Ashley Gregory ended her second full-season in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy with a strong performance at Brands Hatch, achieving her first top-5 finish of the season and securing a top-10 overall in the championship standings.
Ashley Gregory completed her second full-season season in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy with an impressive performance at Brands Hatch. The highlight of her weekend came in race one where the young racer charged through from 13th on the grid to finish in fifth position.
Another top-10 in race two ensured she continued her strong momentum, before she banked valuable points with a comeback drive in race three to secure tenth place in the overall standings.
Gregory arrived at the Brands Hatch season finale looking to end the year on a high while also racing a new chassis. In her second full season in the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy, Ashley has taken steps forward which has seen her consistently challenge for top-10 positions.
This enabled her to enter the final weekend 12th in the overall standings and still with a realistic chance of securing a top-10 finish. Gregory also sat ninth in the highly competitive Graduates Cup sub-division, for second year drivers, with five of the top-6 drivers in the overall classification also eligible for this class.
After a productive test day on Friday, Gregory was looking to make that speed count in Saturday morning’s qualifying session. Conditions were tricky for the Vertu Mini Challenge Trophy drivers with damp conditions at Brands Hatch and therefore judging the grip levels was challenging. At the end of the fifteen-minute session, Ashley had set the 14th fastest time and was eighth quickest among the Graduate Cup entries.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with conditions now drier, although the track remained partially damp in places. Grid positions were based on the second fastest times from qualifying with Gregory starting from 13th position. The racing was close into Paddock Hill bend and contact between three cars led to the red flag being shown with the trio of machines requiring recovery.
A full fifteen-minute restart was called for and with a number of cars directly behind Ashley now out, she could focus forward on the initial start. Capitalising on this position, Gregory ended lap one in 11th position before quickly moving into the top-10 with a pass on Joshua Wilby.
Her pace in the initial stages of the race was exceptional and on lap three, Ashley set the overall fastest first sector. Gregory’s progress was then interrupted as Ben Taylor had hit the barrier on the exit of Druids and the safety car was required.
Gregory’s restart was superb as she immediately applied the pressure to Leo Purches before quickly passing the Graves Motorsport driver. Ashley was also able to overtake Ronnie Smith and on lap eight, with another fastest first sector saw her close the gap to the leading group of drivers. In the second half of the contest, Gregory was fighting among a highly competitive pack of eight drivers who were all battling for the race victory.
Ashley’s confidence in her new car was evident as she continued to make progress by overtaking Rhys Hurd on lap nine, while drawing level with Luca Marinoni-Osborne. Running side-by-side with her rival through the opening turns, Gregory cleared the Westbourne Motorsport driver into Graham Hill bend to move into sixth.
As the final lap began, Ashley still remained in contention for an overall podium result and passed Alex Solley with a smart manoeuvre. Smith also followed her through and following a near photo-finish with the Chandler Motorsport race, Gregory held on to secure her first top-5 finish of the season.
Grid positions for the second race of the weekend were based on a partial reverse grid and this saw Gregory start from fourth. Ashley made a good launch and was already into third position as the drivers approached Paddock Hill bend.
Close-quarters racing saw her shuffled back to sixth at the end of lap one, before the race was red flagged at the start of lap two. While battling with Gregory for a top-5 position, Leo Purches rolled his car at Paddock Hill bend and therefore the race was stopped.
A full restart was able to take place with Gregory able to take her place on the second row of the grid. Ashley was shuffled back to seventh position at the end of the first lap of the restart, before Rhys Hurd moved ahead on lap two. Championship contender Sam Gornall was keen to make up from a disappointing first race and he was next to challenge Gregory. The Westbourne Motorsport driver completed the pass on lap three with the safety car then deployed due to an incident for Cameron Wood.
When the racing resumed, Gregory was aiming to regain lost positions with the top-10 drivers all running nose-to-tail. On lap 11, a multi-car incident at the head of the field saw Ashley capitalise as she overtook Ronnie Smith, while Harry Hickton was now carrying damage. The cars of Katia Loggie and Gabe Fairbrother were both stranded on track and as a result, the race was red flagged. With the final results counted back prior to the stoppage, Gregory finished race two in ninth position.
For the final race of the weekend, Gregory lined up from 15th position following a two-place grid penalty. It was a good initial start from Ashley as she aimed to secure her third top-10 finish of the weekend, however contact from a rival pushed her wide at Graham Hill bend which lost her significant momentum. Completing lap one in 21st position, Gregory was now targeting a strong recovery drive in the season finale.
By the end of the second lap, she had already gained back two positions and was showing good pace as she caught both John Castle and Louis Fleet. On lap six, further contact saw Gregory drop back to 21st position, however she remained faster than the drivers ahead. Contact between Castle and Matt Hammond then allowed Gregory to move back inside the top-20 as the second half of the race unfolded.
After setting a series of personal best times, Gregory was able to pass Steven Chandler and following a move on Mick Fitzgerald, she was now into 17th position. Now running half a second faster than her rivals ahead, her comeback drive was not yet complete as she overtook Cameron Wood for 16th position. Setting another quickest time on the final lap, Gregory completed her season with a hard-charging drive which earned her a 16th place result.
It was a strong weekend of pace for Gregory in her new car as she secured her first top-5 finish of the season. As a result, she clinched a top-10 overall championship result while finishing seventh among the Graduate Cup drivers.
Overall, it has been an encouraging season for Ashley where she has taken steps forward in performance and racecraft while competing in one of the most competitive single-make championships in Britain.
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