Nicole starts busy year in top gear

Roscrea's Nicole Drought travelled to Donington Park race circuit in the UK last week to test with the Focus Cup Championship.

Having met with the series organisers at the Autosport International show in Birmingham in January, Nicole received an invitation to test their car before the season starts.

As well as a number of prospective drivers, the car was also driven by some existing Focus Cup competitors on the day. Nicole found herself at home in the car straight away and topped the timesheets at the end of the day. Needless to say, negotiations are now ongoing since for Nicole to compete in the 2023 Focus Cup.

Meanwhile though, Nicole is back behind the wheel this weekend at Mondello Park as she returns to her Clio 172 for the opening two rounds of the Irish Rallycross Championship.

Despite joining the 2022 Championship late, the Roscrea lady finished the championship second, just eight points off the winner, having taken a popular win at the final round.

This season, she hopes to dovetail her UK racing campaign with a full championship assault in the Rallycross series too!

Nicole said. "It's great to get back behind the wheel on UK circuits once again.

“A big thanks to Simon Walton and his team for inviting me to test the Focus. The car is lovely to drive and is balanced really well. I have a number of options to race in the UK this year, but that one is near the top of the list.

“It's back to the Clio this weekend though and I'm hoping to hit the ground running, with the car now fully sorted. Fingers crossed, I'll be bringing home some silverware!"

Nicole and her team are currently finalising her 2023 plans, details of which will be announced soon.

Nicole Drought, who hails from Roscrea, is Ireland's top female racing driver.

In 2016, she became the first woman to take a win in the Irish Touring Car Championship. She has subsequently raced in Global GT Lights, Stryker Sportscars, Historics, C1 Endurance Series, Clubsport Enduro and the Britcar Endurance Championship.

Nicole is the only Irish Ambassador for the International Sean Edwards Foundation, with whom she tested a Porsche Supercup in Le Castellet in 2016. She is also a double Class 1A Endurance Trial Champion, having taken the title in 2018 and successfully defended it in 2019, with six wins from six starts.

In May 2019, Nicole became the first woman to win in the UK C1 Endurance series, when she partnered Colin Lewis to victory in a 4-hour race at Anglesey in Wales. In 2020, she became a three-time class winner in the Britcar Endurance Series, and scored another win on her return to the series in July 2021, when she took the flag at the Silverstone Grand Prix track for the Motus One team.

In August 2019, Nicole drove a Formula 1 car at the Mondello Park Historic Festival, demonstrating John Campion's ex Derek Daly March 811 for CJJ Motorsports (above) and in February 2020 she travelled to Palm Beach in Florida to drive the team's Jordan 192 F1 car. in November 2021, Nicole made her rally debut. taking a class win in the Killarney Historic Rally in a Mini Cooper S.

In January 2023, Nicole became the first woman to win in Open Clubman in the Irish Rallycross Championship, when she took her Clio 172 to victory, also clinching second in the Championship too.

Nicole is also an Ambassador for Joe Mallon Motors, Motorsport Ireland, WISP, and Siltex Safety Solutions.