Racing Women Takes on the Radical Cup UK Finale at Donington
Four drivers. Two cars. One final shot at the Radical Cup UK season.
Last weekend, Racing Women took on the final round of the championship at Donington Park, with 24-year-old British driver Jamie-Lea Hawley and 29-year-old German driver Nina Hahn sharing car #39, while 18-year-old Hungarian driver Léna Galyó and 19-year-old Polish driver Alicja Cyrek completed the lineup in car #28.
For Léna, it was a return to the circuit where she made her Radical racing debut almost exactly a year ago. Since then, she has continued to build her experience, including a Top 10 finish at the opening round of the Gulf Radical Cup at Yas Marina Circuit with Valour Racing.
For Jamie-Lea, Nina and Alicja, the weekend was the result of their winning performances in the Racing Women Global Ice Driving Finals earlier this year. With little to no previous racing experience, months of testing and preparation had brought them to this moment.
But in motorsport, preparation can only take you so far. Sometimes, you simply have to see what happens when the lights go out.
Wednesday Track Day & Friday Testing
Before the official race weekend got underway, Alicja and Léna had an additional track day at Donington Park on Wednesday. Driving the Valour run Radical SR3 XXR on the National Circuit, they used the extra track time to learn the circuit, build confidence and work on finding a competitive pace throughout the day.
Friday marked the start of the official testing programme, with Nina and Jamie-Lea joining Léna and Alicja on track. It was the first time all four drivers were together, giving them the opportunity to improve their times, push the car and prepare as a team for their first race weekend.
With endurance racing part of Racing Women’s long-term ambitions, teamwork is a key part of the training process. Driver changes, clean racing and pit-stop strategy all played an important role, while supporting and encouraging each other helped build confidence throughout the day.
By the end of Friday, all four drivers had put together strong times and were ready for race day.
Qualifying
Qualifying got the weekend underway at Donington Park, with Jamie-Lea and Nina in car #39 securing P12, while Léna and Alicja in car #28 qualified P15.
For Jamie-Lea, Nina and Alicja, this was their first experience of a race-format weekend, making qualifying an important chance to get comfortable with the car, circuit and competitive environment. Léna, having already raced at Donington Park the previous year, brought some valuable experience into the session.
Both cars showed promising pace, giving the drivers a solid starting point to build on in the opening race.
Race One
Both cars made strong starts to Race One and settled into the opening laps well.
In car #28, Léna started the race for the pairing with Alicja. Unfortunately, their race came to an early end after Léna made contact while avoiding an incident at Turn One. The contact caused rear-wheel damage and forced her to retire the car. A separate three-car incident also took place, but thankfully none of our drivers were involved.
In car #39, Jamie-Lea made an impressive start to her stint, charging through the field and climbing as high as P3. She maintained a strong pace inside the top five before handing the car over to Nina during the mandatory pitstop.
Nina continued the pace and brought the car home in P6. Following a post-race penalty applied to another driver, car #39 was promoted to P5 in the final classification, a strong debut result for Jamie-Lea and Nina.
Reflecting on her Radical debut, Jamie-Lea said:
“Donington was an incredible weekend and my first time racing the Radical. The highlight was definitely going from P13 to P3 by Turn 1 in Race 1. My natural racing instincts came flooding back, and I was just so happy to be back racing again. We went on to finish P5, which was an amazing result for our debut.
A huge thank you to Racing Women and Valour Racing for coming together and making the weekend happen. I also can’t thank my personal sponsors Genertech Power Solutions, Helmet 28 and Urban Barbers Maghull enough. They’ve supported me from the very beginning, and having them alongside me on this journey means so much.”
Race Two
Both cars made strong starts, showing good pace through the opening laps.
With Alicja behind the wheel this time, hoping to turn the team’s fortunes around, the weekend unfortunately brought another first-lap incident, forcing the car #28 into an early retirement. While this was not how the drivers had hoped to end the weekend, the pace and performance they showed throughout testing and qualifying demonstrated plenty of promise for the future.
Reflecting on the weekend, Alicja said:
"Donington was an incredibly intense and valuable weekend. The races didn’t go the way we had hoped, but motorsport is also about learning from difficult moments and using them to develop as a driver. Considering this was only my second time driving a Radical SR3 and my first time at Donington Park, I’m particularly proud of the progress we made and the competitive pace we were able to show."
"A massive thank you to Racing Women and Valour Racing, and especially to my coach, Diana Prietz from DIAM Racing, for all the work, support and attention to detail throughout the weekend. I’m also incredibly grateful to my sponsors Speed Masters, Nexen Tyres and MPK GAZ for helping make this opportunity possible. I’m leaving Donington with much more experience and a clear understanding of the areas I want to develop further. This weekend was another important step in my journey as a racing driver."
In car #39, Nina started strongly before handing over to Jamie-Lea. Both drivers enjoyed close battles and continued to build confidence and racecraft in the Radical SR3, bringing the car home in P11.
Reflecting on her first wheel-to-wheel race, Nina said:
“This weekend was a great statement of our performance and pace. We’re not only part of the race. We’re able to compete with the rest of the field. For me, a lifelong dream came true this weekend. After thousands of hours of sim racing to build my racecraft, I finally got to experience my first wheel-to-wheel race on track.”
“The car felt great from the first session, and the feedback from the team gave me the confidence to keep pushing every lap. Reviewing the telemetry and onboard footage also helped me improve throughout each stint. It was a huge team effort from Valour, Racing Women and all of us as drivers, alongside the partners and sponsors who made this weekend possible. The memories made during this event are ones I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
Looking Back
The weekend marked a significant milestone for Racing Women, with Jamie-Lea, Nina and Alicja making their Radical racing debuts and Léna adding another race weekend to her experience at Donington Park.
With a P5 final classification in Race One and strong pace across both cars, the team leaves Donington with valuable experience in racecraft, driver changes and team strategy — all essential skills as Racing Women prepares to take on its next endurance racing challenge.
––
Written by Daniela Culebro
Comments