PSCGB: Hannah Chapman secures fifth victory of the season, Katia Loggie banks experience on Oulton Park debut
- LIAM REDFORD
- Jun 24
- 7 min read
Hannah Chapman maintained her lead atop the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain CS Am standings after claiming her fifth victory of the season at Oulton Park, while Katia Loggie showed considerable improvement on her first trip to the circuit, finishing all three races in fourth position within the CS Am class.
Hannah Chapman maintained her lead atop the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain CS Am standings after claiming her fifth victory of the season at Oulton Park. The Xentek Motorsport driver qualified on pole position by over half a second and was only denied a victory in race one following a late rain shower. In race two, she bounced back to take the chequered flag in first position with a margin of over five seconds over Charlie Tuthill. Chapman also won race three on the road, before a track limits penalty dropped her to third.
It was a weekend of progress for Toro Verde GT racer Katia Loggie who showed considerable improvement on her first trip to Oulton Park. Loggie finished all three races in fourth position within the CS Am class, while setting her quickest lap of the event during race three.
Following a thrilling trio of races last time out at Brands Hatch, both Chapman and Loggie were looking to make further gains at Oulton Park. The Cheshire circuit was one at which both drivers had limited experience of, therefore progress was the key as they looked to sustain their championship challenges.
Chapman added to her tally of victories in the previous round with the Xentek Motorsport driver holding a five-point championship lead in the CS Am class prior to the Oulton Park triple-header. Loggie meanwhile, had finished every race in third position within class and sat just 23 points behind Chapman prior to the weekend as she searched for a breakthrough victory.
On-track action at Oulton Park got underway on Friday with two free practice sessions for the drivers to acclimatise themselves with the circuit. In session one, Chapman completed the most laps of any driver in the CS Am class on her way to setting the third fastest time in class.
For Loggie, it was a day of learning as the Toro Verde GT driver got to grips with the challenging Oulton Park circuit. Loggie completed 38 laps across the day and found significant improvements to end free practice in fifth within the CS Am class. Chapman was able to improve by almost two seconds in the afternoon session and as a result, she ended the day quickest in class with the top-three drivers covered by less than a tenth of a second.
Qualifying got underway early on Saturday morning with Chapman and Loggie looking to continue their improvements from free practice. It was a fast start to the session for both drivers with Chapman quickly claiming provisional pole in the CS Am class, while Loggie soon improved upon her fastest time from the previous day.
As the session progressed, Loggie continued to shave time off her quickest lap from free practice as the Toro Verde GT driver became increasingly more confident at a new circuit. On the final lap of qualifying, the young Scottish driver took another significant step forward as she set a fastest time of a 1:30.996 which was over three seconds quicker than she had managed on Friday.
As a result, Loggie had qualified third in the CS Am class with the battle for pole position between Chapman and newcomer Charlie Tuthill going down to the final laps. Chapman came out on top to secure a brilliant pole position on a time of a 1:27.965 which was almost a second faster than her free practice benchmark.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with Chapman starting from pole position, while Loggie lined up from third on the CS Am grid. Chapman did a nice job to hold the lead through the opening turns, while Loggie was overtaken by Paul Porter who failed to set a lap time in qualifying and therefore started from the rear of the field. Loggie’s first flying lap was less than half a second away from her qualifying benchmark as she did her best to remain in touch with her fellow CS Am drivers on lap two.
The gaps at the head of the field were extremely close and Chapman was soon under pressure from Tuthill. By lap four, the Xentek Motorsport driver had done a superb job to open out a margin of one second, while Tuthill came under pressure from Porter. Chapman’s lead remained at over a second until a light rain shower hit Oulton Park on lap nine and this made the track surface extremely slippery.
Loggie was still lapping consistently in fourth and the change in conditions was initially a benefit for the Toro Verde GT driver who began matching her rivals ahead. However, Chapman was leading a train of three cars at the head of the CS Am field and therefore she was the first to experience the slippery surface. As a result, Tuthill was able to close in and by lap 11, Hannah’s lead was down to just three tenths of a second.
