PSCGB: Lydia Walmsley closes out her campaign with victory at Brands Hatch
- LIAM REDFORD
- Oct 8
- 5 min read
Lydia Walmsley achieved her fourth victory of the season in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain as she ended her rookie campaign on a high, securing the runner-up spot in the CS Pro class championship standings.
Lydia Walmsley achieved her fourth victory of the season in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain as she ended her rookie campaign on a high. The Graves Motorsport driver overcame challenging conditions throughout the weekend as she secured the runner-up spot in the CS Pro class championship standings. After finishing races one and two in second position, a controlled drive from Walmsley in race three saw her bank maximum points in the season finale.
Following her third victory of the season last time out at Silverstone, Walmsley was aiming to return to the top step of the podium in the Brands Hatch finale. As the season has progressed, the Graves Motorsport driver has continued to take steps forward while particularly impressing in changeable conditions. Lydia has achieved podium finishes within the CS Pro class in all but one race during 2025 and now returned to Brands Hatch in search of her best weekend to date.
On-track action got underway on Friday as the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain drivers participated in two free practice sessions. Both sessions were held in wet conditions and Lydia completed a total of 35 laps in her Graves Motorsport machine. Her quickest lap of a 1:42.142 was set during the second session and placed Lydia in second position within the CS Pro class.
Saturday’s running began with qualifying held early in the morning and therefore the track was still damp from Friday’s rain. This forced the drivers to fit the wet weather tyres with the majority of the fastest laps in the CS Pro class coming in the very early stages of the session. Walmsley briefly held provisional pole, however Jonathan Moore was able to improve and claim top position. As all the drivers debated tyre choice late in the session, improvements were challenging in the CS Pro class with Lydia’s fastest time of a 1:40.184 placing her second in class.
Race one of the weekend was held on Saturday afternoon with the conditions now dry at Brands Hatch. Walmsley lined up from second on the grid in the CS Pro class courtesy of her qualifying result and she was now looking to challenge Moore for the race victory. It was a challenging initial start for the Graves Motorsport driver who fell behind the CS Am class leader Charlie Tuthill on lap one.
In the early exchanges, Tuthill began to edge away from Walmsley and as a result, Moore was able to escape at the head of the CS Pro class field. Lydia’s pace allowed her to pull clear of CS Am class drivers Paul Porter and Hannah Chapman who were battling for second position within class and as a result, she could focus forward on challenging Tuthill.
On lap four, Walmsley cut the margin to Tuthill by three-quarters of a second as her experience was beginning to tell. The gap between the two drivers was now less than a second and on lap six, Walmsley made her move on Tuthill. After clearing the CS Am class leader, Lydia quickly built a margin while matching CS Pro leader Moore through the Indy part of the circuit in particular.
Walmsley settled into a consistent pace during the middle portion of the race and she was now pulling clear of Tuthill by over two seconds per lap. Moore’s speed at the head of the field remained strong and despite Lydia’s best efforts, she was unable to catch the Toro Verde GT driver. Walmsley took the chequered in second position within the CS Pro class to complete a positive first race at Brands Hatch as she adapted well to changeable conditions throughout the day.
Race two of the season finale was held on Sunday morning with dry conditions remaining at Brands Hatch. However, ambient and track temperatures remained low and with the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain drivers first out on track, generating heat into the tyres was a challenge. Walmsley lined up from second position within the CS Pro class courtesy of her second fastest time in qualifying and she was looking to push towards the front during the twenty-minute race.
However, it was a challenging start for Walmsley as the RS Am class machine of Jason Baker stalled off the line and this delayed the Graves Motorsport driver. Although she retained second in the CS Pro class, Walmsley fell behind Charlie Tuthill and Hannah Chapman as the leading CS Am class drivers made their way through.
On lap two, Walmsley quickly cleared the Xentek Motorsport machine of Chapman while setting her sights on Tuthill. Fortunately, Tuthill had made a superb start as he also overtook Jonathan Moore and therefore the Toro Verde GT driver was unable to build a sizeable margin at the head of the CS Pro class field. Just as Walmsley overtook Chapman, Moore passed Tuthill and therefore one car was between the CS Pro class rivals once more.
It was now crucial for Walmsley to pass Tuthill as soon as possible and at the start of lap five, the drivers ran side-by-side. Lydia made a nice move to the inside at Paddock Hill Bend to clear Tuthill with the gap to Moore standing at three seconds. As the tyres reached their peak performance, Moore found good speed as he extended his gap over Walmsley, while Lydia’s advantage over Tuthill also continued to grow.
As the second half of the race unfolded, Walmsley’s lap times were consistent but Moore was nonetheless able to extend his lead in the CS Pro class. Lydia managed her tyres well in the closing stages as she maintained her position to extend her run of podium finishes with a second-place result in race two at Brands Hatch.
The final race of the season was held on Sunday afternoon with Walmsley starting from second position in the CS Pro class grid courtesy of her race two result. After two challenging starts to begin the weekend, Lydia made an excellent getaway in race three as she immediately claimed the lead away from Jonathan Moore. Walmsley also did a nice job to avoid the slowing car of Oliver Cottam on the approach to Druids, while Charlie Tuthill spun behind.
With the cars of Cottam and Tuthill both beached in separate gravel traps, the safety car was required to remove the stricken cars. Moore had also picked up damage during the first lap and he initially limped his car around at the rear of the field.
The race resumed on lap five and Walmsley made a good restart as she built a gap to CS Am class leader Hannah Chapman was directly behind. Moore was then shown the black flag and he was therefore required to bring his damaged car back to the pits and into retirement. Therefore, Walmsley had a clear run to the finish if she could execute a clean race at the head of the CS Pro class field.
By lap six, Walmsley had grown her advantage to Chapman to two seconds as she was maintaining a fast pace at the head of the overall CS class. With little pressure behind, Lydia could enjoy the final race of the season and her lap times were extremely consistent. Following the restart, all but her final lap were within a second of her best and her speed through the Grand Prix loop in particular was strong.
As a result, Walmsley edged away from Chapman in the closing stages to secure her fourth victory of the season in the CS Pro class. It was a perfect end to the season for the Graves Motorsport driver who secured her fourth victory of the season with a flawless drive. Lydia has continued to take strides forward over the course of her rookie campaign in rear-wheel-drive machinery as she ended the year as vice-champion in the CS Pro class of Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain.
