Top-10 finishes for Steph Sore and Sophie Kinghorn, Jade Goodwin banks experience at Silverstone
- LIAM REDFORD
- 5 hours ago
- 7 min read
Across the 2025 season of the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge, three female drivers have competed in the series with previous entrants Steph Sore and Jade Goodwin joined by newcomer Sophie Kinghorn. At the penultimate round, Steph Sore and Sophie Kinghorn secured top-10 finishes at Silverstone, while Jade Goodwin continued her positive 2025 campaign with two clean races.
The penultimate round of the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge saw Steph Sore and Sophie Kinghorn secure top-10 finishes at Silverstone, while Jade Goodwin continued her positive 2025 campaign with two clean races.
Sore was the highest-placed female driver in qualifying as she set the sixth fastest time and she was only denied a top-5 finish following a post-race penalty for track limits infringements. Kinghorn enjoyed an excellent weekend of progress as she ended the event with a sixth-place result on her Silverstone debut. Goodwin secured a best finish of 15th as she added to her championship points tally at the home of British motorsport.
As one of the most cost-effective single-make championships in Britain, the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge sees identical MK6 Ford Fiestas battle it out at some of the most iconic circuits in the country. Across the 2025 season, three female drivers have competed in the series with previous entrants Steph Sore and Jade Goodwin joined by newcomer Sophie Kinghorn.
Stepping up from the SMRC Scottish Fiesta ST Challenge where she finished in second position overall in 2024, Kinghorn arrived at Silverstone sitting in eighth position in the championship standings. Returning to the championship this season, Goodwin has continued to take steps forward and this has been reflected by her top-10 championship position. Although just participating in a partial campaign, Sore has impressed on her limited outings with two top-5 finishes to her name.
The season began at Snetterton in April with a triple-header taking place in Norfolk. Sore was absent for the curtain-raiser with both Kinghorn and Goodwin making good starts to their respective campaigns. Although both drivers qualified outside the top-10, excellent progress was made across the course of the weekend.
After Kinghorn and Goodwin banked valuable championship points in races one and two, they both ended the event on a high. Kinghorn finished race three in sixth position, while Goodwin scored her first top-10 result of the season with an eighth-place finish, gaining seven spots from her starting position in a competitive 23 car field.
Round two was held at the high-speed Mallory Park circuit with a pair of races held over the weekend. Sore returned to the series for her first appearance of the season and achieved a pair of top-10 results, including an eighth-place finish in race two. Goodwin continued her consistent start to the season as she finished in 12th in race one and 11th in race two.
However, it was Kinghorn who starred at Mallory Park as she qualified in sixth, before securing two top-6 finishes. In race two, the SBR Motorsport driver finished in fourth position, just a tenth of a second behind current British Touring Car Championship driver Max Buxton.
The series then headed west to Anglesey circuit in Wales which was a new track to learn for the majority of the field. Both Kinghorn and Goodwin showed excellent one lap pace as they qualified inside the top-10, while Sore set the 16th fastest time.
Overall, it was a challenging weekend for the trio of female drivers who achieved a combined-best result of ninth for Kinghorn in race one. Goodwin’s charge through the field from 23rd to finish in 13th position in race two was another highlight of a mixed event at Anglesey.
Oulton Park in Chesire hosted round four which was set to be an event of contrasts for Kinghorn and Goodwin. Despite showing excellent pace and challenging for top-5 results, Kinghorn retired from both races due to unfortunate contact. However. for Goodwin, she enjoyed her best weekend in the series to date. After finishing in ninth position in race one, Goodwin took the chequered flag in eighth spot in race two to complete a positive event where she firmly established herself within the overall top-10.
The tight and technical Cadwell Park circuit was the venue for round five of the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge with a trio of races held across the weekend. Sore marked her return to the series with a pair of top-5 finishes as she contended in the lead group of drivers. For Kinghorn, it was a breakthrough weekend as she young Scottish driver improved her position across all three races.
After starting the third contest on reverse grid pole, Kinghorn claimed her first podium result by taking the chequered flag in third position, less than two seconds behind race winner George Foxlow.
After a strong event at Oulton Park, Goodwin suffered from misfortune with two retirements and a best finish of 13th. However, she was keen to bounce back at Silverstone with the National layout having not featured in the current iteration of the championship.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning and was a short fifteen-minute session held in cool but dry conditions. Sore made a fast start to the session as she immediately jumped inside the top-5 with an early lap time which challenged for pole position. Goodwin began qualifying by lapping consistently just outside the top-10, while Kinghorn built up her speed slowly as she got her tyres up to temperature.
