Liona Theobald scores three podiums, personal best in GT Cup at Silverstone

On her return to the GT Cup Championship at Silverstone, Liona Theobald achieved her best performance to date with a second-place finish in her solo sprint race and two third-place finishes in the endurance races alongside Owen Hizzey.

Photo credits: GT Cup

Liona Theobald returned to the GT Cup Championship at Silverstone and delivered her best performance to date in the series, claiming a season-best of second in her solo sprint race on Sunday, alongside two third place finishes in the pit-stop endurance races she contested with Owen Hizzey.

Theobald had scored her first podium finish in the series at Snetterton in the third round of the championship, where she brought the #86 Ginetta G56 GT4 operated by SVG Motorsport to third place in both the endurance and the sprint solo races, in a performance that gained her the Driver of the Day award.

The 18-year-old driver then sat out the fourth round at Oulton Park at the end of June, but managed to return behind the wheel of the Ginetta G56 GT4 for the Silverstone race meeting, in a new driver pairing: she would now team up with experienced Ginetta racer Owen Hizzey.

In only three weekends of GT4 competitions, Theobald made leaps forward and, on her return to the GT Cup Championship, she aimed to continue the learning process, targeting more silverware in the GTH category.

The weekend was off to a promising start, with a third fastest time by Theobald that would set the tone for the first day of racing at the British home of motorsport. The 18 year old clocked a 2:13.351 that placed her just behind the #11 Paddock Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 and the #9 Forsetti Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

Owen Hizzey took the wheel of the SVG Motorsport Ginetta for the first qualifying session on Saturday morning and showed his speed from the outset, setting purple sectors and consistently running between second and third throughout the session.

Hizzey eventually managed to secure the second fastest time, just behind the pole-winning #10 Forsetti Aston Martin driven by Sam Neser, less than a second ahead – ensuring a strong starting position for the upcoming races.

In the first sprint race of the weekend, Hizzey started strong in the Ginetta, soon putting pressure on the leading #11 McLaren. On lap 2 at Club, Mikey Porter in the #9 Forsetti Aston Martin managed to slip past Hizzey, moving him to third. A lap later, Porter forced his way into the lead at Stowe, with Hizzey trying to capitalize on the maneuver by taking the inside line and running side by side with the McLaren. However, he had to slot back behind as Orton’s second Forsetti Aston Martin made an opportunistic move to take third.

Hizzey continued to fight hard, keeping contact with the top three. As the McLaren Artura of Holland dropped down the order, Hizzey reclaimed third place. Despite the top two cars pulling away, Hizzey remained in control of P3, managing to fend off challenges from behind and maintaining a one-second gap to Holland. This strong performance resulted in the #86 Ginetta finishing the first sprint race of the weekend on the class podium and tenth overall.

The second race of the weekend, a 50-minute pit-stop endurance race, began with Liona Theobald taking the start in the #86 Ginetta from third in class, behind the two Forsetti Aston Martins.

After a clean getaway, Theobald initially lost out to the #11 McLaren, which then launched an attack on Neser's #10 Aston. Despite attempting to fight back, Theobald had to settle into fourth in class, running 13th overall. As Forsetti teammates Higgins and Neser battled for the GTH lead, Theobald set competitive lap times, running over half a second quicker than Orant’s McLaren and closing in for a potential podium.

By lap 4, Theobald's pace improved, clocking times in the 2:12 range, and she passed the McLaren for third one lap later. Demonstrating great pace with a 2:12.5 lap, she soon opened a three-second buffer. With consistency, Theobald maintained her position until pitting on lap 14 from fifth overall and third in class.

After the mandatory pit stop, Owen Hizzey rejoined the race in third place. He immediately set the car’s fastest lap at 2:11.3 and focused on reducing the 2.5-second deficit to the #9 Aston Martin, now driven by Porter. Despite Porter picking up the pace, Hizzey passed the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Bush for overall position on lap 21, continuing to chase Porter, who was almost five seconds ahead.

