Canada's Megan Tomlinson battles fiercely for the top-10 in Motorsport Games

Young Canadian racer Megan Tomlinson represented Canada at the third edition of the FIA Motorsport Games as the only female entry in the Touring Car discipline, and battled fiercely for a top-ten finish in the final race, ultimately falling just hundredths of a second short of P10.

Photo credits: SRO / JEP

Young Canadian racer Megan Tomlinson represented Canada at the third edition of the FIA Motorsport Games as the only female entry in the Touring Car discipline. She battled fiercely for a top-ten finish in the final race, ultimately falling just hundredths of a second short of P10 after recovering from a drive-through penalty.

Driving an Audi RS3 LMS TCR, Tomlinson showed a strong performance in the first half of the race, fighting elbows out in ninth place under extremely challenging conditions as rain intensified, with all cars on slick tyres. The result is however a solid achievement for the Canadian, who is making progress and building experience in European competitions.

Tomlinson began her car racing career in the Sports Car Championship Canada presented by Michelin in 2022. She advanced from the TCA to the TCR class in 2023, scoring two podiums, and finished fifth in the standings in 2024. This year, the 24-year-old also became the first female driver to score points in TCR World Tour history, thanks to her performance at the Mid-Ohio round.

Following her debut in the Spanish TCR series with Goat Racing Team at the Valencia round, Tomlinson returned to Circuito Ricardo Tormo to represent Canada at the FIA Motorsport Games, marking another exciting challenge in her burgeoning career.

In practice sessions, Tomlinson showed steady improvement, reducing a 4.5-second gap to the leaders in her initial outing and shaving nearly a full second in subsequent sessions, demonstrating clear progress.

Qualifying took place on a damp but drying track on Saturday morning. Tomlinson was one of the few drivers to post a time before a red flag interrupted the session. As conditions improved, times dropped quickly, and Tomlinson secured a solid P10 start position with a 1:44.417, a noteworthy run given the tricky conditions.

In the Qualifying Race later in the day, Argentina's Ignacio Montenegro and Brazil's Raphael Reis lined up on the front row, with Tomlinson aiming to move up from P10. Montenegro led cleanly from the start, while incidents involving the UK and Brazilian entries saw both cars drop in the order. Tomlinson had an excellent start, gaining on competitors from Bangladesh and Turkiye, though she eventually settled back to P10 when Marco Butti made a recovery move from the back of the grid.

Tomlinson was then locked in close competition with Indonesia’s Abdullah until an unfortunate off-track moment sent her Audi into the gravel due to a puncture, ending her Qualifying Race early.

Photo credits: SRO / JEP

Sunday morning’s final for the medals was marked by rain as the cars took to the grid. Tomlinson started from P11 and had a strong opening lap, advancing past the Turkish and Bangladeshi entries, while Argentina’s Montenegro led the field ahead of Spain and Brazil.

As intense battles unfolded, Tomlinson fought closely with Indonesia’s Abdullah, staying within striking distance and narrowly defending against Avik of Bangladesh. Conditions remained tricky as all competitors stayed on dry-weather tyres in the intensifying rain.

As Tomlinson defended from Avik, both drivers gained a position when the UK’s Jenson Brickley received a drive-through penalty for a start infringement. Meanwhile, Italy’s Marco Butti made an incredible recovery, charging from ninth to second by lap five as he overtook France’s Comte, Brazil’s Reis, and Spain’s Gene in quick succession.

In the middle of a thrilling three-way battle for ninth, Tomlinson tried to pass Abdullah and had to keep Özen’s Turkish Audi at bay. The three swapped positions several times, with Tomlinson almost making an impressive double pass at turn two but eventually conceding ninth to Abdullah.

The battle with Özen continued throughout the lap in a back-and-forth contest that saw a remarkable drive from Tomlinson.

Unfortunately, the Canadian received a drive-through penalty for track limits, dropping her to P12. She then began to close a 4-second gap to the Bangladeshi car in a steady push.

Meanwhile, Argentina’s Montenegro held a lead over Butti, who began to close the gap with 15 minutes remaining as the rain continued to worsen, causing many cars to struggle for grip in the final stages.

With the track conditions deteriorating, Butti took the lead from Montenegro on lap 13, completing a move at turn two. The Italian pulled away to cross the finish line in first, only to be disqualified for a technical infringement, which awarded the gold medal to Argentina.

A close battle for bronze ensued, with Aurelien Comte initially finishing third but receiving a 20-second penalty for contact, and further penalties saw Brazil secure silver while Czechia claimed bronze.

In a final push, Tomlinson mounted a late charge for a potential top-ten finish, closing a 10-second gap to Avik. She reached the Bangladeshi Honda, and the two crossed the finish line side-by-side, with Tomlinson finishing 0.048 seconds behind in P11.

Despite the narrowly missed top-ten result, Tomlinson’s performance was a highly positive outing for the sole female touring car entrant, as she continues to climb the ranks of touring car racing worldwide.

Photo credits: SRO / JEP