Taking on the Challenge of Oulton Park
From securing my first top-10 finish at Donington Park to taking on one of the most technical circuits of the season, the learning continued at Oulton Park.
This was another completely new circuit for me, and I went into the weekend with no previous seat time around the track. With only two practice sessions on Friday before heading into qualifying and racing on Saturday, there wasn't much time to learn it either.
Add track temperatures reaching 50 degrees into the mix, and it was going to be an interesting weekend.
Learning Oulton Park in Two Sessions
Friday practice was my first experience of driving Oulton Park.
It's one of the more technical circuits on this year's calendar and, compared with many of the drivers around me, I went into the weekend with significantly less experience of the track.
I had just two practice sessions to learn the circuit, understand where I could find time and get myself ready to race.
The high temperatures added another challenge, with track temperatures reaching around 50 degrees during Friday's sessions.
It wasn't going to be a weekend where we had endless opportunities to perfect everything. I needed to learn quickly.
A Disrupted Qualifying Session
Qualifying didn't quite go to plan.
A red flag came out only a few laps into the session, interrupting our opportunity to put together a competitive lap.
Once the session restarted, there was a lot of traffic on track. I tried to drop back and create enough of a gap ahead of me to get a clean lap, but unfortunately the session ended shortly after the restart.
That meant I never really got the opportunity to put together the lap I wanted.
I qualified P15 out of 23 drivers.
Considering how little experience I had around Oulton Park, there were still plenty of positives to take from the session – but I knew there was more available.
Race One – Holding P15
I started Race One from P15 and crossed the line in P15.
While there wasn't a change in position on paper, every racing lap around Oulton Park was giving me more experience of a circuit I'd only driven for the first time the day before.
With such limited preparation, getting consistent laps under my belt was incredibly valuable.
Race Two – Fighting Back to P15
Race Two was considerably more eventful from the moment the lights went out.
A car failed to get away from the line properly, creating a chaotic start and leaving me needing to react quickly.
It wasn't the start I wanted and it meant I had to work hard throughout the race to recover.
After battling my way back, I managed to bring the car home in P15 once again.
Sometimes a finishing position doesn't tell the whole story.
Having to recover from a difficult start, battle with the cars around me and continue learning such a technical circuit made Race Two another valuable experience in my first season of car racing.
Another New Circuit Under My Belt
Oulton Park and the upcoming Cadwell Park are definitely two of the more technical circuits on this year's calendar.
Considering I arrived at Oulton with no previous seat time and had just two sessions to learn the track before qualifying, I'm really happy with the lap times we were able to achieve on Saturday.
My first season in cars continues to be a huge learning curve.
As a female racing driver competing in UK motorsport, every new circuit is another opportunity to develop my racecraft, understand the car better and gain the experience I need to keep moving forward.
We've already raced at Brands Hatch, Silverstone GP, Donington Park and now Oulton Park – four very different circuits presenting four very different challenges.
Thank You to My Team and Sponsors
A huge thank you to everyone at TenSport Performance for all of their work throughout another race weekend, and well done to all of the team's drivers.
Congratulations to Spencer Lane on another podium too.
Finally, thank you to the sponsors who continue to support my first season in car racing:
KDA Dental Recruitment
EBC Brakes
Forever Callie Media
PortmanDentex
Sunrise Technologies
Every weekend is adding more experience, more laps and more lessons.
Next up is another challenge: Cadwell Park – a narrow, technical circuit and another completely new track for me.