Abbie Eaton

Abbie Eaton is a British sportscar racer, who was a leading driver in the 2016 British GT championship.

Abbie started competing in the SaxMax junior championship in 2007, after four years of competitive karting. She was fourteenth overall in her first year, with a best finish of fourth overall.

She improved dramatically in 2008, to take fourth in the championship this time. Apart from two DNFs, she was never out of the top ten all season, although a win eluded her. Her best finish was second at Pembrey, and her lowest was sixth at Donington. She earned three podiums and two fastest laps.

In 2009, upon turning 17, she moved up to the Dunlop Sportmaxx Championship for production cars, driving a Vauxhall Corsa. She won her class fifteen times, and was crowned Class B champion at the end of the year.

Despite winning a championship in her first full season as a senior driver, she could not find enough sponsorship to race in 2010, other than a guest appearance in the Max5 championship for Mazda MX-5s. She was third.

In what would become a pattern for the next few seasons, she entered the Max5 championship in 2011, running for a part-season. Her best finish was fourth.

She returned to the series in 2012, but again, only managed a part-season, due to a major sponsor pulling out and an engine failure. Her best finish was fifth.

She did another part-season of four races in 2013, scoring a win at Oulton Park, and three other podiums.

In 2014, she made a full return to motorsport, in the MX-5 Supercup. Driving for the AE Racing  team, she fought off Tom Roche and won the title by one point, after five outright wins.

Most of 2015 was spent racing a BMW M3 for Geoff Steel Racing in the GT Cup, a step up in power for her. She won one race, at Silverstone, and achieved five more top-three finishes: three seconds and two thirds. This left her fifth in the championship. She and her team-mate, Michael Symons, were never out of the top five, apart from two DNFs.

She raced a Maserati GranTurismo MC in the 2016 British GT Championship, driving for Ebor GT Motorsport. Her team-mate was Marcus Hoggarth. She was a creditable fourth overall, and second in the Pro-Am class, with one second place at Oulton Park, and two more fourth places, at Spa and Donington. Ebor was a new team for 2016, and they had their difficulties, although Abbie was able to perform well and finish eight out of nine races.

Despite her solid results in 2016, Abbie was not retained by the team for 2017. She impressed in a one-off drive in the Blancpain Endurance Series, winning the Am class in an AF Corse Ferrari 488, but this did not lead to any more outings. Later in the year, she had a guest drive in the British GT Championship in a Ginetta G55, coming ninth in the GT4 class.

Late in 2017, Abbie was named as one of the resident test drivers for Amazon TV's The Grand Tour. She has appeared on screen several times and remained part of the team for 2018 and 2019.

2018 did not feature a regular drive, but she did make some impressive appearances in the JET Super Touring Trophy, driving a Holden Commodore which was one of the oldest and heaviest cars on the grid.

Australia was the new focus of her racing aspirations in 2019. She signed up for the Super2 Series, the junior championship for V8 Supercars, driving a Holden Commodore for Matt Stone Racing. It was not the easiest of debuts at Adelaide; she finished two of her three races with a best result of fourteenth. No more funding for extra races was forthcoming and she had to return to the UK.

In November, she was offered the VIP car for the Saudi rounds of the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, supporting the first Formula E race of the season. She was fourth both times. In August 2020, she made another guest appearance at the Berlin circuit, finishing seventh, sixth and fifth.

Shortly after her first Jaguar race, she was announced as a driver for the 2020 W Series, despite having been sceptical of the concept previously. Her debut single-seater season was not spectacular, with sixth places at Zandvoort and Red Bull Ring the highlights. The low point was a serious multi-car crash at Circuit of the Americas, which left her with broken vertebrae in her neck. She missed the last round.

Before her accident, she had also been racing in the Praga class of Britcar, sharing a Praga R1T with Gordie Mutch and Ashley Dibden. They won one race at Silverstone and were second at Oulton later in the year.

She recovered in time for the start of the 2022 W Series season, having been invited back as the last regular driver. She was thirteenth in the championship after an uneven year, with a seventh place in her home race at Silverstone being her best result.

