PSCGB: Lydia Walmsley crowned Talent Pool vice-champion at Brands Hatch
Lydia Walmsley secured second position in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain Talent Pool championship standings following a productive season for the Clean Racing driver who made a successful step up to the RS Pro class.
Lydia Walmsley secured second position in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain Talent Pool championship standings following a productive season for the Clean Racing driver who made a successful step up to the RS Pro class.
Walmsley arrived at Brands Hatch in firm contention for the Talent Pool championship title with the Clean Racing driver just two points behind Chris Bingham. Despite a challenging event last time out at Silverstone, Walmsley banked points for the Talent Pool standings in all three races while securing a best result of eighth in the RS Pro class. Walmsley’s consistency has been a particular highlight of her campaign as Lydia had seen the chequered flag in all but one race of the campaign prior to the season finale.
Now tackling the formidable Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, Walmsley was searching for a fast start to the weekend during Friday’s two free practice sessions. The opening session was held in damp conditions and this was valuable experience with Walmsley completing a total of 18 laps. Setting a fastest time of a 1:39.127, the Clean Racing driver finished free practice one in ninth position overall, sixth in the RS Pro class with Lydia leading the way among the Talent Pool competitors.
In the afternoon session, dry conditions returned to Brands Hatch with Walmsley completing a further 22 laps, the most of any driver in the field. Lapping the Grand Prix circuit in a time of 1:31.382, Walmsley ended the day in 11th position overall, ninth in the RS Pro class and third among the Talent Pool competitors.
Dry conditions remained for Saturday morning’s qualifying session with Walmsley targeting improvements from Friday’s free practice sessions. On her first flying lap, the Clean Racing driver had already surpassed her time from the previous day.
At the halfway mark, Walmsley was in eighth position overall with her fastest lap of a 1:30.328 placing her in contention for a season’s best qualifying result. I
mproving by a further quarter of a second in the closing stages of the session, Walmsley qualified in 11th position overall, ninth in the RS Pro class and directly behind fellow Talent Pool drivers Bingham and James Seale.
Race one at Brands Hatch took place on Saturday afternoon and with the grid positions based upon the results from qualifying, Walmsley lined up from 11th overall, ninth in the RS Pro class. Walmsley got a good start and after Bingham took a trip through the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend, Lydia had a sizeable advantage over her Talent Pool Championship rival.
Walmsley continued her strong opening lap with an excellent move down the back straight before the Clean Racing driver ended lap one in ninth position overall, eighth in the RS Pro class. In the early stages of the race, Walmsley was defending from RS Am class champion Daniel Lewis who was showing good speed in his Race Car Consultants machine.
After Lewis drew level with Walmsley at the end of lap three, Lewis completed the move with Lydia settling into tenth position overall. As a result, Walmsley lost some momentum and this allowed Reece Somerfield to close in before he made the pass on lap five. Walmsley was then forced to defend from Dean Burden with a great battle emerging between the two drivers.
On lap seven, Burden was just two tenths of a second behind and he moved ahead on the following lap with Walmsley now in 12th position overall, while she remained eighth in the RS Pro class. During the second half of the race, Walmsley enjoyed a fantastic battle with teammate Aimee Watts who was keen to move forward as she targeted a spot on the RS Am class podium.
Despite Watts coming within a tenth of Walmsley on two occasions, including as the drivers began the final lap, Lydia defended her position superbly. Taking the chequered flag in 12th position overall, eighth in the RS Pro class, Walmsley crucially finished ahead of Talent Pool rival Bingham while the duo were now level on points atop the Talent Pool championship standings.
Race two of the weekend took place later on Saturday afternoon and with the grid positions based upon the second fastest times from qualifying, Walmsley started from 11th overall, ninth in the RS Pro class. As the lights went out, Walmsley got a superb launch and she challenged Bingham into Paddock Hill Bend before running three-wide at Druids with James Seale.
After falling in line behind Bingham into Graham Hill Bend, Walmsley ran side-by-side with Reece Somerfield out of Surtees and down Pilgrims Drop. Walmsley knew she had to keep Bingham in her sights and therefore she continued to challenge Somerfield through Hawthorn Bend and into Westfield. As she was edged wide, Walmsley lost momentum and therefore she dropped to 14th position overall, ninth in the RS Pro class.
On lap two, Walmsley was just two tenths of a second behind Aimee Watts as she looked for a way past her teammate. As she was shaping for a move on the RS Am class driver, the safety car was deployed following an incident between Ethan Hammerton and Samuel Harvey. Due to an extensive cleanup required, it was a lengthy neutralisation period with Walmsley up to 13th position overall, eighth in the RS Pro class.
The race resumed for one final lap and Walmsley did a superb job to pass Watts, while she was the eighth fastest driver on track during the final tour. Therefore, the Clean Racing driver took the chequered flag in 12th position overall, eighth in the RS Pro class, before being promoted to 11th overall, seventh in class, following a stewards decision against Hammerton. With Bingham finishing in eighth position overall, he held a three-point advantage in the Talent Pool championship going into the season finale on Sunday.
The Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain season finale was held on Sunday afternoon and with the grid positions based upon the results from race two, Walmsley lined up from 11th overall, seventh in the RS Pro class. Walmsley got a good start as she jumped inside the overall top-10, while slipping behind Ethan Hammerton in the RS Pro class order.
Beginning lap two in tenth position overall, eighth in the RS Pro class, Walmsley was now fending off Dean Burden who was keen to move forward. After Burden closed to within two tenths of a second, Walmsley settled into a good rhythm as she set some of her fastest race laps of the entire weekend.
However, Bingham was enjoying one of his strongest drivers of the season and looked set to claim the Talent Pool championship unless Walmsley could mount a remarkable comeback.
The Clean Racing driver was showing improved pace on the Grand Prix loop especially as she retained a position inside the overall top-10. On lap five, Walmsley was almost three quarters of a second faster than James Seale with her fellow Talent Pool driver running directly ahead. After closing to within a few car lengths of her rival, Burden closed back in with Walmsley’s efforts turned towards defence.
On lap eight, Burden shaped for a move into Surtees with Walmsley protecting her position well. After closing up to within a quarter of a second on lap nine, Burden got a good run down the back straight as the drivers completed lap 10. Walmsley slipped behind Burden on the Grand Prix loop with the Clean Racing driver now in 11th position overall, eighth in class.
In the closing stages, Walmsley came under pressure from Reece Somerfield, however Lydia’s defence was strong. Holding off the Breakell Racing driver who was also assessed a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, Walmsley took the chequered flag in 11th position overall, while closing out her season with an eighth-place finish in the RS Pro class.
Although Walmsley missed out on the Talent Pool championship by just nine points, it was an excellent season for Lydia who displayed both speed and consistency on her way to seventh in the RS Pro class standings. Walmsley fought admirably throughout the campaign and now she will be aiming to consolidate this progress into the off-season.