After a spin for CS Pro race leader Jonathan Moore, Lydia Walmsley was now the highest running driver in the Clubsport category and after the Graves Motorsport driver herself went off at Cascades, she rejoined just ahead of Chapman. The CS Pro and CS Am leaders were now running nose-to-tail and with just one second covering Walmsley, Chapman and Tuthill as the drivers began the final lap, the positions were still all to play for.
Despite Chapman’s best defensive efforts, Tuthill found a way through and he also passed Walmsley who was driving smartly knowing that her championship rival Moore was further down the order. Tuthill was able to put Walmsley between himself and Chapman to claim a CS Am victory on debut, with Hannah banking vital championship points in second ahead of Porter. Loggie finished in fourth within the CS Am class with a clean drive in tricky conditions.
The second race of the event took place later on Saturday afternoon with the track now fully dry at Oulton Park. Courtesy of her speed and consistency in qualifying, Chapman lined up on pole position in the CS Am class with the grid positions based on the second fastest times from the morning’s session. Loggie started from third and slipped behind Paul Porter on lap one, before settling into a consistent rhythm.
Chapman maintained her lead at the end of the first lap with Tuthill less than half a second behind. The Xentek Motorsport driver was soon into her stride and she began edging away from Tuthill and Porter who occupied the two remaining podium positions. By lap four, the gap had extended to over a second and therefore the immediate pressure was relieved.
Loggie meanwhile, was maintaining a steady pace before personal best times on laps six and nine saw her take a step forward in performance. On lap nine, she was just one second slower than the duo ahead and this gave her cause for encouragement into the second half of the race.
At the same point, Chapman’s lead had grown to two and a half seconds with the Xentek Motorsport driver looking confident out front. As the race entered the closing stages, Tuthill once again come under pressure from Porter and this allowed the gap to increase further. It was another well-controlled driver from Chapman who claimed her second victory of the weekend by a margin of five seconds, while Loggie banked more valuable points with a fourth-place result.
The third race of the weekend was held on Sunday afternoon with the grid positions based on the results from race two. Therefore, Chapman started on pole position within the CS Am class while Loggie lined her Toro Verde GT machine from fourth on the grid. Charlie Tuthill made a great start from second position and he claimed the CS Am lead while also putting the CS Pro machine of Lydia Walmsley between himself and Chapman.
It was also a tough start for Loggie who pitted at the end of the first lap with a technical issue. However, a great job from the Toro Verde GT team saw her rejoin the race two laps in arrears. As Walmsley applied pressure onto Tuthill ahead, Chapman took a watching brief as she knew her race was not with Walmsley at this stage.
On lap five, Walmsley completed the move on Tuthill and now Chapman could fully focus on applying pressure to the CS Am leader. The Xentek Motorsport driver was then awarded a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits and this increased the importance of passing Tuthill as soon as possible.
Now back on the circuit, Loggie’s pace was excellent and she was setting her quickest laps of the entire weekend. On lap eight, her fastest time of a 1:30.242 was over half a second quicker than she managed in qualifying to further highlight her progress. Her times through the middle sector were especially impressive and she was often the fastest CS Am class driver through this part of the circuit.
Meanwhile, Chapman was continuing to apply the pressure to Tuthill who was struggling through the first part of the lap especially. Despite the lead pair battling for position, they were starting to build a margin to Porter and this was beneficial for Chapman who was running in second. As the race entered the closing stages, Chapman received a ten second penalty for further track limits infringements.
Although the chances of securing the victory were increasingly difficult, Chapman was keen to win the race on the road. Her perseverance paid off as Chapman made a fantastic move to pass Tuthill while Porter also challenged the debutant at the hairpin. Porter slid off the road under braking, although he was able to rejoin without losing too much time.
Chapman claimed the victory on the road, however once her time penalties were applied the Xentek Motorsport driver was classified in third position. Loggie scored points for finishing in fourth after rejoining the circuit to bank valuable experience, while also making significant lap time improvements.
It was another good weekend for Chapman who added to her win tally at Oulton Park.
She displayed excellent speed and racecraft, while extending her championship lead over Porter. Loggie also banked vital championship points and her improvements were clear to see as she continued her progress in her rookie season. The next round of Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain takes place at Knockhill on the weekend of August 16th/17th.