There was no W Series in 2023, as the championship had folded due to financial issues, so Abbie went back to sportscars. She raced in the European Lamborghini Super Trofeo, sharing with Daan Pijl in a car run by Rebelleo by Bonaldi Motorsport. They were seventh overall, finishing third once at the Nurburgring. Driving a different Lamborghini Huracan with John Seale, she entered the Donington round of the British GT championship, but did not finish.

Still in one-make motorsport, she raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup in the UK in 2024. This proved a good move, as she won two races, including one from pole at Silverstone. This was a first for a female driver in this championship. She was fifth in the final standings. In addition to this, she drove a Plymouth Barracuda in the St Marys Trophy at the Goodwood Revival.

In future, she has expressed interest in both Le Mans, and the Australian V8 Supercar series.

(Image from http://www.racing.gt/2016/02/my-racing-bucketlist-abbie-eaton/)

Zoe Wenham

Zoe and team-mate, Declan Jones, in 2013

Zoe Wenham is one of Britain’s most promising sportscar racers, and has the awards and results to prove it.

She raced karts from the age of nine, then took advantage of the 2000s boom in under-17 touring car series by entering the SaxMax championship, in a regulation Citroen Saxo. At the time, she was still only fourteen. Her first season was 2008, and she was 16th overall, as one of the youngest drivers on the grid. Her most promising result was a fifth place at Snetterton.

In 2009, she moved over from her family team, to Ferguson Motorsport. This resulted in a more successful year in SaxMax, with a ninth place overall at the end of it.

In 2010, she only competed in the first two rounds of SaxMax, as she decided to graduate to senior competition, still aged only sixteen. She took part in the 2010 VW Racing Cup, driving a Polo GTi. As she was not yet 17, she was the youngest person ever to race in the series. At the end of the season, she was 21st, with a best finish of eleventh.

In 2011, she continued in the VW Cup, in a Golf this time. More power, and experience, again helped her up the championship table, and she finished eighth overall, after her first podium place.

The following year, she made the switch to sportscar racing, and it proved to be a good call. She raced a Ginetta G50 in the British GT Championship in 2012, for Century Motorsport. In contrast to previous debut seasons in a new car, she was on the pace almost immediately, with a fourth and a third at Oulton Park. Further podium positions, at Snetterton, Rockingham, the Nürburgring and Donington, three of these being second places, were enough to give her second in the championship. She did not finish out of the top five all season. Her team-mates were Mike Simpson and Dominic Evans. In recognition of her excellent debut season, she was awarded the BWRDC’s Gold Star.

She returned to the championship in 2013, in the Century Ginetta, with expectations of her high. She did not disappoint, and this year, she had her first wins, two of them, at Oulton Park, and another two podiums, at Snetterton and Rockingham. Despite a somewhat less consistent season, partly due to reliability and technical problems, she was still in the running for the GT4 title, until she had to miss the Zandvoort round, for undisclosed reasons. Although she returned for the finale at Donington in a different Ginetta, in which she finished seventh, it was not enough to rescue her title campaign, and she was fifth. Her team-mate, Declan Jones, was second. This was the end of her time with the Century team.

Later on, she was selected as the British entrant into the FIA Women's Scirocco-R cup shootout, with a view to racing in Europe in 2014. She was not chosen; the award went to the French driver, Lucile Cypriano.

After being left without a GT drive for 2014, Zoe was determined to race something. She ended up in the Volkswagen Fun Cup, an endurance series for VW Beetles, driving alongside her younger brother, Guy. They were part of Team O’Br, driving as the “Young Guns”, with other young drivers. Zoe’s endurance experience paid off, and they were second in their first race, at Oulton Park. It was an up-and-down season, with some setbacks, like their fourteenth place in the third race, but they were strong enough to be in a secure runner-up position after the final race of the season.

Mid-season, she was even invited back to Century Motorsports for the Britcar race at Snetterton, in the Ginetta once more. She was seventh and eighth, driving with Stephen Fresle. They teamed up again at Silverstone, and managed two class wins. They were second overall in Class 3.

In 2015, she raced in the Fun Cup again, with Guy and Stephen Johansen. The trio were fourth in the championship, with a best finish of second, in the first round at Silverstone. They were also third in the last round, at Oulton Park. She did at least one Fun Cup race in 2016, but also worked for a tour company during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Zoe continued to be active in promoting female involvement in motorsports, through the BWRDC and Susie Wolff's Dare To Be Different.

