Ashley Gregory begins her season with top-5 finish at Silverstone
- LIAM REDFORD
- Apr 7
- 5 min read
Switching to Excelr8 Motorsport for the 2026 season, Ashley Gregory began her championship challenge in the Mairon Motorsport Mini Challenge Trophy with a top-5 result at Silverstone where she was a consistent frontrunner, finishing fourth in race 1.
Ashley Gregory began her championship challenge in the Mairon Motorsport Mini Challenge Trophy with a top-5 result at Silverstone. Switching to Excelr8 Motorsport for the 2026 season, Gregory was a consistent frontrunner on her return to the championship as she targets a title bid. After finishing fourth in race one, Gregory executed a superb charge through the field in race three to come from 17th on the grid to finish in seventh.
Gregory returned to the Mairon Motorsport Mini Challenge Trophy targeting a championship challenge with leading team Excelr8 Motorsport. Since making her debut in 2023, Ashley has consistently made progress in the one-make series while establishing herself as a front-running driver. Last season, Gregory ended the campaign in sixth position in a year which saw her claim her first ever victory, while adding to her tally of podium finishes.
After predominantly running her own entry for the past three seasons, Gregory is aiming to combine her experience with the proven capabilities of the Justina Williams run squad. As well as being the reigning Mini Challenge champions in the JCW category, Excelr8 Motorsport guided British Touring Car Championship driver Tom Ingram to his second title in 2025 and therefore the team have significant knowledge of supporting title bids.
For the 2026 campaign, Silverstone played host to the opening round of the season and the National layout was a circuit on which Gregory had significant experience of. It was only back in September when the home of British motorsport played host to the penultimate round of the 2025 Mini Challenge Trophy and therefore Ashley was looking to draw upon recent knowledge. In a typically determined weekend, Gregory battled to a top-10 finish in changeable conditions as the racing throughout the field remained extremely competitive.
After mixed conditions in Friday’s test sessions, the track was dry ahead of qualifying on Saturday morning. Gregory was quickly on the pace and using the powerful slipstream to good effect in the early stages of the session. After sitting just outside the top-10 for the majority of qualifying, Gregory jumped up to sixth position with just three minutes remaining. Few improvements came in the final stages of the session and as a result, Gregory’s fastest time of a 1:10.932 saw her qualify in seventh position.
The first race of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon and with the grid positions based upon the second fastest times from qualifying, the Excelr8 Motorsport driver lined up from 11th position. Gregory used her experience to make a good start and immediately gain one position to move inside the top-10.
By the end of lap two, Ashley was just two seconds behind the race leader with the cars running nose-to-tail in the lead group. Overtaking brothers Christopher and Isaac Doble on lap three, Gregory was into eighth position as she looked to close in on spot inside the top-5. On lap four, the positions within the top-10 continued to shuffle with Gregory overtaking Harry Smith, while Isaac Doble and teammate Jorrel Julius made their way through.
As the racing continued to intensify up front, contact between Josh Selvadorai and Henry Foote allowed Gregory to take advantage and with others delayed, Ashley moved up to fifth position. After Christopher Doble claimed fifth on lap eight, the leading quartet began breaking away with Gregory looking to extend her margin to the group behind.
Isaac Doble was now leading the chasing pack and with the Race Car Consultants driver fending off Smith and Julius, Gregory remained in sixth. Although the drivers behind used the slipstream in the closing stages to reduce the deficit, Gregory maintained sixth position to the chequered flag as she finished just over a tenth of a second ahead of teammate Giovanni Santora. Following post-race penalties handed to both Luca Marinoni Osborne and Christopher Doble, Gregory was promoted to fourth position to complete a productive opening day at Silverstone.
The second race of the weekend was held on Sunday morning and with the top-12 finishing positions from race one reversed prior to the penalties, Gregory lined up from seventh on the grid. As the podium finishers from Saturday’s contest looked to move through the field, Gregory lost a single position on lap one before falling behind Team Avago driver Joshua Wilby on the second tour.
It was a challenging start to the race for the Excelr8 Motorsport driver as Ashley then dropped behind both Luca Marinoni Osborne and Josh Selvadorai on lap three. Gregory then started her march forward as she overtook teammate Jorrel Julius on lap four, before she began breaking away from the group of drivers behind. Running a lap time faster than the race leader on lap five, Gregory was again looking to use her experience to gain positions in the second half of the race.
Beginning lap eight just three seconds away from a spot on the podium, Gregory’s pace was fast and consistent as looked to bank more valuable championship points. The following lap saw the Excelr8 Motorsport driver set the second fastest lap among the top-10 drivers as the battles among the leading drivers began to intensify.
On lap 10, contact between Gregory, Louis Fleet and Giovanni Santora saw both of her rivals retire from the race and with Marinoni Osborne also delayed, Ashley was up to seventh position. This incident initially resulted in the safety car being deployed before the race was ended prematurely with Gregory classified in seventh position. Following a post-race stewards decision, Gregory was disqualified from race two for causing a collision with a ten-place grid penalty also applied for race three.
For the final race at Silverstone, the grid positions were based upon the fastest times set in qualifying and with Gregory’s penalty applied, she lined up from 17th on the grid. Determined to recover lost positions, Gregory made a fantastic start and moved up to tenth at the conclusion of lap one. Now in the leading group of drivers, progress was more challenging, however Ashley overtook newcomer Isaac Doble for ninth spot on lap two.
Overtaking Christopher Doble on lap three, Gregory was briefly up to eighth position before Doble fought back and reclaimed the spot. The race at the head of the field remained extremely competitive and at the conclusion of lap five, Ashley was less than two seconds away from the race lead. Beginning lap eight, Gregory ran side-by-side with Harry Smith before clearing the Performancetek Racing driver for eighth spot.
Although the top-6 drivers began to escape at the front of the pack, Gregory was racing smartly as she closed back in on Christopher Doble in the closing stages. On lap 12, the Excelr8 Motorsport driver completed the pass and with battles emerging behind, Gregory held on to claim a seventh place finish from 17th on the grid.
It was a superb end to the weekend for Gregory who displayed her racecraft by charging through the field in race three. Narrowly missing out on a podium finish in race one, Ashley will be encouraged by her speed on her first start with Excelr8 Motorsport and she will now be targeting a return to the rostrum. The next round of the Mairon Motorsport Mini Challenge Trophy takes place at Snetterton on the weekend of 23rd/24th May.
