A test of nerves: Shanel Drewe’s race report from BTCC Thruxton

We were so proud to watch Shanel Drewe race in the BTCC at Thruxton a few weekends ago.

Racing since she was just 14 years old when very few racing licences were held by females, Shanel has an impressive record including becoming Vice Champion in the Adult Michelin Clio Road Class Championship at just 16. Not only that, she was the youngest female to obtain her ARDS professional racing instructors’ licence and is now  a regular instructor at Thruxton race track.

Witham Motorsport have supported Shanel for a number of years now as her lubricant partner, recommending Motul’s high performance oils and fluids.

Shanel has shared with us with her Thruxton race report, and we look forward to following her process throughout the rest of the 2021 season.

A test of nerves

Although Shanel works at Thruxton, instructing members of the public on a course controlled by speed safety measures is different than attacking the track in anger. So arriving on the Saturday morning, in pouring rain having never raced there before and no prerace testing or practice sessions was a real test of nerves.

Every time Shanel sat in the car this weekend she had to deal with new conditions and new car parameters which meant each time she felt she was effectively driving the track for the first time.

Straight into Qualification as first cars out at 9am, this was not only the first time out in the Mini for Shanel in wet weather, but also on proper race rain tyres which are completely different to the road tyres she previously raced on. So qualifying 26th was not only an improvement on the first race weekend but another first box ticked.

Thruxton is a challenging power circuit, with only two breaking points (The last chicane before the pit straight, and the third corner chicane). Easy we hear you say, but with the straights and corners in-between taken at speeds of 100mph+ with a car constantly twitching on the edge, it is a lesson of careful car control, and a constant fight to resist the urge to lift the accelerator (no matter how slight) every time the rear skips.

First race up but this time on a semi-wet track so careful not to overheat the wet tyres. A strong finish of 24th (again another improvement on Snetterton), doesn’t really do justice to the strength of the racing. The Mini Coopers are a really tightly grouped grid with front, mid and rear packs. The long back curves made slip-streaming so important so you would overtake each other multiple times each lap.

Race two was a real dilemma, wet tyres, front slicks or full slicks was the tough decision. Dark clouds in the sky and threat of rain. With just a few minutes to go, Shanel decided to go on wet rears and slick front tyres. This would provide Shanel extra turning ability but rear stability in the still damp conditions. But added to the mix were some really strong winds, which made the cars even more unstable on the long high-speed curves. During the race the rain came on the far side of the track, so half wet and half dry. With a charged Shanel, her pace dramatically increased and was running up in the teens, until having to take avoiding action to miss a spinning car sent her on the grass whilst she was controlling a rear end slide that started at 90mph, then a few laps later after recovering a driver behind unnecessarily tapped her car on the same high-speed corner sending her spinning on the grass. So finishing 23rd did not do the race justice but still an improvement for the third race ahead.

Race three took place on the main TOCA race day and was broadcast on ITV4. This time dry conditions, no wind, and the first time for Shanel to venture out on full slicks. Starting 23rd, Shanel was quickly up to 19th, racing nose to tail and making further ground. But overtaking a driver going into the final chicane, and despite giving him as much space as she could, he cut across her front and struck her front, sending him into a spin, and unfortunately holding Shanel up at the start of the losing pit straight which is flat to the third corner. This allowed the pack behind Shanel that she had got by to pass her and dropped her to 22nd with steering that was off centre.

To deal with all the challenges this weekend took a strong, focused and determined mindset, with perhaps more experience gained in this weekend than half a season if fine weather racing. Shanel met them all head-on, is gaining speed and confidence in the car.

We are currently reviewing support to confirm we can get to the next race which has just been changed to 4/5 June at the famous Brands Hatch circuit, where we hope spectators will start to be allowed.

Witham Motorsport is the proud UK distributor of Motul products. We supply Motul products to a whole host of incredible race teams and drivers, and you can read more about what we do and our range of products here.