(Image from www.centurymotorsport.com)

Under-17 Racing Series

Jamie Chadwick

During the past ten years in the UK, several full-size championships for junior drivers aged fourteen to seventeen have emerged. Girls have been involved from the start, and have found varying degrees of success, up to and including championship wins.

This is a list of drivers who are most known for, or have only competed in, racing series designed for the under-17s. Due to space constraints, this only includes full-size car racing and not karting.
Junior Rallycross racers can be found here. Charlotte Birch, Abbi Pulling, Esmee Hawkey, Sarah Moore, Irina Sidorkova, Lydia Walmsley, Emily Linscott, Alisha Palmowski, Ella Lloyd and Katie Milner have "graduated". Sophia Floersch now has her own post.

Flame Airikkala - began her career in cars at the start of 2023, when she was 16, racing in the Fiesta Junior championship. This followed a junior karting career. Her first races were at Snetterton and she was 18th and 15th. The Croft round gave her a 20th and 14th place. By the end of the year, she was a podium finisher. In 2024, she competed in both single-seaters and tin-tops, taking in rounds of the Formula Nordic championship and the electric Mini one-make series, the Nxt Gen Cup. In 2025, she concentrated more on single-seaters, doing the second half of the GB4 championship. Brands Hatch was her best circuit and she was 15th there. In the second half of the season, she also raced in the Kyojo Cup in Japan, an all-female series which began using single-seaters that year. She scored one top ten, a ninth place at Fuji. As well as circuit racing, she also took her first steps in rallying, taking on two circuit rallies and one forest rally in the UK, driving an MG3 and a Ford Fiesta. She finished one rally, the Knockhill Stages, in 46th place. Flame is the granddaugher of Finnish WRC rally winner Pentti Airikkala and rally driver Kirsti Airikkala, who settled in the UK. She has also represented her school and county at chess and indoor rowing, alongside her brother Finn.

Nina-Jo Atkinson - raced a Saxmax Citroen Saxo in 2006 and 2007, starting at the age of fourteen. She scored a few top-ten finishes towards the end of her time in the series. In 2008, she moved up to the Mini Challenge, despite being still only sixteen years old. She is noted for having driven the Nürburgring at speed when only fourteen. As well as circuit racing, she has done some rally navigation.

Lydia Austen - one of the first girls to take part in Britain's then-leading junior car racing series, T-Cars, in 2001. She raced for two full seasons. Her results were not spectacular, but she proved herself capable of holding her own on the track. She suffered a couple of nasty on-track accidents but always kept going, holding out for a finish. For 2002 she was considered good enough for the new Zip Formula junior single-seater category, and managed to put together a sponsorship deal. Unfortunately, the deal fell through and Lydia has been absent from the national racing scene ever since.

Lexie Belk - raced in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship in 2022. She was fourth in the championship after a fairly consistent season with good reliability. Her best finish was fifth, which she achieved twice at Knockhill. In 2023, she did the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, before joining the GB4 grid for the final rounds of the year at Donington. Previously, she and her sister Freya were active in karting, with the younger Lexie winning some junior titles. In 2023, she raced in the Ginetta GT5 championship in the UK, finishing sixth in the Pro class. She was third twice at Donington. Switching makes, she raced in the UK Radical Cup in 2024, with a best finish of fourth, at Donington again. In 2025, she went back to Ginettas, contesting three rounds of the GT Academy. Although she had problems and couldn't start any of the Donington races, she managed sixth places at Snetterton and Brands Hatch.

Sophie Byrne - raced in the Irish Ginetta Junior championship between 2011 and 2013. Her results improved every year, from eighth in 2011 to third in 2013. After moving up to senior competition, she acquired a Ford Fiesta XR2 which she raced in the Future Classics championship in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, as Sophie Austen-Byrne, she travelled to Silverstone for the BWRDC’s Race for a Record women’s handicap.

Megan Campbell - Northern Irish driver who raced in the Irish Ginetta Junior championship between 2015 and 2017. She was fifth in the 2017 series, having only been out of the top five when she did not finish twice at the start of the season. She made steady progress over her three seasons, with a tenth and a seventh in 2015 and 2016.

