Julia Angelard makes car racing debut in Ginetta Junior Winter Series
Fourteen-year-old Julia Angelard made her debut in car racing in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series at Snetterton, completing her first four races with Elite Motorsport after transitioning directly from karting.
Fourteen-year-old Julia Angelard made her debut in car racing in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series at Snetterton, completing her first four races with Elite Motorsport after transitioning directly from karting. Supported by More Than Equal, the Polish driver faced challenging weather conditions and intense wheel-to-wheel battles, but made steady progress throughout the weekend, recording her strongest pace in Sunday's final race.
Angelard's debut marked an important milestone in her development, as she began the transition from karting towards circuit racing. More Than Equal provided financial backing for the majority of her Winter Series weekend and the testing programme leading up to her debut, building on the specialist coaching, physical preparation and personal development she receives through its Driver Development Programme.
The Ginetta Junior Winter Series, held at the Snetterton circuit on 24–25 October, offered Angelard her first experience of racing a car in competitive conditions. The 14-year-old was among the youngest drivers in the field, taking on the challenge of learning a new car while adapting to the close, contact-heavy racing characteristic of the championship.
Angelard arrived at Snetterton following several years of karting experience. She began competing at four years old and progressed through the Rotax Max Challenge Poland before moving into the ROK Cup Poland Junior category in 2023. She subsequently gained international experience in the ROK Superfinal, ROK Cup Italia and Champions of the Future Academy, finishing second in a round of the latter at Jesolo in 2025.
In 2026, Angelard competed for Birel ART and the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy, as well as MG Racing and Ward Racing. She also won a round of the Polish Karting Championship at Poznań, becoming the first female driver to achieve the feat in 15 years. Alongside her karting commitments, she is a member of the ORLEN Motorsport Academy and the PZM National Junior Karting Team, and is part of the F1 Academy's Discover Your Drive programme.
The weekend at Snetterton presented a demanding first test, with changing grip levels, wet patches and strong winds challenging the field across the four races. Saturday's sessions provided Angelard with her first opportunity to understand the behaviour of the Ginetta G40 Junior Evo, while also learning how to manage traffic and fight for positions against more experienced rivals.
The Polish driver qualified 12th and 11th for Saturday's two races. In the opening contest, she made progress through the field to finish 11th, gaining valuable experience. She then finished 13th in the second race after a brief excursion onto the grass, still bringing the car across the finish line, gathering further experience and data to work with the team.
Sunday brought another challenge, as gusty winds affected the cars' balance and forced drivers to make constant corrections, even along the straights. Angelard qualified 13th before once again advancing to 11th in the third race, attempting overtaking manoeuvres around the outside as she continued to build confidence in the car.
The final race proved to be the culmination of her learning process. Angelard again finished 11th, but more importantly, delivered her strongest pace of the weekend as she became increasingly comfortable with the car and adapted to the demands of wheel-to-wheel competition.
Reflecting on her first weekend in car racing, Angelard highlighted the difficult conditions and the progress she made across the four races. “My first racing weekend in a car is behind me, and I have to admit that the conditions really didn't make the job easy. Saturday's qualifying went quite well, but there was a lot of water left on the track, which meant the first two laps of the first race required a lot of caution. I was still missing that race feel and experience in battling other cars,” she said.
“On Sunday, a massive wind made itself felt, changing the car's balance significantly and shaking it on the straights — I've never driven in conditions like that before! The most important thing, however, is that I felt more confident with every session. In the last race, I had my best pace of all the starts, so I'm leaving with a lot of lessons and plenty of positives.”
Angelard also thanked Elite Motorsport for its work throughout the weekend and More Than Equal for the opportunity and support that enabled her to make the step into car racing.
The organisation's involvement extends beyond financial assistance, with Angelard benefiting from a development programme designed to prepare young female drivers for the demands of professional motorsport. Its coaching team includes former Ginetta Junior champions Sarah Moore and Adam Smalley, who bring first-hand experience of the championship and the transition from junior racing into higher categories.
For Angelard, the Snetterton weekend represents the beginning of a new phase in her career. The experience of working with engineers, adapting to the weight and aerodynamics of a racing car, and competing in close battles will provide valuable foundations for her next steps, whether in single-seaters or sportscar racing.
