conclusion of the first lap.
Powell held 12th position in the early stages of the race with Matthew Swatton applying pressure behind. On lap four, Sherrie-Ann moved into 11th after Leon Holly ran wide with the rookie rejoining just behind. Holly was able to move ahead of Powell, however she remained close to her rival while also pulling away from the drivers behind.
A second off-track moment for Holly on lap five allowed Powell to reclaim 11th position as she continued to set personal best lap times. As Sherrie-Ann’s confidence grew further, she remained ahead of Holly in the closing stages to take the checkered flag in 11th position. Powell’s final lap was particularly strong as she caught tenth place driver Martin Wright and this provide further encouragement ahead of race three.
For the final race at Donington Park, the track was dry and Powell lined up from 13th on the grid with the positions based on the third fastest time from qualifying. The change in conditions proved a challenge as the low track temperature made tyre warmup especially difficult. Nonetheless, Powell made a confident start and moved into 12th position at the conclusion of lap one. Overtaking Max Scharfegger on lap two, Sherrie-Ann was showing good pace in dry conditions.
As Scharfegger looked to fight back, he spun at the final chicane which relieved the pressure on Powell. The middle portion of the race was quiet, before Leon Holly became beached in the Redgate gravel trap and this resulted in the first safety car intervention of the weekend. Powell was now inside the top-10 and she made an excellent restart to initially gap the drivers behind.
At the front of the field, the drivers were three-wide into Redgate and Ollie Smith took a trip through the gravel trap. Now up to ninth position, Sherrie-Ann was on course for her first ever top-10 finish and she set a personal best time in pursuit of the leading group. Onto the final lap, Powell ran wide out of Redgate corner and Joe Wood made his way through. At the final chicane, Kyle Wells hit the barriers from a provisional podium position and therefore Powell ended the final race in a career-best ninth.
It was excellent end to Powell’s first weekend back in the Junior Saloon Car Championship as she took steps forward in performance at a new circuit. Her speed in both wet and dry conditions was impressive as she consistently battled for top-10 positions. Powell will be looking to build upon this strong start as the young racers now head to Brands Hatch on the weekend of 19th/20th April.
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