Haslemere racing driver Katherine Legge made a solid start to her Formula Renault championship assault on Bank Holiday Monday, achieving a points-scoring finish in her race debut for top single-seater team Fortec Motorsport.
The 21-year-old started 20th on the grid at Kent circuit Brands Hatch and, although she fell back after a slow start, she clawed her way back up to 16th at the flag, passing several drivers on her way.
Her performance netted her five points, opening her account in the one-make slicks-and-wings championship. It also showed that she could be a front-runner in the series, having set the fifth-fastest lap of the race in a 30-car field containing many more experienced drivers.
Legge, backed by Alresford firm e-magine-it, Dragon Print and Focus Homes, said: "I am happy with my race. The result wasn't wonderful, but at least I finished and the timesheets proved that I have the speed to be at the front."
Legge's weekend was not all plain sailing and she was disappointed after Sunday's qualifying session, having struggled to keep the pace of the front-runners, including team-mate and eventual race winner Danny Watts.
The session left her 20th on the grid for Monday's race and she chose the correct slick tyres for the damp but drying conditions. But she made a mistake at the start and fell back to 24th.
Once she got going properly after two or three laps, she started working her way through the field. Among the drivers Legge found a way past during the 17-lap race were highly-rated Venezuelan driver Ernesto Jose Viso and ex-Formula 3 racer Stuart King.
Her final target was Motaworld driver Gary Turkington, who proved the toughest to pass. But, with five laps remaining, she found a way past on the daunting Brands Grand Prix track.
After passing the Irishman, Legge set about closing on her Fortec team-mate, Brazilian Luciano Garcia, and was just 0.2sec behind him at the chequered flag was waved. By the end, Legge was setting lap times comparable with race-winner and FRenault stalwart Watts.
The FRenault championship moves up to the challenging Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire for round two on April 21.