ABOUT LYDIA
Lydia Walmsley is a British racing driver looking to break barriers and boundaries in the world of motorsport.
ABOUT LYDIA
Lydia Walmsley is a British racing driver looking to break barriers and boundaries in the world of motorsport.
The story so far
The Beginning...
Lydia first got the bug for motorsport when she jumped into a kart at Buckmore Park at seven years of age. From that day forward, she took to karting like a duck to water and began racing at local track, Anglia Indoor kart centre, in 2011. In her first year of karting, she was runner-up in the Corporate Cadet points championship, being beaten by only one point.
The following year, she progressed on to Ellough Park Raceway in Beccles in 2012. The year started well where she was achieving good results, including winning novice trophies, when tragedy struck. She was involved in an accident which resulted in a broken leg, both tibia and fibula. However, only a few short months later, she was back racing - placing on the podium in the Cadet Championships and was proud to be awarded the Young Driver of the Year award at the EPKC Presentation evening.
Moving forward in time, 2015 and 2016 have been her most successful years to date. During 2015, Lydia competed in Minimax championships around the UK and was proudly crowned Ellough Park Kart Club's champion. Towards the end of the year, she was pleased to be a finalist in the UK Karting Magazine's Female Driver of the Year Award.
Lydia went on to become Junior Rotax Champion at Ellough Park (winning by 283 points), which made her back-to-back champion there. Her success throughout 2016 was recognised by her local radio station, Town 102, which led to her being awarded with 'Sports star of the Year' at their Local Hero Awards that April.
Moving forwards...
2017 provided Lydia with a new and exciting challenge. She competed in the Junior Saloon Car Championship, which entailed travelling across the UK, racing at national tracks such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Snetterton. It was an exciting year for Lydia as she experienced great highs, such as finishing 4th in the first race of the season at Silverstone and being awarded with Driver of the Meeting at Knockhill. However, it was a pretty eventful season too, after a scary roll and two huge trips to the tyre wall.
The following year, Lydia made the step-up to senior racing in the Mini Challenge UK Cooper Pro championship. Being the youngest on the grid, it was a huge step but one that Lydia and her team tackled well. This put them in good stead for the 2019 season, which proved to be very successful with five podiums (two third places at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch, two second places at Donington Park and Croft and a maiden victory at Snetterton) and front row qualifying results. Lydia was also nominated for the British Women Racing Driver's Club (BWRDC) Junior Goldstar award and came third in the Downforce Radio Henry Surtees Teen Racer of the Year Award. She was also the recipient of the BWRDC 'Jean Denton' trophy.
Lydia then completed her third consecutive season in the Mini Challenge Cooper Pro championship. It was her first season experiencing being a part of the British Touring Car Package with races broadcast live on ITV4. She finished the year 5th in the standings out of a full capacity grid and top independent driver.
The present...
2021 saw the biggest challenge to date in Lydia Walmsley’s career. Making the big jump from the Cooper class to the JCW championship was a huge task but a fantastic stepping stone into the world of professional racing. Lydia completed her first season with a team before returning in 2022 with her family-run outfit, something which is truly unheard of at this level of British motorsport.
Over the past two seasons (2022 and 2023), Lydia and her team have been working hard to fine tune the car and learning the unique characteristics of what is an extremely short-wheel-base front wheel-drive car.
2023 saw fourteen trips to the top 10, including a personal best fifth place finish at the home of British motorsport, Silverstone. She has now also been awarded the British Touring Car Chat ‘Supported Driver of the Year’ award four years running and is also a two-time ‘JCW Driver of the Year’. These are voted for by the public, proving she is a popular member of the British Touring Car support paddock.
Lydia and her team hope to build on their positive results from last season with the help of their brilliant 2024 partners. All rounds will be broadcast live on ITV4.
2024 Championship
The Mini Challenge Championship is arguably the toughest and most competitive one make series in the UK. Sharing a stage with the British Touring Car Championship brings bumper crowds and live ITV/ITV4 broadcasting.
Media
Keep up to speed with news both on and off the track
Gallery
The fast lane in still images… View the latest galleries here.
