The Wera Alliance Racing Academy’s all-female lineup gained valuable experience during a learning-oriented Mini Challenge Trophy weekend at Pembrey, highlighted by Liona Theobald’s reverse-grid pole position and best finish of 12th, Beanie Reece’s consistent top-15 results and strong top-10 challenge in race two, while Lexie Powell and Ellena Reece continued their development with solid race pace.

It was a learning-oriented weekend for the Wera Alliance Racing Academy quartet as they participated in round three of the Mini Challenge Trophy at Pembrey.

Liona Theobald achieved a best result of 12th, while gaining valuable experience by lining up on reverse grid pole position for race two. Although a technical issue prevented her from reaching her potential during Sunday’s races, it was nonetheless a sign of her progress to earn a front row start.

Beanie Reece enjoyed a strong weekend as she spent the majority of race two racing inside the top-10. Completing the weekend with a highest finish of 13th, Beanie Reece finished all three races inside the top-15.

Both Lexie Powell and Ellena Reece experienced a more challenging event, however Powell displayed strong pace in race three while securing one top-15 finish, while Ellena Reece gained valuable knowledge with three lead lap finishes, including a best result of 17th.

The second round of the Mini Challenge Trophy brought further encouragement for the Wera Alliance Racing Academy quartet. Theobald maintained her excellent start to the season as the most experienced driver within the team climbed to 12th in the overall standings. Powell’s consistency saw her arrive at Pembrey on the fringes of the top-15 with the teenager racer looking to use her experience of the circuit to good effect.

Sisters Beanie and Ellena Reece encountered a more challenging second round of the season, however the rookie drivers were looking to bounce back as they tackled a new circuit which was sure to provide close racing and good overtaking opportunities.

With Pembrey a circuit unfamiliar to many, it was a significant learning curve for the Wera Alliance Racing Academy drivers. In 2024, Powell competed at the Welsh track in the Junior Saloon Car Championship as she secured a best finish of 19th. However, for Theobald and the Reece sisters, it was set to be their competitive debut at the track with the Mini Challenge Trophy last visiting Pembrey in 2024.

To begin the weekend, the drivers participated in a number of short test sessions on Friday which were held in mixed conditions. Dry weather returned for Saturday’s qualifying session which provided good encouragement for the quartet.

Theobald secured a top-15 starting position with her fastest lap of a 1:09.095 placing her in 15th spot, less than a quarter of a second ahead of Beanie Reece. Despite limited running following technical issues on Friday, Beanie Reece bounced back to qualify in 17th position. Her sister Ellena Reece set the 18th fastest time with a 1:09.476, while Powell completed the lineup for Wera Alliance Academy Racing in 21st position.

Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon and the grid positions were based upon the second fastest times set in qualifying. Therefore, Theobald lined up from 14th on the grid with Beanie Reece directly behind in 15th. Powell’s consistent qualifying session saw her start from 18th position with Ellena Reece lining up from 21st on the grid.

As the lights went out, it was an action-packed opening lap with Theobald maintaining 14th position while Beanie Reece climbed to 15th. Powell also gained one position to 18th, while Ellena Reece had a spin and dropped to 21st. Although there was minimal damage to her car, Ellena Reece was detached from the pack and she was now looking for a safety car in order to gain back time.

Powell’s strong start continued on lap two as she passed Finley Groom for 17th position while she began to catch both Theobald and Beanie Reece. After a quiet third lap, Theobald, Beanie Reece and Powell all moved up a spot on lap four after Isaac Doble left the road at the hairpin. After contact between Doble and Leo Richardson, the Irish racer slowed and by lap six, Theobald was up to 12th with Beanie Reece in 13th position.

The following lap saw Powell move inside the top-15 as she overtook Richardson, while Beanie Reece fell to 14th behind Blair Dryburgh. Misfortune then struck for Powell who spun at the hairpin, before coming to a halt on the following lap with a technical issue. It was an unfortunate end to a strong hard-charging drive from Powell.

On lap nine, Theobald gained a further position as she overtook Louis Fleet for 11th as she targeted her first top-10 finish. With Groom retiring on lap 10, Ellena Reece was now up to 19th position while also catching Doble who was struggling for pace following his early incident.

After a close battle on the final lap, Theobald lost out to Fleet as she took the chequered flag in 12th position which secured her reverse grid pole position for race two on Sunday morning. Despite extremely limited running in Friday’s free practice sessions, Beanie Reece raced superbly to cross the line in 14th position. Despite Doble just holding on by less than a second, Ellena Reece finished race one in 18th position, later promoted to 17th following a penalty awarded to Doble for his incident with Richardson.

