Making her circuit racing debut at Brands Hatch, Ruby Smith made steady progress in the opening round of the Demon Tweeks Audi TT Cup Racing Championship, in a grid of over 30 drivers.
Making her circuit racing debut at Brands Hatch, Ruby Smith made steady progress in the opening round of the Demon Tweeks Audi TT Cup Racing Championship. In a grid of over 30 drivers, including a host of champions from British club racing, Smith achieved a best result of 26th place in race two. Setting her quickest time of the event in race two, Ruby’s progress was evident and she will be targeting consistent midfield results as the season progresses.
Brands Hatch marked Ruby’s car racing debut, with the sixteen-year-old driver making the step from karting. Smith has carried out a period of testing in preparation for the season, while being coached by British Touring Car Championship driver Jade Edwards. Gaining experience in both wet and dry conditions, Ruby was aiming to develop further as a driver while learning some of the most iconic circuits in the country.
Choosing to compete in the Demon Tweeks Audi TT Cup Racing Championship, Ruby would begin her senior racing in front-wheel-drive machinery. After a positive first season in 2023, the championship has gone from strength to strength in the off-season, attracting a grid of over 30 cars.
As a result, the initial plan was for drivers to be split into three groups for the opening round at Brands Hatch, with Smith and her fellow competitors competing in two of the three races across the weekend. However, due to a several drivers withdrawing their entry, this allowed all of the drivers to compete in two action-packed races.
Qualifying was Ruby’s first competitive circuit racing session and despite a red flag disrupting proceedings early on, she was able to complete a number of laps. It was a challenging session for Smith whose fastest time of a 57.240 placed her in 32nd position. With two races to come, the aim was to improve on her lap times and bring herself towards the midfield runners during the course of the weekend.
Ruby began her debut race from 32nd position and made a good start, getting off the line well and negotiation a significant amount of track dressing at Paddock Hill. Holding 32nd position after lap one, Smith moved into 31st at the end of the second lap following an issue for Andrew Dyer.
Smith was also carrying some rear bumper damage which impeded her progress during the middle portion of the race as she began to be lapped by the race leaders. This was another learning experience for the young driver who did superbly to stay off the racing line, while learning from her competitors. Finishing the fifteen-minute race in 31st position, it was a successful debut race which saw Smith bank vital experience, with her position improved to 30th following a disqualification for one driver.
Race two took place at midday on Sunday with Ruby starting from 30th position after her result in race one. The race was immediately red flagged following a multi-car incident approaching Paddock Hill bend, with Smith doing a nice job to negotiate the stopped cars. Once the race was restarted, Ruby made a clean start and was up into 27th position, while remaining in contention with the drivers ahead.
On lap three, Smith was up to 26th following issues for both Joe Weaver and Brad Kaylor, with a recovering Matt Luff finding his way ahead. Two laps later, Ruby set her fastest lap of the event to date as she continued to build confidence in her first ever race meeting.
Another quick time followed on lap eight, with Smith doing a nice job to remain on the lead lap. Moving ahead of Rasha Tyler Chigorimbo in the closing stages, Ruby finished race two in 26th and could take a number of positives away from her second race in the Demon Tweeks Audi TT Cup Racing Championship.
Ruby should be pleased with her progress in her first ever circuit racing weekend. Competing in a series as competitive as the Demon Tweeks Audi TT Cup Racing Championship is a challenge for a novice driver, but Smith continued to improve and bring herself closer to the midfield runners.
The next target will be to further develop her racecraft while pushing forward to challenge her fellow rookies. The next round of the championship will take the drivers to the technical Snetterton 300 circuit on the weekend of 18th/19th May.