Charlie Martin headed to Oulton Park on the Easter weekend to start the season in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge.
It got off to a flying start with a third in class finish in Race Two and a chance to step onto the podium.
Despite the very wet weather that led to hazardous track conditions and poor visibility, Leicester racer Charlie recorded the strong finish in the Am class. It was a chaotic race at times, that was ended early due to a collision at the front of the pack.
In race one, also held in wet conditions, Charlie had been running third in class, but late lunge from a competitor on a slippery track caused her to be shunted off the circuit and finish out of position lower down the order.
She was then determined to improve in her second race, and took advantage of a drying (but still wet) track to get a strong start and make up places from the beginning. Poor visibility for all and increasingly muddy conditions caused multiple collisions throughout the pack, bringing out the red flag and bringing the second race to a close.
The third race of the day wasn’t able to be held as conditions worsened once more leading to the rest of the race meeting being abandoned.
Charlie was happy with her day;
“What an exciting start to the season. We were really thrown in the deep end today, almost literally, with such heavy rain all day. I think all of us were struggling to get comfortable and find the grip we needed. I’m happy to come away with a podium in Am class and that gives me a good start and lots of wet running that I can learn from and put to use again this season.
“I was frustrated to miss out on P3 in the first race but a lunge from the driver behind me put me into a spin and I was a passenger from that point. But that’s racing and that’s what people like to see – full-on, elbows-out racing to the flag. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel at Rockingham at the end of the month.”
Charlie has made the switch to British circuit racing this season, having previously made a name for herself competing in European hill climb events with a Formula Renault single-seater and a Norma M20FC prototype machine. She also stood on the podium at Le Mans last year, finishing third in her debut endurance outing at the Trophee Tourisme Endurance. She is aiming to be the first transgender racing driver to compete at the 24 hours of Le Mans.
Round two of the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge will be at Rockingham in Northamptonshire on April 28th and 29th. By Marc Waller