Pippa Coleman – did a season of Ginetta Junior racing in 2009. She was a competent, if not quite consistent driver, who did not compete for the full season. She managed six top-ten finishes, the best of these being two sixth places, at Thruxton and Rockingham. Her 2009 campaign followed a run in the 2008 Winter season. She does not appear to have raced since then.

Christie Doran - had her first season of full-sized motorsport in 2011, aged fifteen, in the Ginetta Junior championship. Despite a fairly large-scale media campaign in her favour, she only managed to compete at the Knockhill meeting. She was thirteenth in her first race and did not finish her second. Despite her age, she occasionally carries out road tests for the Scottish Sun, under the tutelage of her father, Jon. In 2012, she had support from the Scottish Sun for another race season, but she does not appear to have secured the additional funding she needed. Instead, she moved into historic racing, in a Triumph TR8. She was quite effective in the Scottish Classic Sports and Saloon series, finishing tenth overall. The next two seasons were spent in the Scottish BMW Compact Cup, which was a mixed experience, and she had to miss some of 2014 after a big crash in the first round. In 2015, she raced in England, in the VAG Trophy. Her car was a VW Golf. After a steep learning curve, she finished the season with three third places. As well as racing, she was part of an initiative that offers training and racing opportunities to injured service personnel. In 2016, she did her second VAG season, and scored three wins, putting her in the running for the Class B title. She raced the Golf again in 2017, but only for a part-season. This was due to badly damaging her car in a crash at Rockingham. Her best finishes were a pair of seconds at Thruxton, and she was third in the Class B championship. In 2018, she did some rounds of Britcar in the Golf, but her season was restricted by budget issues.

Katrina Ee - began racing in Ginetta Juniors in 2025, aged fourteen. She is from Hong Kong and also of Malaysian descent. Her best result during her part-season was a 13th place at Zandvoort, where she scored two top-twenties. She was 28th in the championship. She is a member of David Coulthard's More Than Equal development programme, after being scouted as a karter in Asia. She competed internationally in karting in 2024. 

Virsavia Goltsova - part of the Goltsova Racing team with her mother, Natalia Goltsova. She began racing in 2017. Her first race was the Kazan round of the Russian Junior Touring Car Championship. She was 16th then 13th in a Lada Kalina, as part of a three-car Goltsova Racing team. Her best overall results in the series were two eleventh places at Smolensk. In September, she was third in a two-hour endurance race at Kazan. She did a part-season in the Junior championship in 2018, driving a Kalina, and had a best finish of tenth at Kazan. 2019 was similar, with three races in the Junior championship. 2020 was something of a disaster; she was eleventh twice at Igora Drive then did not qualify for the two Kazan rounds.

Alicia Goundry - had her first season in cars in 2017, at the age of fourteen. She was competing in the Junior Saloon Car Championship for MMR Racing. Her season started steadily, but she found some speed at Croft and took the first of her two third places. Previously, she raced karts from 2013, as part of the “Goundry Girls” team with her two younger sisters, Tilly and Sienna. Alicia and Tilly competed in the 2016 National Super One series.

Ashley Gregory - junior saloon racer who moved up to senior competition in 2023. In three seasons of Junior Saloon Car Championship competition between 2019 and 2021, she won one race at Knockhill in 2021 and two further podiums at Mallory Park in 2020. Previously, she raced Ministox on short ovals from the age of ten, winning three championships. After ageing out of the JSCC, she returned to short ovals and won some F2 Stock Car races. She signed up to contest the Mini Challenge in 2023 and became a top-ten contender, but penalties dropped her to 22nd in the final standings. She was tenth in the 2024 championship, with a best finish of fifth at Brands Hatch. She was sixth in the 2025 Mini Challenge Trophy, winning one race at Donington and picking up four more podium finishes.

Jamie-Lea Hawley - raced in the Renault Clio Cup Junior series in the UK in 2018, with the Finsport team. She did her first season in a car in 2017, in the Ford Fiesta Junior championship. With only a little karting experience, it was a steep learning curve for her, but by the end of the season she was almost finishing on the podium; she was fourth in the last race at Donington. This was enough for tenth overall in the championship.

