Walmsley in funding race to make grid for 2026

Racing driver Lydia Walmsley does not know whether she will be on the grid this year because of funding issues.

She won four races in the Porsche Sprint GB Challenge series in 2025 and was hoping to make the step up to the RS Pro category.

But Walmsley, 24, from Kesgrave in Suffolk, has still not secured the budget she needs with only weeks to go to the season's opening round at Donington on 18-19 April.

She told BBC Radio Suffolk: "At this stage I'm not signed up, I haven't committed to anything. I'm in no position to sign up and it is looking quite dire.

"We've been a family-run team up until last year just to keep the costs down because it has always been so expensive, but never at this point in the year did I not know whether I was racing or not."

Walmsley began racing in go-karts at the age of seven and, in 2024, became the first female driver to achieve a podium finish in the JCW Mini Challenge championship.

Although last year was a big adjustment, stepping up to a 3.8 litre, 425 horsepower Porsche, her results in the Clubsport Pro category were encouraging.

"Certainly from when I started taking it seriously at 12,13, I've been looking at it as a career path, and the fact I'm in this position in March and not on the grid, or not even signed up at all, for the first time ever is a real worry," she said.

"The future is not really in my hands, I can only work as hard as I can, but obviously if it doesn't come together then that will be it.

"It's quite sad really that motorsport is this way, so money driven. If you can't find the budget to go racing, you just don't go racing - no matter how well you do the previous year, it doesn't guarantee you a spot on the grid."

At this stage, though, Walmsley is staying positive about the year ahead.

"It is still going to happen in my head - obviously there is a chance it might not, and I really, sincerely hope that's not the case - but in my mind it's happening and I just need to work as hard as I can to make it happen," she said.

"If it doesn't, then I will re-evaluate and see what's what, but motorsport isn't going to get any cheaper, so I will still have the same issue next year if I don't make it to the grid.

"I am hoping to create some really strong, long-lasting partnerships that will continue for years to come, that will set us up for myself and my career. That's really what I want."