Tipperary's Nicole Drought wins opening race of the season in England
'Pretty much the perfect start to the season'
Nicole Drought, Ireland's top female racing driver and the 2024 UK TDC (Track Day) champion started her title defence in the best possible way at Snetterton in Norfolk, England at the weekend by qualifying on pole position, taking fastest lap and winning the opening race of the season.
Having worked with four times BTCC Champion Colin Turkington during Friday testing, Tipperary woman Nicole had made some set-up changes to her Motion Motorsport Honda Civic and, after a tight qualifying session, claimed the vital pole position, meaning she would lead the 27-strong field away.
When the lights changed, Nicole was narrowly beaten off the line by the rear wheel drive BMW of Matt Swaffer but a good run out of the final corner meant she pulled out of the tow and sliced down the inside of turn one to take the lead as they started the second lap.
From then on, the pair eased away from the pack, Nicole comfortable at the head of the field but keeping one eye on the mirrors. When the pitstop window opened, the BMW dived for the pits while Nicole stayed out as long as possible before stopping. As she re-joined the track for her second stint, the BMW got a run at the Civic and the pair headed towards turn one side by side.
Nicole held the inside line, though, and emerged still in the lead. From then on, the Tipperary driver got the head down and gradually eased away for an impressive victory, taking the chequered flag almost four seconds ahead of the BMW, with the third place finisher another forty seconds back.
The following day, Nicole competed in the 12 Hour EnduroKA race, a prize drive for winning the 2024 TDC Championship.
Teamed up with some other MSV Champions, Nicole was fifth in her qualifying session but the car dropped down to 16th place before the end of the session. A great first stint, which lasted two hours, saw Nicole climb all the way to fifth before pitting to handover. The others did a great job too and at 9pm on Sunday night, the MSV car crossed the line in third place, giving the Irish woman her twelfth consecutive podium finish.
Nicole Drought described it as "Pretty much the perfect start to the season. Everyone has worked so hard over the winter to ensure we hit the ground running. We struggled a little at Snetterton last year but a recent test at Oulton showed we had improved the car since then. It was great to work with Colin (Turkington) on Friday. He knows the track so well and the changes he made to the setup were great.
"Big thanks, as ever, to Siltex Safety, Gem Oils, Mondello Park, Joe Mallon Motors and ITM Digital for their support".