Ashley Gregory enjoyed a productive meeting at Donington Park in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy where she displayed good speed and was able to bounce back from a challenging qualifying to score a top-10 result with superb recovery drives.
Ashley Gregory enjoyed a productive weekend of racing in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy as she scored a top-10 finish at Donington Park. Despite a challenging wet qualifying session on Saturday, Gregory’s race pace in dry conditions was excellent.
Finishing ninth in race two, Ashley also clinched a seventh-place finish in the Graduate Cup classification. Two recovery drives in races one and three underlined her tenacity as she fought back from adversity to score vital championship points.
Donington Park marked the start of the second half of the season for the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy with Gregory entering the meeting 13th in the overall standings, tenth in the Graduate Cup classification.
Ashley’s season got off to a strong start at Snetterton where she ran amongst the top-10 drivers and it is this form which she was aiming to carry forward to the remaining meetings. Last season, Donington Park proved a challenging circuit for Gregory and therefore a consistent event would be a priority as she targeted a place within the top-10 of the championship standings.
The race weekend began with two free practice sessions on Thursday which gave the drivers an opportunity to work on their cars after a lengthy summer break. It was a productive day for Gregory who improved by over a second from the first to the second session. This resulted in a best time of a 1:55.537 which placed her a strong ninth overall, just three tenths of a second away from the top-5.
Conditions for qualifying were markedly different to the free practice sessions on Thursday with a wet track at Donington Park. Therefore, a change in setup was required to extract maximum lap time in the 30-minute session.
The majority of the field set their fastest lap in the early part of the session, however Gregory’s quickest time came on her final lap as she adjusted to conditions. Setting the 16th fastest time overall, Ashley was ninth quickest in the Graduate Cup and would be targeting a charge through the field.
The track was damp for the opening race of the weekend with a predominantly dry line on the racetrack. Grid positions were based on the second fastest times from qualifying with Gregory lining up from 15th position. It was a typically close start in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy and although Ashley dropped to 18th at the end of lap one, she was battling hard for positions.
As the drivers entered Redgate corner for the second time, contact with another driver saw Gregory drop down the field to 22nd position. From there, she began to fight back while showing good speed as she moved ahead of Cameron Wood on lap three, before running side-by-side with debutant Riccardo Monti. Clearing the Excelr8 Motorsport car of Monti, Gregory also passed Mick Fitzgerald on lap four before running a personal best lap time.
In the middle portion of the race, Gregory was lapping as fast as the leading group of drivers as she continued to close in on a return to the top-15. This strong pace allowed her to close in on Louis Fleet and she was able to pass the Rookie Cup contender on lap eight.
The following lap saw Ashley pass both Leo Purches and Ben Taylor and this moved her into 16th place. Holding this position to the checkered flag, Gregory completed the first race of the weekend in 16th position, tenth in the Graduate Cup, to complete a good comeback drive.
Conditions were fully dry for the second race of the weekend with the grid set by the finishing positions from race one, with a partial reversal at the front of the field. Starting from 16th on the grid, Gregory made an excellent start and gained three positions on the opening lap to move into 13th as the safety car was deployed. The racing resumed at the beginning of lap four with Ashley settling into a comfortable position with the midfield, while running a series of competitive sector times.
On lap six, she was on the move and passed Ben Taylor for 12th as Gregory targeted a return to the overall top-10. Consistency was key to Ashley’s progress in the closing stages as she maximised her lap times and this allowed her to move ahead of Harvey Riby on lap eight. An action-packed final lap of the race saw Gregory pass John Castle while taking advantage of an off-track moment for Alex Keens to take the checkered flag in ninth position, seventh in the Graduate Cup.
Grid positions for the final race of the weekend were based on Saturday’s qualifying results with Gregory started from 16th position. Conditions were particularly treacherous with drizzly rain falling and the opening lap saw a multi-car incident occur at the Old Hairpin with the race subsequently red flagged. Due to the cleanup required, the drivers were sent back to the paddock with the race now taking place at the end of the day.
Conditions were predominantly dry for the restarted race, however it was a tough start for Gregory who was spun into the gravel at Redgate corner on lap one. Fortunately, she was able to dig herself out and rejoin at the back of the field. Completing the first lap in 21st position, Ashley was targeting another recovery drive. Passing Katia Loggie and Tommy Watson on successive laps, Gregory’s speed was strong despite the early setback.
After Alex Solley retired on lap four, Gregory was up to 18th position and now light rain was starting to fall at Donington Park. Nonetheless, Ashley continued to attack and overtook both Riccardo Monti and Louis Fleet by the end of lap seven.
On lap eight, she moved ahead of Cameron Wood and Callum Eason while being the fastest driver of the entire field on this tour. Further underlining her late race speed, Ashley overtook Luca Marinoni Osborne and Paul Manning to complete an excellent recovery drive as she took the checkered flag in 12th position.
Gregory enjoyed a productive meeting at Donington Park where she displayed good speed in dry conditions especially. Despite a tough qualifying session, she was able to bounce back with a fantastic top-10 result in race two, while two superb recovery drives earned her valuable championship points.
Ashley will now be looking ahead to the next round of the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy which takes place at Croft on the weekend of 7th/8th September, a circuit which she has enjoyed success at in the past.
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