Redemption Day at Thruxton: Finn Groom Fights His Way Back After a Struggle at Pembrey
The Mini Challenge UK series is well underway for the 2026 season, with round 4 at Thruxton Circuit having just been completed over the weekend from the 25th to the 26th of July.
Thruxton Circuit is a 2.356-mile (3.791km) long racetrack situated in Hampshire, England, and is known as one of the fastest racetracks in the UK. With 12 turns and fast corners, it is naturally created to be taken flat-out and makes for excellent racing. For our brand ambassador Finley Groom, the previous round at Pembrey was one to forget. With multiple DNFs and damage that put the family-owned team on the back foot for most of the weekend, there was a lot of work to do to ensure the car would be competitive at Thruxton. Fortunately, due to the gumption of All Groom Motorsport, the car was repaired and restored, meaning they were able to head to Thruxton with a clean sheet and focus on the races ahead.
Starting the weekend off, Finn and the team proceeded to adjust the set-up of the car to be able to deal with the fast right-hand corners the track had to offer, as well as using cross weights, which were used to help the overall balance of the car for the cornering, as well as setting less tow on the rear to ensure optimal speed for the circuit. With the set up complete, qualifying was up; however, the team struggled with tyre delamination, and the water pump had also failed, meaning, similar to Pembrey, work would be needed to ensure that they could extract the most out of the upcoming races.
Sunday came along with Finn starting in 21st place for both races. He managed to find some pace in the car, allowing him to go from 21st to 13th, but ultimately later on he succumbed to a struggle for grip, meaning that his race finishing position was 16th. Although the team have now found themselves being able to fight through the field, Finn had stated in an interview that one of the biggest struggles for the weekend was a struggle to optimise maximum pace without a teammate to use as a slipstream and how being a one-man team means they don't have a lot of time to go through results or re-watch the races as him and his dad are both occupied with the race obligations and adjusting and repairing the car in time to be ready for qualifying and races.
“It has been tough; we’re a one-man band, we’re running our own brand, running our own car, we’re doing everything ourselves. There's been a lot to learn”
Even though there have been a fair share of struggles for the team during the rookie season, they're taking everything head-on with a positive attitude and are visibly producing results despite the adversity. Overall, it was an improvement from Pembrey, and the team were able to point out major improvements such as the speed they were able to carry through the weekend as a result of the successful adjustments made at the beginning of the weekend.
The next race of the season sees them at Donington Park, so be sure to tune in on ITV4 or ITVX from the 23-24th of August.