After a trip to the pits midway through the session, Sore returned to the circuit for one final run.
Although she was unable to improve, her quickest lap of a 1:11.550 placed her sixth overall, less than half a second from pole. Kinghorn’s good late improvements saw her qualify just outside the top-10 in 11th place, while Goodwin’s fastest time came on her penultimate lap of the session and placed her in 15th position.
The first race of the day took place later on Saturday morning with the trio of female drivers targeting improvements. Sore lined up from the third row of the grid in sixth position, Kinghorn from 11th and Goodwin was promoted to 14th position after Andrew Ward was required to start from the rear of the field. Sore made an excellent start as she moved into fourth at the end of the first lap while running side-by-side with George Foxlow for third.
Kinghorn lost one position on lap one as she was shuffled back into 12th spot while Goodwin remained in 14th position in the early exchanges. Sore continued to challenge at the front of the field after her fast start and she moved into second. After again running level with Foxlow, Sore was shuffled back as Foxlow, Dillon Davis and Billy Blockley moved ahead. Sore then enjoyed a fantastic battle with Blockley as the pair exchanged fourth position before Sore settled into fifth.
After a consistent start, Goodwin lost out to Daniel Maguire, Luke Jarman and Marc Webb as she battled to regain positions in the competitive midfield. A personal best time for Kinghorn on lap four brought her closer to the drivers ahead and as the fight for positions inside the top-10 intensified, she was able to capitalise. By lap eight, she had overtaken William Box while Kinghorn began to set a series of personal best times.
Sore’s pace was also strong in the middle portion of the race and after being the fastest driver on track during lap six, she built a comfortable margin to the group of drivers behind. However, Sore was then issued a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits and therefore her main focus was now on setting fast and consistent lap times.
On lap 10, Kinghorn passed Gary Cooper for a position inside the top-10 and she continued to improve on her Silverstone debut. Kinghorn took the chequered flag in tenth position, less than two tenths of a second behind Aiden Vickers to complete a productive first race. Goodwin kept it clean during the second half of the race as she finished in race one in 17th position. Sore was set for her third top-5 finish of the season, however she was classified in seventh position once her five-second penalty was applied.
The second and final race of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with the grid positions based upon the results from race one. As a result, Sore started from seventh position with Kinghorn in tenth and Goodwin in 17th. Sore made a fast start from the fourth row of the grid as she moved into sixth position, while both Kinghorn and Goodwin maintained their starting spots.
Goodwin was keen to move forward after a difficult first race and on lap two, she overtook Graham Malam for 16th position. Sore was involved in an extremely close battle for position on the second lap as she lost out to Sam Watkins, Aiden Vickers and Robbie Harrison. Kinghorn the next driver to move ahead as she claimed ninth position with Sore falling back into tenth spot.
Goodwin fell behind Gary Cooper on lap three and then she was involved in a good battle with Andrew Ward who was recovering from the rear of the field. On lap five, Sore and Kinghorn swapped positions again with Steph looking to push towards the top-5. The leading group of ten drivers had now broken clear and the pace was fast despite regular changes of position.
On lap six, Sore passed Vickers for eighth and on the following tour, she made a move on Harrison for seventh. A superb battle then ensued between Sore, Watkins and Harrison with Steph coming out on top as she claimed sixth position. Kinghorn was doing a fantastic job to follow Sore through in the closing stages and the young Scottish racer was into seventh by the end of lap ten.
On lap 12, Kinghorn made the move on Sore as she claimed sixth position while building a gap to the drivers behind. An excellent driver saw Kinghorn take the chequered flag in sixth position to complete a great day of improvement at Silverstone. Misfortune struck for Sore on the final lap as she retired from the race with a technical issue. As a result, Goodwin took advantage as she moved up two positions on the final lap with Vickers pulling into the pits.
Both Sore and Kinghorn added to their top-10 tally at Silverstone as they competed at the head of the field. Sore displayed excellent one-lap pace and was unfortunate not to achieve a top-5 finish, however she enjoyed close battles with Kinghorn who herself banked a large haul of championship points. Although it was a more challenging event for Goodwin, she completed two clean races and gained valuable experience at an iconic circuit.
The final event of the 2025 Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge season takes place at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 25th/26th October.