Lydia Walmsley

 

Lydia Walmsley is one of Britain’s leading female Mini racers.

She has been racing a BMW Mini since 2018 and has recorded wins in the UK Mini Challenge.

After a successful stint as a junior karter, she started her career in cars in 2016, driving a Citroen Saxo in the Junior Saloon Car Championship. She was fourteen when she entered the championship and combined her part-season with karting. Her best result was a sixth place, at Knockhill. After four races, she was 26th in the championship. 

She returned to the JSCC in 2017 and proved a competent driver. Her best finishes were two fourths at Silverstone and Rockingham at the start of the year. A roll into the tyre wall and subsequent non-start at Knockhill interrupted her momentum somewhat, but she was still seventh overall.  

In 2018, she graduated to the Mini Challenge, competing in the Cooper Pro class. At sixteen, she was the youngest driver on the grid. She was ninth overall. 

This improved to third in 2019 and included her debut win at Snetterton, in the last race of the season. Her win followed four other podiums. She was second at Donington and Croft and third at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch. Her qualifying pace was often good and she started near the front of the grid.

Although she did not win again in 2020, she was third in the final standings, despite missing one race at Thruxton. Her best finishes were two second places at Oulton and Snetterton. Seven of her eight race finishes were top-tens, with five of these being top-fives. She was the leading female driver in the championship. This year, the Mini Challenge ran alongside British Touring Cars and Lydia’s races were shown live on television.

She was awarded the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club’s Goodwin Trophy for 2020 as the club’s highest-performing eligible member. Not long after, she was named as one of Motorsport UK’s “Academy Class of 2021-2022”, having been chosen as a particularly promising young driver worthy of further support.

She stepped up to the JCW class for 2021, the fastest class in the championship. It was a hard learning year, but Lydia pronounced herself satisfied with it, having completed a full season of racing and testing. She was fourth in the rookie class and 22nd overall.

A second attempt at the JCW championship led to a 19th in the final leaderboard. She came close to the top ten at Knockhill and Brands Hatch, picking up an eleventh place. She was tenth in the same series in 2023, with three fifth places towards the end of the season at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

(Image copyright minichallenge.co.uk)