18 year old Leah McManus from Kildare sprayed the champagne on Sunday at Blyton Park circuit, having taken her first UK Rallycross win at the wheel of her supercharged MINI Cooper S.
Leah made her UK debut at the opening round of the 2026 BTRDA Rallycross Championship at the same circuit in March and finished a close second so was confident heading to round two on Sunday.
It wasn’t all plain sailing though, as the car developed a misfire which slowed her in free practise in the morning and stopped her finishing Race one in the early afternoon. Having traced the problem to a faulty fuel pump, the Motorworx team sourced a replacement from a helpful fellow competitor and, with the car back on form, Leah charged to second place, with fastest lap by almost half a second, in heat two. Having reviewed her onboard camera footage, Leah was confident she could find still more time in the all important final.
She wasn’t wrong either! at the end of the opening lap, she was third, shadowing the leaders across the line. A lap later, a great exit from Turn One allowed her alongside reigning Champion Wesley Wickens coming onto the main straight. At the following left hander, she sat around the outside and managed to close the door before Turn Three, elevating herself to second.
The following lap, coming into the closing stages of the race, Leah replicated the move on the leader and when the pack crossed the line to start the final lap, the Kildare lady was in the lead. Over the final lap, she got the head down to extend her lead and crossed the line well ahead to take the first UK win of her career.
LeahMcManus:” Overall a very successful weekend which couldn’t have gone better. I would like to thank my parents, Leo Nulty and my best mechanic Damien for this amazing opportunity and of course all of my amazing sponsors for all their support!”
Leah’s supercharged MINI Cooper S is prepared by her family Motorworx business, based not far from Mondello Park in County Kildare.
Leah’s father Thomas is an ex Autocross competitor and has also achieved success in Irish Rallycross, having most recently taken two wins in the Cooper S that Leah drives in the UK rounds.
Leah returns to the 2026 BTRDA Rallycross Championship at Lydden hill on July 25th.
Leah is sponsored by Ronan Quinn Mechanical, Kiwi Complete Bathrooms Ltd, D&C Paveright, MS Pay, Kill Haulage, O’Shaughnessy Car Sales, Advanced Autoparts and Quik Pick Robertstown.
Action Images from Phil Davies/