Emma Laddiman - competed in some Saxmax races in 2008, after taking a year out from expected motorsport activities due to injuries. She now works for Barwell Motorsports.

Abby Lock - began racing in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior championship in 2017, when she was 14. She had not had any prior competitive experience before that. She returned for a longer part-season in 2018, and had a best finish of sixth at Thruxton. She was ninth in the championship. She was named Driver of the Day at Rockingham in 2018. In 2019, she had another season in Fiesta Juniors, which was hampered by very small grids. She tried to move up to senior competition in 2020, but was hampered by the coronavirus crisis. She was meant to compete in the Lotus Elise Trophy in 2021, but only managed one round.

Ceol Lynch - Irish driver competing in the Junior Saloon Car Championship in the UK. She began racing at 14 in 2021, although her part-season was not a success, with just one finish from six races. In 2022, she did record more finishes, the best of these being a pair of 18th places at Anglesey, but her year was affected again by a string of DNFs. Her record improved in 2023 and she was 24th in the championship. She repeated the result in 2024. She is the daughter of B*Witched singer Edele Lynch and the niece of racer and Boyzone singer Shane Lynch.

Mia Morgan - started racing in Ginetta Juniors in 2007. She returned to the series for a part-season in 2008, improving slightly on her 2007 results.

Nadja Olbrisch - German driver who raced in the 2021 Tourenwagen Junior Cup. This was her second season in junior motorsport, having entered the NATC junior series in 2020, aged 15. She drove a Chevrolet Cruze and a BMW 318, winning two races in the Chevrolet at Lausitz and Oschersleben and finishing third in the championship. Her time in the Junior Cup, which uses the Ford Fiesta, was not as fruitful and she has a best finish of eighth. Her second season in 2022 was better, with a fifth place at Oschersleben her best rsult on the way to eighth overall. She previously competed in a Rotax kart in Germany between 2013 and 2015, with some success. 

Emma Pascall - raced in the UK's T-Car series in 2004 and 2005. A serious accident limited her participation in 2004 and she was a solid, rather than competitive, finisher. She does not appear to have continued in motorsport after 2005.

Amy Scarisbrick - has competed in both junior and senior categories. She ran a whole season of Saxmax in 2006, before using the same Citroen Saxo in the 750MC Stock Hatch championship in 2007. Her results were unspectacular, but she managed to hold her own against experienced drivers. In 2008, Amy concentrated on her education and did not race. She now works as a sports broadcaster on local radio.

Jasmine Shaw - raced in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior series in 2022, racing a Ford Fiesta against other teenagers. This was her first year of car racing. She was tenth in the championship after completing all of the rounds except for Croft, although this counted as her dropped score at the end of the year. Her best finish was a fifth place at Cadwell in the middle of the season. She was driving for the 20Ten team and continued to do so in 2023. Her results were stronger in 2023, with several top tens, and she was 18th in the championship. In 2024, she raced an F3 car in Monopostos, but crash damage put her out of the championship. She moved into Caterham racing in 2025, and was quickly a top-ten finisher.

Julia Strukova – Russian driver who made her circuit racing debut in 2015, in the RSKG Junior championship, a saloon series for 14-17 year olds. Her car was a VAZ, and she was second in the championship, winning two races at Kazan. For the rest of the season, she was rarely off the podium. As she turned 17 in 2015, she had to move up to senior motorsport in 2016. She joined the Russian National Touring Car Championship, driving a Kia Rio. At the end of the season, she was eleventh in the championship, with a best finish of sixth, at Kazan. She had another season in the Kia in 2017, recording a best finish of seventh, at Smolensk. 2018 was quite similar, with three top-ten finishes and a best of fifth at Grozny. Prior to 2015, she was involved in rally raids.

Liona Theobald - began circuit racing in 2021, entering the Ginetta Junior Winter Series before taking on the main 2022 championship with Assetto Motorsport. Her best overall result so far has been a 14th place at Croft. At the end of the season, she stepped up to the senior Ginetta GT5 Challenge at Donington, finishing tenth once and twelfth twice. She was sixth in the GTP class in 2023. In 2024, she raced in the GT Cup, with a best finish of second at Silverstone. Her car was a Ginetta, shared with James Townsend. Before Ginettas, she took part in autosolo events in a Mini, having learned to drive at the age of 11 at Brands Hatch. 

