Records tumble as Katie Milner wins in Wales

Katie leading the race by Purple M photography

Katie leading the race by Purple M photographyKatie Milner and her family run Merlin team headed to Wales last weekend for the second meeting of the season of the Junior Saloon Car Championship. (JSCC)

After a good start at Oulton Park in the opening rounds where she took an eighth and a ninth, she hoped to push further up the field this time, especially as Pembrey was a circuit she enjoyed racing at in 2015.

This time, she took part in Friday testing on her own, without a driver coach. This had advantages and disadvantages; she had to teach herself but it meant she got far more running with just her in the car, getting a feel for how it would be during the meeting itself.

The car was now in much better shape than at Oulton Park with the engine problem that slowed her at Oulton Park now completely solved and her brakes had been adjusted giving her lots more confidence braking into the corners. She also had a brand new helmet design painted by SW Designs, making sure she stood out from the crowd both in and out of the car.

Onto Saturday and the first session was practice. Katie had a trouble free session and finished just inside the top ten in ninth place. She felt she could go quicker and so she reviewed her in car footage to spot places where she could gain time.

Into qualifying and she could put into practice what she had learned. The result was spectacular, Pole position for both races with her first and second laps being quicker than anyone else could manage by just under 2 tenths of a second for the race one pole and just 5 hundredths of second for race two. A bit of history had been made too as Katie is the first female racer to take a pole position in the JSCC. Could she make more history in the race?

Winner and record breaker by Purple M photographyShe got a good start off the line and lead away but with rival George Sutton right behind. Katie didn’t let the pressure get to her though and remained ahead for the next few laps. Sutton however managed to sneak past on lap five with a small tap on Katie’s car. Katie wasn’t in the mood to let the race slip away from her slotted in behind him to run a close second looking for an opportunity to get back past. A safety car had to be scrambled further into the race and this was the opportunity she needed. As the safety car pulled in, Katie’s restart was much better than Sutton’s allowing her to power ahead once more. She pulled out a small gap to cross the line just under a second ahead of Charlie Kennedy who had also passed Sutton to demote him to third.

Katie was thrilled to take her first ever circuit racing victory as well as being the first female driver to win in the JSCC. The only thing she missed out on was the fastest lap but there was another race on Sunday to put that right.

Katie got a good start once again but the race was quickly red flagged on the third lap after a three car pile-up left debris on the circuit.

This time Katie found herself down to third on the opening lap but still in determined mood she fought back taking second placed Zanetti on the fifth lap and then George Sutton the next time by to take the lead. Things looked good or another win but was hit by a rival on lap ten dropping her to third. It soon became clear there was some suspension damage as her car no longer cornered as well as before the impact but Katie pushed on, trying to stay In touch. With rivals behind her in undamaged cars it became inevitable she’d succumb to the pressure and by the flag she had dropped to fifth place. Under the circumstances this was still a great result and all points are important during the course of the championship.

She also obtained her third record of the weekend having set the fastest lap during the early period of the race she becomes the first female to take a fastest lap in a race in the JSCC.

Katie was pleased with her weekend;
“The car felt amazing this weekend. We found out the cause of the engine problems I had at Oulton and we’d improved the brakes so I could brake as late as possible. I tested on my own this time so all my gains were self-taught. It helped having lots of time in the car by myself as I could get the confidence to really push into the corners. I was surprised to be P9 in practice but after watching my on-board from the session, I worked out where I lost time and then went out and got pole!”

“The first race was tough but it was amazing to fight back to the front and get my first win. I feel I now know what I’m capable of and people have definitely begun to notice my name! I’d like to thank my sponsors; Nimbus Motorsport, Autocool radiators, Merlin international and Myprotein. Plus the support of my family who have been brilliant this weekend. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season now and I’d like to push for more wins.”

With such a successful weekend behind her Katie will be hoping the confidence boost from the pole and the win will push her to the front of the field on a regular basis. The next rounds are at Snetterton on May 7th and 8th where Katie went well last year before being halted by mechanical gremlins. If she can repeat her recording breaking feats once again, she’ll be a definite championship contender. By Marc Waller

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