Embarking on her second full season in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy, Katia Loggie secured her best ever result in the series, as the Excelr8 Motorsport driver fought through adversity to score a superb 12th place result in race three and took a significant step forward in performance from her rookie campaign.
Katia Loggie secured her best ever result on her return to the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy. Returning for a second season in the competitive one-make championship, the Excelr8 Motorsport driver fought through adversity to score a superb 12th place result in race three. This came after a scary incident at the beginning of race two which led to an opening lap retirement, with Loggie showing great character to recover from this setback.
Embarking on her second full season in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy, Katia was aiming to build upon a development year in 2023 where she made good progress throughout the campaign.
Securing her best finish in the final meeting of the season at Brands Hatch, Loggie was looking to carry this momentum forward as she visited Snetterton for the second time in her career. As well as fighting for positions within the overall championship, Katia was also competing for the Graduate Cup, a separate classification for drivers in their second season.
Loggie finished all three races at Snetterton last year while showing significant lap time improvement and she was aiming for continued progress this time around. The first competitive session of the season was qualifying on Saturday morning, with good conditions for the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy drivers.
It was an extremely productive session for Katia who qualified 22nd overall, 13th among the graduate drivers, with a lap time of 2:21.493. This lap time was over four seconds faster than her best effort during the 2023 season, highlighting her excellent progress during the off-season.
Lining up 22nd on the grid for the season opener, Katia lost one position on the first lap but remained in close contention with those ahead. Her improved pace then paid dividends as she overtook rookie driver Louis Fleet while running competitive lap times. Lap three saw an issue for Graves Motorsport driver Frankie Taylor, with Loggie moving ahead of her rival.
Taylor was eager to fight back and the pair ran side-by-side across the main straight at the drivers began lap five. Katia settled back into 22nd as her rival found a way through, setting consistent lap times which saw her hold this position to the checkered flag. Also finishing 13th in the Graduate Cup, Loggie banked vital championship points while enjoying some close battles in the midfield.
Race two of the weekend began on Saturday morning, with grid positions based on finishing positions in the opening contest. Katia was aiming for a fast start but ran into immediate trouble as a scary moment into turn one saw her spin backwards across the grass at high speed. This sadly led to a retirement, but fortunately little damage was done with Loggie able to return to the grid for race three.
Lining up in 22nd position, Katia was determined to end her weekend on a high. Making a mature start, she fell to 23rd at the conclusion of the opening lap but was soon on the move as a typically action-packed third race of the weekend progressed. Gaining three positions on lap two, Loggie was inside the top-20 and was displaying pace which matched those running in the midfield.
Improving her lap times during the middle portion of the race, Katia was putting herself in contention for a strong finish. On lap five, contact between drivers ahead saw Loggie move into 17th and her position was improved once again on lap six. Katie drove superbly to take advantage of the misfortune of others, making smart decisions as her rivals collected damage. This saw the young Scottish driver move into 13th position overall, before an overtake on Paul Manning secured her a career best result of 12th, eighth among the Graduate Cup runners.
Katia ended the weekend on a high by achieving an excellent 12th place result in race three. Loggie’s speed was impressive throughout the weekend, with the young driver taking a significant step forward in performance from her rookie campaign.
Combined with strong racecraft, Katia has asserted herself as a consistent midfield competitor and she will be targeting her first ever overall top-10 finish when the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy drivers head to Pembrey on the weekend of 18th/19th May.