Lilly Zug - former karter who switched to cars in 2021, aged 15. After testing a Formula 4 car in 2020, she chose to join the new Tourenwagen Junior Cup in her native Germany. Her car for this one-make series is a Volkswagen Up! She improved quickly over the season and had a best finish of fourth at Hockenheim. At the end of the season, she was sixth in the championship. Previously, she was one of the selected drivers for the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s Girls on Track training camps, but did not make the final group for an F4 drive, partly due to her age at the time.

(Image copyright Jakob Ebrey)

Cassey Watson

Cassey, with the MX-5

Despite her tender years, Cassey is a "veteran" of the junior racing scene, having scored podium positions in all major championships. After several years of karting, she first raced cars in 2006, focusing mainly on the Citroen Saxo-based Saxmax to begin with. She finished sixth overall. Later, she took part in the T-Cars Autumn Trophy and was fifth, after two podium finishes.

Her introduction to Ginetta Juniors came in the form of two guest spots in races, one at the Junior Racing Festival, where she broke the record for the greatest number of races in one day: two races each in Ginetta Junior, Saxmax and T-Cars. She also scored podium finishes in all categories.

In 2007 she did part-seasons in Saxmax and Ginettas, achieving one top-three finish in the Ginetta out of five races. She was eighth in Saxmax and 17th in the Ginetta Junior Championship.

She concentrated on Ginettas in 2008. Her season consisted of twelve rounds of the junior championship. She would have completed the season, but her impending 17th birthday disqualified her from junior competition most of the way through. Her best finish was fourth, at Cadwell Park, and she only finished out of the top ten once. This was an eleventh place at Thruxton towards the end of the season. Cassey was 15th overall when she had to quit the championship on her 17th birthday.

Tockwith Motorsport, who had been running her in Ginetta Junior, kept her on as a driver for two rounds of the senior club Ginetta series. Her results were unspectacular, but it was her first senior experience.

2009 was Cassey's first full year of senior competition. She struggled somewhat for funding, like many around her, but managed three runs in a Mazda MX-5 in the Max5 championship, and two rounds of Britcar. One of the Max5 races, at Thruxton, gave her a third place. In Britcar, she drove a Lunar Racing-prepared MG ZS180. She finished on the podium for her class both times. For her first race, at Castle Combe, she was partnered by Alan Bonner. Despite a spin before the start of the race proper, they finished second in class and 17th overall. Her second race was the Britcar 500, a six-hour enduro, at Silverstone. Her team-mates - Rob Headley, Pete Fairburn and Paul Mclean - only appeared two days before the race, the car had to have a new gearbox, and Cassey narrowly avoided missing her evening qualifying session due to a brake fluid leak. During the race itself, power steering, weather and tyre choice problems, as well as low fuel, affected the team's competitiveness, but they made it to the end, 32nd overall and third in class.

Cassey remained with the Lunar team in 2010, competing in the Zing Trofeo Abarth one-make series. Her car was a Fiat 500 Abarth. She was seventh overall, with a best finish of second, against a strong field which included former BTCC drivers. Her second place was achieved at Snetterton, and she had her best meeting there, scoring a fourth place in the first race. Apart from two DNFs at Brands Hatch and Silverstone, she was never out of the top ten.

The Abarth series was cancelled abruptly in 2011, leaving Cassey without a drive. Lunar Racing put together a VW Golf for her to use in the VW Racing Cup, but it was only ready in time for the last few rounds. Despite no testing time, she managed to score a few points, after a very shaky start during her first meeting, due to a faulty gear linkage.

She does not appear to have raced in 2012, although she remained involved in motorsport in a management role at Lunar Racing. After 2012, she seems to have left the world of motorsport entirely.

She did make a comeback in 2014, contesting the Hyundai Coupe Cup at the Track Attack Race Club meeting. She won one race.

As of 2017, she appears to be concentrating her sporting efforts on three-day eventing.

(Image from www.thegrid.co.uk)