Monday 29th July 2024
Round 5 of the GB4 Championship was a second visit to Silverstone and was again held on the GP layout on Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th July.
This was to be Alisha's fifth race meeting in a single seater after a very strong experience at previous round at Snetterton where she scored one of the highest combined scores ever during a GB4 race weekend.
SATURDAY 27th JULY:
Qualifying:
Race 1 = P4
Race 2 = P3
Race 3 = P13 (full reverse grid from Race 1 qualifying position)
Qualifying was positive, although Alisha had hoped to be higher up following the pace she had been able to show in the testing leading up to the race meeting. This still put her in a good position for the races.
Race 1: P4 - P3
Alisha got off to a good start and held position into turn 1 before moving up into P3 with a move up the inside into Stowe. Alisha then set about trying to chase the lead pack down ahead. Unfortunately Alisha didn't have the pace and balance in the car to challenge the two cars ahead but was able to build a large lead to 4th place behind and so was able to cross the line in 3rd position on the podium, keeping her running streak of achieving a podium at every round to date.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
SUNDAY 28th JULY:
Race 2: P3 - P5
Alisha got another good start to again hold position into turn 1. She again made a great move up the inside into Stowe to try and move up to P2 over her championship rival, who held on the outside, went off the circuit and re-joined alongside gaining an advantage and dropping Alisha back into 3rd. As she exited Club she had a great exit and aligned up the inside onto the Hamilton straight. Unfortunately contact was made with Alisha's front left to rear right of the other car resulting in them both going wide and Alisha drifting dramatically sideways into the gravel trap, but she was able to hold the angle and re-join, albeit dropping back to P5. Alisha did later acknowledge that she made a mistake. From that point the race was a struggle as she had sustained notable damage to the car. She was able to move back up into 4th with a great exit out of Chapel Curve onto the Hangar Straight and later challenged briefly for P3 before dropping back to P6. She continued to fight as hard as possible and was able to move back up into 5th with another great move into Stowe which she held to the chequered Flag. Unfortunately, as a result of the contact on lap 1, Alisha sustained an injury to her wrist and needed to go to the medical centre for treatment.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
Race 3: P13 - P7
Race 3 was the typical full reverse grid race format. Alisha was still suffering from an injury to her wrist but was deemed fit to race and so set off to achieve the best finish she could manage. Unfortunately, from the out lap her car developed a misfire which was to progress as the race advanced. There was then an issue at the start of the race which resulted in an additional green flag lap, which highlighted the misfire was intermittent but getting worse.
Alisha got a very good start off the line however, narrowly avoiding a stalled car ahead and set about moving forward if possible under the circumstances. After a few laps, as the safety car was deployed, she had moved up to P9, with one of her championship rivals still behind.
Upon the restart Alisha was able to move up to P8 before moving up to P6 later in the lap with more great overtakes. This was proving to be a great effort given her wrist injury and ailing car. However, in a cruel twist, the misfire developed and became much worse on the final lap, literally cutting the engine for seconds at a time and as a result she dropped to P7 by the line which was bitterly disappointing given her great efforts.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
Overall a very frustrating race meeting! Alisha struggled with ultimate pace and car balance throughout the weekend but was in the mix until the contact that injured her wrist and then car issues in race 3. The very positive aspect was to see her race craft continuing to develop and 'never give up' attitude to the line.
There is now over a months wait to the next round that will take place at Donington Park (GP) on 7th - 8th September.
A big thank you as always goes to Elite Motorsport, Ed Ives, Chris Hodgetts, Sarah Moore, Jody Fannin, Oli Bailey & Demi Belt for all the hard work and support throughout the weekend!
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