PSCGB: Lydia Walmsley claims second victory of the season, maintains podium streak at Oulton Park
- LIAM REDFORD
- Jun 24
- 5 min read
Lydia Walmsley continued her excellent form in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain by securing her second victory of the season in the CS Pro class, before finishing races two and three in the runner-up position as she maintained second in the championship standings.
Lydia Walmsley continued her excellent form in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain by securing her second victory of the season in the CS Pro class. The Graves Motorsport driver handled the changeable conditions superbly as maintained her composure while light ran began to fall in race one. Walmsley finished races two and three in the runner-up position as she maintained second position in the championship standings.
Walmsley arrived at Oulton Park looking to build upon the momentum from the previous round at Brands Hatch where she claimed her first ever victory in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain. With a 100% podium record in the CS Pro class through the opening two rounds, Walmsley was now looking to return to the top step of the podium while continuing to adapt to a new style of racing. Her consistency has been key to her progress and she now arrived at a circuit where she twice finished inside the top-8 in the Vertu Mini Challenge back in 2023.
Friday’s action consisted of two free practice sessions at Oulton Park and it was a challenging day for Walmsley. The Graves Motorsport driver was nonetheless able to improve her times in the afternoon session and ended the day with second fastest lap in the CS Pro class. Although she had a gap of over a second to bridge to class-leader Jonathan Moore, Walmsley was keen to continue her progress into a busy Saturday.
Qualifying for the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain drivers was the first session at Oulton Park on Saturday morning. Walmsley was quickly on the pace and after her first qualifying run, she was already lapping faster than she had done the previous day. This allowed the Graves Motorsport driver to hold provisional pole in the CS Pro class for the majority of the session.
As the drivers fitted new tyres in the closing stages, championship leader Jonathan Moore went fastest with Lydia keen to respond. Walmsley got within two tenths of a second of her rival, before her quickest lap was then deleted for exceeding track limits. Despite this setback, Walmsley qualified in second position within class and significantly cut the gap to Moore from the previous day. Her improvements were clear to see as Lydia’s qualifying time was over one second faster than her best lap from free practice.
The first race of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with Walmsley lining up from second position on the CS Pro grid. Lydia made a clean start and remained directly behind leader Moore throughout the opening lap. As the drivers began lap two, Walmsley was just half a second behind the Toro Verde GT machine as she applied some early race pressure.
Moore began to open up his lead as the race entered a rhythm, gaining around half a second per lap on Walmsley. Nonetheless, her times through sector three were particularly competitive and the Graves Motorsport driver was herself building up a buffer to CS Am class leader Hannah Chapman behind.
On lap nine, a light rain shower arrived at Oulton Park and this made track conditions extremely slippery with the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain drivers all on slick tyres. This change of conditions was an opportunity for Lydia and she quickly began matching the sector times of Moore ahead.
Just one lap later, a mistake from Moore at the final corner saw the championship leader spin and Walmsley went through to claim the race lead. As conditions continued to become more challenging, Lydia herself had an off-track moment out of Cascades, however she was able to retain the CS Pro class lead with a comfortable gap back to Moore who had rejoined the race towards the rear of the CS Am field.
Chapman was now right on the tail of Walmsley and the battle of the CS Am victory was closing up as Charlie Tuthill had caught the Xentek Motorsport driver. In light of Moore’s spin, the Graves Motorsport driver used her experience and although Tuthill passed both Chapman and Lydia on the final lap, a smart drive from Walmsley saw her claim her second victory of the season in the CS Pro class.
Race two of the weekend took place later on Saturday afternoon with the grid positions based on the second fastest laps from qualifying. Conditions were now fully dry and Walmsley lined up from second within the CS Pro class. It was an excellent start from the Graves Motorsport driver who claimed the class lead on the opening lap. Her lead approached one second at the end of the first lap, before Moore cut the deficit to just three tenths of a second on lap two.
On lap three, Moore was able to find a way through with Walmsley settling into second place. She was keen to remain within touching distance of her rival and on lap five, she set her personal best lap of the race. Another fast time followed on lap eight and this saw her shave almost one second off Moore’s lead.
As a result, the Toro Verde GT driver had an advantage of just two seconds as the first half of the race was completed. As the tyres continued to wear, Moore began to stretch his advantage while Walmsley continued to run consistent times as she pulled further clear of the CS Am class leaders. As the chequered flag was displayed, Walmsley maintained her 100% podium streak as the Graves Motorsport driver crossed the line in second position, five seconds behind race-winner Moore.
The third and final race of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon with Walmsley starting from second position in the CS Pro class courtesy of her race two result. It was initially a challenging start for the Graves Motorsport driver who fell behind the fast-starting CS Am machine of Charlie Tuthill while Lydia settled into second within class.
Tuthill was defending robustly despite competing in a different class and as a result, Moore was escaping at the head of the CS Pro field. Walmsley was applying significant pressure to the debutant, especially through the first sector, as she continued to search for a way through. On lap five, Lydia made a nice move to overtake Tuthill and she immediately pulled out a gap to the leaders in the CS Am class.
Moore was now eight seconds ahead, however Walmsley was determined to set a consistent pace and ensure she ended the weekend on a high. As the second half of the race unfolded, Lydia began matching Moore’s pace and therefore the margin out front of the CS Pro class remained stable. A strong end to the race saw Walmsley take the chequered flag in second position to bank another large haul of championship points.
It was another excellent weekend for Walmsley who added to her win tally at Oulton Park. Despite her limited experience of the car in changeable conditions, Lydia adapted superbly and this ensured she claimed victory in race one. The Graves Motorsport driver will be aiming to return to the top step of the podium when Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain returns at Knockhill on the weekend of 16th/17th August.