The second race at Pembrey took place early on Sunday morning and with the top-12 finishers from Saturday’s contest reversed, Theobald lined up from pole position. Beanie Reece started from 14th position with Ellena Reece in 17th spot and Lexie Powell beginning race two from 19th.

As the lights went out, Theobald got an excellent initial launch before losing the lead at turn one. Theobald was then shuffled back through the field after encountering a technical issue and contact between Louis Fleet and Joshua Wilby saw a number of cars scatter in avoidance. At the end of the first lap, Theobald was down to ninth with Beanie Reece up to 11th. Both Lexie Powell and Ellena Reece also enjoyed good starts as they moved up to 15th and 17th positions respectively.

On lap two, Beanie Reece moved inside the top-10 for the first time at the expense of Theobald whose challenging start to the contest continued as she fell to 13th. The red flag was then displayed after the car of Jorrell Julius came to a halt on the circuit and his Excelr8 Motorsport machine required recovery.

With two laps of the race having been completed, the restart lineup was based upon the running order as opposed to the original grid positions. The race resumed behind the safety car with the revised duration of ten minutes owing to the delays from the stoppage.

It was a clean restart throughout the field with Beanie Reece in 11th position, Theobald in 13th, Lexie Powell in 14th and Ellena Reece in 19th position. On the second lap of the restarted race, Theobald was shuffled back to 16th position behind a recovering Wilby and Ashley Gregory, while Giovanni Santora then moved ahead on lap four.

Beanie Reece was enjoying her strongest showing to date as she ran lap times on par with those inside the top-5. After applying sustained pressure to Blair Dryburgh, Beanie Reece made a superb move on lap seven to move back inside the top-10. The slipstream effect prevented her from escaping this battle with Wilby also looking to gain ground, while Gregory started to close in.

On lap nine, Beanie Reece was shuffled behind this group as she encountered a small issue in the closing stages. Nonetheless, it was a strong drive for Beanie Reece who took the chequered flag in 13th position. After a good battle with Isaac Doble, Powell secured a 15th place result to bounce back from her challenging opening race on Saturday.

It was a tough race for Theobald who finished in 18th position after managing a technical issue throughout, however she banked valuable experience after starting from reverse grid pole position. Ellena Reece finished just half a second behind Theobald as she completed a clean race in 19th position with the Wera Alliance Racing Academy drivers looking to end their weekend on a high in race three.

The grid positions for the final contest at Pembrey were based upon the results of qualifying with Theobald starting from 15th, Beanie Reece from 17th, Ellena Reece from 18th and Powell from 21st on the grid.

It was a clean opening lap throughout the field with Theobald dropping one place to 16th, while Beanie Reece remained on her tail in 17th. Powell passed Ellena Reece to move into 19th position with all four Wera Alliance Racing Academy drivers inside the top-20.

The positions remained closely contested in the early stages, however there were few place changes as the drivers looked to force one another into mistakes. Theobald and Beanie Reece continued to run nose-to-tail as both female drivers looked to move ahead of Blair Dryburgh. Meanwhile, Powell was looking to pass Adam Curtis and Ellena Reece was defending well against Giovanni Santora.

On lap six, Powell’s pressure paid off as she overtook Curtis with Ellena Reece also following her through. Running in a competitive train of cars just outside of the top-10, Beanie Reece was showing excellent race pace and on multiple occasions she was faster than the overall race leader.

After passing Curtis, Powell extended her advantage over Ellena Reece while Lexie held the fastest race lap of the quartet. On lap 11, contact ahead saw Ashley Gregory retire with steering damage and this elevated the Wera Alliance Racing Academy drivers up one position. Theobald was now inside the top-15 with Beanie Reece in 16th, Powell in 17th and Ellena Reece in 18th position.

On the penultimate lap of the contest, Beanie Reece passed Theobald for 15th and she maintained this position to the chequered flag to finish all three races at Pembrey inside the top-15. Theobald crossed the line in 16th with Powell completing her weekend with a 17th place result. Ellena Reece rounded-out the quartet with an 18th place finish after a solid and consistent drive.

It was another weekend of development for the Wera Alliance Racing Academy drivers with three of the four visiting Pembrey for the first time. Theobald’s start from reverse grid pole position was a particular highlight in a weekend where the quartet battled hard for points paying positions. The next round of the Mini Challenge Trophy takes place on the weekend of 25th/26th July at Thruxton.

Race report from – https://www.racers-behindthehelmet.com