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The fight never stops: British Champions of the Future Academy Round 3 Recap
Battles ensued as six of our F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE karters journeyed to Scotland to take on the Larkhall Circuit International for Round 3 of the 2026 British Champions of the Future Academy campaign.
Utilising all their learnings across the previous two rounds, Sukhmani Khera and Lizzy Mentier put those lessons into practice as they secured three trips to the podium across the OK-N Junior and Senior categories.
KHLOE MCGILL (MINI 60)
It was a tough start to the weekend for Khloe McGill, after showers across the event washed away any grip the field had put down over the previous practice sessions. Qualifying in seventh, a rapid run to third in Heat 2 helped move her up to fourth on the grid in the Final. Unfortunately, she couldn’t sustain that pace and dropped back to P6 by the end of Day 1.
Day 2 was a much more encouraging run of performances from McGill. Qualifying in fifth, she delivered two top-six finishes in the Heats. Lining up fifth on the Final grid, she held firm to take her best result of the British COTFA season in P4.
SUKHMANI KHERA (OK-N JUNIOR)
Heading into the weekend, Sukhmani Khera had yet to finish a Final outside the top six but was still hunting down that elusive maiden victory. It looked to be within reach from the outset on Saturday. Missing out on pole in Time Qualifying by 0.164s, she narrowly seized the Heat 1 win by seven hundredths before dominating Heat 2.
Taking advantage of the P1 spot for the Final, she led the early stages but lost the position. Locked in a two-kart fight for the win, Khera closed to within 0.073s but ultimately had to settle for second.
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Her pace carried on into Day 2, as the British racer qualified in third — only 0.071s separated the top four. Two storming performances in the Heats saw her win Heat 1 and finish second in Heat 2, giving her a front row start for the Final. Khera put on a valiant display but couldn’t wrestle the win her way and her back-to-back P2 finishes put her tied on 340 points with the Standings leader.
ANDIE STEWART (OK-N JUNIOR)
Andie Stewart’s visit to Larkhall got off to a more challenging start after she qualified in P7. Two consistent Heats followed and the Briton looked to be making progress up to P4 in the Final until she received a five-second time penalty for gaining an unfair advantage, classifying her in seventh.
The second day began in a similar fashion, with a P8 result in Qualifying followed by sixth and seventh-place finishes in the Heats. Stewart managed to make more progress in the Final, beating Ava Lawrence to a top-five finish. Sitting fourth in the Standings with one round remaining, she reflected on the sense of camaraderie between the F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE cohort.
“Having one test day in the full wet then two dry race days made it challenging because I felt like we were chasing set-up without any previous testing,” Stewart admitted.
“It was great to have lots of off-track support this weekend from friends and family who came to watch even though it was a difficult weekend on track. I also love the friendships I'm building with the other F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE girls.”
AVA LAWRENCE (OK-N JUNIOR)
Ava Lawrence also had her own fightback up the order on Day 1 after qualifying in P8. Unable to make sizeable climbs in the Heats, the Emirati driver dug deep in the Final to classify a comfortable P4.
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Day 2 was another consistent performance from Lawrence. Three consecutive P5 results across Qualifying and both Heats put her in a solid position for the Final. However, she couldn’t create the same progress through the field, finishing in P6 and leaving Larkhall sixth in the Standings.
LIZZY MENTIER (OK-N SENIOR)
Lizzy Mentier was the quickest of our Seniors out of the box on the opening day, qualifying in P3, almost fourth tenths off pole position. The Briton pulled off two strong Heats in P2 and P3 to earn herself a spot on the front row for the Final, which she defended hard to bring home a second-place finish.
Unfortunately, Mentier wasn’t able to match the same start on Day 2. Qualifying in P5, she had a setback in Heat 1, finishing P7 after receiving 10 seconds-worth of penalties for gaining an unfair advantage and an incorrectly positioned front fairing.
However, she bounced back with a P2 finish in Heat 2, slotting her into fourth on the grid for the Final. Although a second consecutive podium was in her sights, Mentier wouldn’t be able to challenge for it after her race came to an early end after one lap. Left 129 points adrift of the Standings leader, she will be fighting to retain the runner-up spot at the final event of the season.
EMMA ROSE DOWLING (OK-N SENIOR)
Emma Rose Dowling’s weekend got off to an encouraging start after she qualified fourth on Day 1. Slipping back one place in each Heat, she lined up fifth for the Final and was able to regain that lost place to take fourth at the chequered flag.
Day 2 saw the South African racer qualify slightly further back in P6, before taking P4 and P6 finishes across both Heats. Locked in fierce battles in the Final, she rounded out the weekend with a fifth-place finish, helping her to gain two places in the Standings and move into the top three.
The 2026 British COTFA campaign concludes with its fourth and final round at Whilton Mill on August 21-23. To see the full list of results from Round 3 and to view the remaining round on the calendar, visit the COTFA website here.