DW Racing’s Stephanie Hobeika scales Radical Club Challenge podium on car racing debut

DWRacing’s Stephanie Hobeika scaled the podium on her car racing debut in Round 1 of the 2025 Radical Club Challenge presented by 750 Motor Club on the world-famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit (4-5 April).

Saturday’s first race only provided disappointment in the form of a DNF and disqualification for DW Racing, but the weekend ended with a Class C podium for Lebanon’s Hobeika, while John Davis celebrated a significant improvement in pace, despite turbulent race performances.

Darren Winter: “Firstly, we need to commend the 750 Motor Club for putting on a great, well-organised event and for welcoming DW Racing back into the championship. It was also good to have a bit of Radical Sportscars factory support at Brands Hatch, as it shows the company’s commitment to the Radical Club Challenge going forwards. We’ve all had fun and each team member has performed brilliantly. A good weekend for DW Racing.

“For John (Davis), the main objective is to have fun and he appears to have done just that. He didn’t get the on-track results we all wanted, but the biggest positive is that he significantly improved his lap times.”

Winter continued: “As this was Stephanie Hobeika’s car racing debut, we laid on extra testing to make her comfortable in the Radical SR1 and hone her abilities before the race weekend, and the results of that are reflected in the way her lap times tumbled.

“There’s so much more speed in Stephanie, and the next step is to develop her racecraft so she can better read and anticipate what’s going on around her. It was unfortunate that she had to retire while fighting for P3 in the first race, but she excelled in the second contest and earned a trophy. Without the Safety Car, she may have had a chance to push for the runner-up spot in Class C, because her lap times were there. We’re looking forward to seeing her develop as a racing driver this season.”

Car racing rookie Stephanie Hobeika used official Fine Cut Radical Cup UK testing at Donington Park in mid-March and a full day of running at Brands Hatch (Thursday 3 April) to get acquainted with her newly-acquired Radical SR1 ahead of her competitive debut.

She found pace and confidence even though clean laps were at a premium on the heavily congested track, and she continued on an upward trajectory during the Radical Club Chalenge’s four 25-minute practice sessions on Friday (4 April).

The following day, teams and drivers awoke to a green track and cool ambient conditions that, combined with a red flag stoppage, made for a frustrating Qualifying segment.

As instructed by DW Racing’s expert engineers and driver coaches, the Lebanese racer steadily brought her Hankook tyres up into the optimal temperature range in an effort to maximise grip for the second half of the fast and frantic 15-minute session.

However, an untimely Safety Car prevented her from pushing on and setting representative lap times, and she subsequently placed fourth in class and 18th overall.

In the first Radical Club Challenge race of the 2025 season, Hobeika held station away from the rolling start but soon engaged third-placed Vikram Sudera in an entertaining battle, which raged on until a broken chain forced her to peel into the paddock on the 15th tour of the 1.2-mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

Happily, there was one more opportunity to take home a trophy and she once again found herself locked in a fight with Sudera in the #66 SR1 sports-prototype.

She executed a decisive overtake under braking for Paddock Hill Bend and proceeded to stretch away, only for a mid-race Safety Car to reignite the battle and provide Sudera with an opportunity to retaliate.

The final podium spot changed hands lap-after-lap, but it was clear Hobeika had the measure of her opponent and she once again made a break to guarantee a third-place trophy on debut.

“It has been a really great weekend in the Radical Club Challenge presented by 750 Motor Club,” said Hobeika. “Retiring from race one was disappointing, but I finished well, taking away a trophy on my car racing debut. The engineering, coaching and media support I’ve received from DW Racing has been amazing and I have learnt far more than I could possibly explain. It’s a bit of everything, including how to handle rolling race starts, traffic and Safety Cars.

“I had a lot of fun battling with Vikram (Sudera) in both races on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. He got the jump on more powerful Radical SR3s at the start of the second contest, but I managed to catch him and make my way through, pulling away until the Safety Car bunched up the field. We were once again in battle at the restart and we exchanged places a few times with faster SR3s lapping us, but I eventually managed to pull away and take a maiden Class C podium. It gives me a lot of confidence and I’m already looking forward to achieving more in the next round.”

John Davis was on a high after bettering his previous best lap times on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit during the Radical Club Challenge’s Friday (4 April) test, but he was ultimately unable to translate his new-found pace into satisfying race results.

Qualifying proved frustrating for Davis because the need to scrub fresh Hankook tyres cost him a chance to lock in representative starting positions before the 15-minute session was halted in response to an incident.

The Welwyn Garden City-domiciled driver consequently languished down in 16th overall and ninth in Class B on the race one grid, but a swift launch ensured he got the better of both Calvin O’Connor in the #3 Radical SR3 RS and Ian Charles in the #24 PR6 before the field plunged into Paddock Hill Bend.

Davis and Charles used their cars’ strengths on different parts of the racetrack to trade places in the early stages of the 25-minute contest, but the DW Racing combatant eventually found an extra gear.

He lapped over a second quicker than his own personal best times and crossed the finish line in 12th overall and seventh in class, ahead of the #60 machine of Alicia Barrett.

He was justifiably enthusiastic about his performance and the progress made in the first Radical Club Challenge race of 2025, but his mood took a dive when the was disqualified for an alleged Safety Car infringement.

Unfortunately, race two went no better, as early progress from 16th on the grid was completely undone in a collision that occurred while being lapped by a leading car, leaving him stranded at the apex of the Druids hairpin and 18th in the definitive classification.

“There are plenty of positives to take away from the opening round of the 2025 Radical Club Challenge presented by 750 Motor Club at Brands Hatch,” said Davis. “Despite being out of the Radical SR3 for more than six months, I really felt I could exploit the car and went significantly quicker than ever before. It’s all about seat-time and developing my racecraft.

“The race one disqualification was unfortunate because I did my best to plead my case, and the contact I received while being tapped at Druids practically ended my second race. There was nothing I could do about it and, being stuck on the kerbing, having to find reverse and wait for a gap in the traffic before returning to the pits for precautionary checks meant I was unable to recover any positions. Nevertheless, DW Racing is pleased with me and, if I can put into practice what I’ve learnt this weekend, it will be a great season.”