Hizzey kept up the pressure with consistent lap times but ultimately crossed the line in third place, behind the two Forsetti Aston Martins. This result marked yet another podium finish for Liona Theobald, after securing her first top-three at Snetterton.

Photo credits: Liona Theobald

Sunday morning began with a second practice session under sunny skies at Silverstone. Theobald once again set the third fastest time in the GTH class, with a lap of 2:12.603, just three-tenths behind Mikey Porter’s Aston Martin. This was followed by the second qualifying session, where Theobald immediately set a strong lap time of 2:11.9 on her first attempt, quickly moving into second place. She improved further to 2:10.4, ultimately securing P3 with a best lap of 2:09.957, just two-tenths behind Mikey Porter and half a second from class pole position.

The second endurance race of the weekend saw Theobald taking the start from third in class. She had a fantastic start, closely trailing the two Forsetti Astons and attacking the #9 Vantage into Abbey. However, she was boxed in and lost out to Orant’s McLaren, dropping to fourth in class.

Determined not to give up, Theobald continued to battle the McLaren Artura GT4, her closest competitor all weekend. Separated by only one-tenth, she put intense pressure on the Paddock Motorsport's McLaren, and on lap 6, they went side by side down Hangar Straight. Theobald made a brilliant move stick into Vale, although she had to defend as Orant fought back at The Loop. The Ginetta emerged ahead, and in clear air, Theobald lapped a second faster and drove away, despite now having a 15-second deficit to the #9 Forsetti Aston in second.

Theobald’s strong stint ended on lap 11 when she pitted for the driver change, handing over to Hizzey from third in class. The 90-second pit stop time allowed the McLaren to get back ahead, with Holland up to second and also ahead of the #10 Forsetti of Orton after the pit cycle.

As Orton and Holland battled for second, Hizzey started to close in, having rejoined four seconds behind the pair. After some close racing, Orton made a move stick for second, and Hizzey recovered almost two seconds by clocking a 2:11.4, the new car's best lap.

On lap 15, Holland’s McLaren had to pit again, allowing Hizzey to reclaim third. With new fast laps, Hizzey kept up the pace with Orton, closing the gap with nine minutes to go. Despite not being able to catch the cars ahead, Theobald and Hizzey secured their third podium finish of the weekend in the second pit-stop race, with another superb performance for the SVG Motorsport duo.

The final sprint race of the weekend was Theobald’s solo race. The 18-year-old had an excellent start, maintaining P3 in class just behind the #10 and #9 Aston Martins, and moved up to the overall top ten by taking advantage of some attrition ahead. When Neser pitted with damage at the end of the first lap, Theobald advanced to second in GTH, six seconds behind Higgins.

She then focused on Orant’s #11 McLaren Artura, running one second behind and gaining a couple of tenths each lap. By lap 4, Theobald’s pace had further improved, dipping under the 2:14 mark, and she extended her margin with a series of personal best laps; by lap 10, Liona's margin had increased to six seconds with only a handful of minutes remaining.

Throughout the second half of the race, Theobald remained unchallenged, delivering a flawless solo run. She maximized her potential, securing not only a full house of podiums but also her best result in the series with a second-place finish in her sprint race.

"It’s a dream to be on the podium at Silverstone, let alone two P3, P2 and Driver of the Weekend!" – Liona told us. "I couldn't have asked for much more and can’t thank the team enough for an awesome car all weekend."

"I felt so comfortable in the Ginetta and each lap was able to keep pushing myself and the cars to our limits", she continued. "Thank you to all my sponsors for supporting my journey and I can’t wait to get back out on track. It’s still sinking in!"

Her strong showing at Silverstone – which again gained her the Driver of the Weekend award – is another testament of Theobald’s improved pace and racecraft, with decisive overtakes and no mistakes throughout the weekend. With three podiums and her first second-place finish, Theobald now sits fourth in the GTH class championship standings with 174 points, with two rounds to go.

The next event will be at Donington Park on September 14-15, following the summer break, where Theobald aims to continue her impressive form.