Ashley Gregory secures second podium finish of 2025 at Thruxton

The rising star from Rossendale bounced back from a difficult round at Brands Hatch to claim her second podium of the MINI Challenge Trophy UK season at Thruxton, moving up to sixth in the championship standings.

After a technical issue in the previous round, Ashley and her team used Friday practice for setup and shakedown after having rebuilt the car in the three weeks since Brands Hatch. Ashley achieved the 12th fastest time overall and sixth in the second session, despite struggling for track position.

Saturday's action began with the threat of rain and despite being on a damp and tricky circuit, Ashley went on to set the fifth fastest time of the session even with a small error at the end of the lap. By showing strong pace within a tightly packed field, Ashley's qualifying performance put her in good stead and showed the team were on the right path.

The first race of the weekend would test Ashley's driving skills but she did not flounder, taking a superb fourth place finish after leading at times and saving a late-race slide while navigating slick tyres in the rain during a safety car period.

On Sunday, Ashley started second in race two and delivered one of her best performances, battling at the front and making a decisive last-corner overtake to move from fourth to second, securing her second podium of the season.

Race three ended in disappointment: while fighting for the lead, Ashley was forced onto the grass, triggering an electrical issue that led to her retirement.  Despite this, she earned enough points to climb to sixth in the standings, just 47 points off the lead.

“To be able to have such a strong weekend after such a tough round at Brands Hatch was really important for our season. The team did a fantastic job at this third round of the year, I'm grateful for everyone's hard work and happy I could reward them with a trip to the podium.

Our performance was really encouraging and it was good to always be at the sharp end of the field in the races and enjoy some proper battles out on track. Race 3 was disappointing, of course it was but there are so many positives to take away. It feels like the car and myself are in a real sweet spot, so we'll look to capitalise on that next time out.” 

Ashley and her privateer team acknowledge and are grateful for the support of the team's sponsors who enable Ashley to compete in the 2025 MINI Challenge Trophy - Pecometer Software Limited | Salford Van Hire | McGowan Transcriptions | HMS Haulage | Gian Luca Photography | Fuchs UK Lubricants | Gymsafe | Glass Assist UK | DJB Business Finance | Klarius Products | NEO Tools | Fort Vale Engineering | Woodcocks Haworth & Nuttall Solicitors | Orbital Design | North West Powder Coating | Lancashire DAF | JDS Trucks | Gridshark

MINI CHALLENGE Trophy UK Round 3

Qualifying - P5

Race 1 - P4

Race 2 - P2

Race 3 - DNF

MINI CHALLENGE Trophy Championship points after 9 races

P6 - 258 points

Ashley praised her team's efforts and remains optimistic for Round 4 of the 2025 MINI Challenge Trophy at Croft Circuit on 28-29 June. The racing will be streamed live on the BARC YouTube channel.