Walmsley looks to build on 'history-making' podium

Lydia Walmsley entered the motorsport world when she took up karting at the age of seven

Lydia Walmsley hopes her upward trajectory continues after becoming the first female driver to achieve a podium finish in the JCW Mini Challenge Championship.

The 21-year-old finished third in the final race of three at Snetterton last month following 14 top-10 finishes during the 2023 season.

Walmsley achieved her first win at the same Norfolk circuit in the Mini Cooper Pro Championship in 2019 before stepping up to JCW two years later.

"It was history making, the first female to stand on a JCW podium, and to have it at my local track with quite a lot of local sponsors there and my family was pretty phenomenal," she told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"We started ninth on the grid and by the final lap - I didn't realise it was the final lap, to be honest - I was fifth and quite far away from third place.

"You'd never have thought going into the final lap that we'd finish on the podium, so it was almost unexpected really. That made it even more special."

'I've never felt that kind of excitement'

Walmsley's team is run by her family and has one of the smallest budgets in the championship.

But before the start of the season she said they were "aiming high", with a podium finish the immediate target.

Things didn't go to plan in the first two rounds at Donington Park and Brands Hatch, but her result at Snetterton has provided a major confidence boost.

"When I came round the final corner and saw the chequered flag, it was almost better than my race win (in 2019). I've never felt relief and that kind of excitement before," she said.

"It makes you realise we do deserve to be at the front and we can manage it, we just need to keep doing what we're doing and trying as hard as we are.

"We're not always going to be on the podium, no-one always is, you need a lot of things to fall into place to make it happen and luckily at Snetterton it did. Fingers crossed it continues to go in that sort of trajectory."

Next up for Walmsley - who hopes to one day compete in the British Touring Car Championship - is a two-race round at Oulton Park this weekend.

"I always love Oulton Park, I prefer it to Snetterton. It's narrow, it's technical, there's usually a fair few bumps," she said.

"Hopefully the weekend goes well and the Minis put on a good show like they always do at Oulton Park."