Charlotte Birch takes victory on return to Track Action Racing Club

Charlotte Birch took on Vinna Sport in her Honda Civic and put up a thrilling fight on her return to Track Action Racing Club, taking an overall win and two class wins at Thruxton.

Charlotte Birch made a positive return to the Track Action Racing Club with an overall win and two class wins at Thruxton. Birch competed with Vinna Sport in her Honda Civic and had exciting battles with Paul Roddison in both races at Britain’s fastest race track.

Charlotte led for most of the first race and defended her position well before Roddison took the win on the final lap. Birch was determined to win the second race and led every lap while surviving a red flag and subsequent restart on her way to victory.

Charlotte returned to racing after a mid-season break and was looking forward to a successful comeback in her Honda Civic. Birch was racing in the final round of the Track Action Racing Club, a series in which she had achieved considerable success in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Thruxton would pose a big challenge for Charlotte, however, as the Vinna Sport driver had very little experience of the fastest circuit in the country. The high-speed corners coupled with the heavy braking zones would pose a challenge and Birch was hoping to get back on the podium in her second outing for Track Action Racing Club this season.

Qualifying began on Saturday morning and was held later than planned due to an incident in a previous session. The early morning rain had stopped and the Track Action Racing Club drivers were able to drive on the predominantly dry track.

Thruxton featured a large field of 25 riders and so traffic management was an important aspect of qualifying. In a session interrupted by a red flag, Birch qualified on overall pole position with a fantastic lap time of 1:29.029.

The first race of the weekend took place shortly after qualifying and was held in dry conditions. The Vinna Sport driver started on pole position. Charlotte got off to a good start in her Honda Civic and ran side by side with Paul Roddison to the opening complex.

Birch was able to hold her position through the opening corners and, despite her rival slipstreaming at the Club Chicane, Charlotte led the first lap. By the second lap, the lead had grown to six tenths of a second before Roddison fought back and immediately followed on with the fastest lap of the race.

On lap four, Charlotte again had to defend against the Volkswagen Scirocco as the two cars were evenly matched at Thruxton. While Birch was quickest in the first sector, which included Campbell, Cobb and Seagrave corners, Roddison’s machine was quicker in the high-speed sections and seemed to reach a higher top speed.

Charlotte set the fastest first sector of the race on lap five, although the gap was only half a second as the pair encountered lapped traffic. With the Vinna Sport driver clear on lap eight, Birch set a new fastest lap of the race before Roddison closed back up and started the final lap just two tenths of a second behind. After a good run through the high-speed Church corner on the final lap, Roddison was able to take advantage of the slipstream and pass Charlotte at the Club chicane to take overall victory at the final corner. Nonetheless, it was a thrilling race between the duo, with Birch taking the win in her class.

For the second and final race of the event, Birch again started from pole position, alongside Gareth Porter. Charlotte made another good start and held the lead, while Charlie Constable moved into second. Birch finished the first lap with a one and a half second lead and was able to focus on setting fast times. However, on the second lap the Safety Car was deployed, resulting in a red flag and a race stoppage.

When racing resumed, the distance had been reduced to eight minutes and Charlotte was again required to make a clean standing start. She did just that, building a large lead and ending the first lap just over a second ahead of her rivals. Birch’s lead grew to 1.7 seconds by the end of the second lap, but with Roddison now in second, the race one winner looked to close the gap.

By lap four, Roddison had reduced the lead to just four tenths of a second and was looking for a way through at the Club Chicke. Despite his efforts, Charlotte defended her lead superbly to take a brilliant win on her return to Track Action Racing Club competition.

It was an excellent meeting for Charlotte, who showed strong single lap pace and impressive racing technique. After securing double pole position, Birch led all but one lap of the race, putting her in an ideal position to improve her podium tally.

The Vinna Sport driver is looking forward to further action in the 2024 season, with the Track Action Racing Club the ideal place to enjoy exciting action in multiple classes.