Local racer Lexie Powell, West Kingsdown, has joined the Wera Alliance Racing Academy for a season in the MINI CHALLENGE Trophy Championship. The cars are being run by Team Avago.
Making up the rest of the are Ellena Reece, Beanie Reece and Liona Theobald.
Lexie Powell is no stranger to motorsport with her father enjoying a successful career in Truck Racing. Last season Lexie was racing in the JSCC and is looking forward to progressing her career in the MINI Challenge. She had this to say about the season ahead and joining the academy:
“Joining the Wera Alliance Racing Academy is a really big deal for me, I am still so new to racing and to have Wera support and believe in me means so much. I hope this is the start of a long and successful journey.”
“I am excited about the move into MINI CHALLENGE, the cars look and sound amazing and I really think they will suit my driving style. I have a lot to learn but I cannot wait to get started and see what I can achieve this year “
Alliance Racing Team Principal and Wera Alliance Racing Academy founder Pete Osborne had this to say:
“I’m really excited with this team, I believe this is the first all female team in the MINI Challenge so I’m proud to be a part of that. As with all of the members of the academy we pride our selves on promise, talent and characters. These four young ladies have all of that in abundance. They’ve already enjoyed some testing together they had a great first test and were straight on the pace and all get on so well. Its important to us that we’re surrounded by like minded people and we all have the same goal of representing these great brands while enjoying the experience and that’s exactly what we have in this team. I’m also pleased to team up with Dave at Team Avago for what is a really important first year in the academy for all the girls.”
Ian Walford, Managing Director, Wera Tools UK, said
“Pete Osborne and I are extremely excited about our WeraTools/Alliance Racing Academy plans for this season including what we believe is the first time for an all-female team of drivers competing in a mainly male dominated championship. We welcome Beanie Reece, Ellena Reece, Lexie Powell and Liona Theobald into the Academy for the first time and look forward to their rookie year in the very competitive MINI CHALLENGE Trophy. It is an objective of the Academy to select drivers from a young and starting position in a competitor development programme to help them on the way in their racing careers and this very much includes females. Along with the experience of Team Avago, we will provide support and motivation for them to progress and we look forward to celebrating eventual podiums and championships with them.“
Dave Sutton from Team Avago, who are running the team in the MINI CHALLENGE this season didn’t need asking twice when the call came.
“When I first got the call asking if I would like to run the Girls Wera Alliance Racing Academy Cooper Team there was no hesitation in saying yes!
We are proud and excited to welcome the girls into our Team. Their dedication, courage, and enthusiasm for racing bring fresh energy and perspective to our environment, and we are committed to supporting their development every step of the way.
We look forward to seeing them grow in confidence, push boundaries, and inspire others, as we continue building an inclusive team where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
We truly believe that everyone should be able to follow their passion so to help give these girls this opportunity, we feel truly blessed and can’t wait to see them succeed.”