A DUNFERMLINE-based racing driver is setting her sights on competing at Knockhill after returning to competition following an 18-month hiatus.

Hannah Chapman recently enjoyed a successful comeback when the Vertu Mini Challenge season accelerated into action at Donington Park at the end of April.

It was her first time back behind the wheel competing since an incident during the 2022 season at Knockhill, her home round, caused extensive damage to her JCW-spec machine and forced her onto the sidelines.

The opportunity to dust off her helmet came on a big weekend for the Mini Challenge as the new JCW Sport class appeared on track for the first time, and Hannah was also given the honour of driving a new development car being run by the series as it works to a more sustainable future.

It used the first phased of a special development fuel, a proportion of which was from a sustainable source, whilst the rest of the field took to the track using traditional race fuel.

Hannah ran as an invitational entry, as the fuel her car used meant it was outside the championship regulations, and her outing at Donington Park was planned to be a one-off.

She is now, however, setting out to try and secure additonal races in the sustainable fuel development car later in the season, with a focus firmly set on a date at Scotland's national motorsport centre in early August.

"It was an honour to be the first driver to race the development car, and I’d love the opportunity to get back out in again later in the season,” she said.

"Obviously Knockhill is one meeting I really want to compete in, and I’ll be working hard to try and make it happen.

"The budget for the JCW Sport car is a little lower which will help, and I really enjoyed racing it, even if I did miss the sequential gearbox you get in the full-blown JCW car. I think the Sport compares quite well to the Cooper that I drove earlier in my career and was a lot of fun - it was like racing a Cooper on steroids!"

With the sustainable car featuring an 'H-pattern' gearbox, productive testing saw Hannah head into qualifying at Donington Park in confident mood, only for a driveshaft issue to consign her to the back of the grid.

She went on to set her fastest lap of the weekend, moving up to 14th overall, in the first race and was the third JCW Sport car home, but the invitational nature of her entry meant she wasn't eligible for a podium award.

Although race two was cancelled due to heavy rain, race three saw Hannah finish less than a second away from the overall top 10 as the second best JCW Sport driver, having made up the most positions of anyone across the two races.

Hannah, who hadn't driven the JCW Sport car prior to testing on the Thursday before the race weekend, continued: "It was a bit different getting used to a high-powered car with the manual gearbox but I don't think it took me long to get back into the swing of things.

"The only really disappointing part was qualifying, which I had planned to use as further testing before we had an issue with the driveshaft. I was genuinely gutted that we couldn’t show our true pace there, although it was better that we had the problem there than in the races themselves.

"Because I was running as an Invitational entry - and because this was the first appearance for the car running on the new sustainable development fuel - I was aware that it was important not to go out and do anything stupid, and I’m really pleased with how it went.

"I think I made some good decisions on track and raced well, and I was happy with the results we picked up in the two races - although it would have been nicer if I’d been eligible for the trophies!"