Esmee Hawkey returned to racing action in the GT Cup at Donington Park last weekend and asserted herself by qualifying third and taking victory in Saturday’s second sprint race.

The 19-year old has been away from the track since May, but was keen to get back out in her Porsche Cayman GT4.

“I wanted to prove that despite time off I’d been working hard in my training and I hadn’t lost anything,” said Esmee. “I was really happy to have my first race win in the car.

“I made a good start, went straight to first and tried to get a bit of a gap to the other drivers. I couldn’t switch the tyres on as quickly as I wanted to, so Lewis Proctor got past and we had a good battle for the race. I got past through the Fogarty Esses after putting pressure on him, and kept the position to the end of the race.”

Race one, earlier on Saturday, was a mixed one for the Kent-native, as Esmee fought back from a moment at Coppice to finish third and secure her first of three podium finishes for the weekend. In the rain on the final day, things were also tough for the youngster.

“Sunday wasn’t the best of days,” said Hawkey. “We struggled a bit in qualifying as every time I got a quick lap I had to come back in for a red flag, but I managed to get third on the grid.

“It was a tricky decision which tyres to use for the race, but we decided to go with wets which wasn’t the correct option. You win some, you lose some, and we’ll take the positives from the weekend.”

After an impressive sweep of podiums on her return, Esmee will be back in action at the final round of the GT Cup season at Snetterton on October 14/15. “We’ll be looking for more wins and to end the season on a high note,” said Hawkey.