Local motorsport star continues to shine

Teenage racing star Alisha Palmowski has made the next step in her already stellar career after recently securing a seat to race in the 2024 GB4 Championship, with racing team Elite Motorsport. 

The Glossop born driver has been making headlines year on year since starting her racing journey back in 2016, but this is undoubtedly her biggest achievement so far. 

The 17-year-old started out racing in karts, and in 2019 she raced in the Daniel Ricciardo Series UK National Championship, where she became a seeded driver before gaining the title of Junior Vice Champion in 2020 and again in 2021.  

Off the back of her achievements, Alisha began to get a lot of media attention, with many tipping her as one of the hottest prospects in motorsport. 

It was then that she made the transition into cars, when she was offered a place on the Ginetta Junior Scholarship in 2021, which sees around 60 drivers compete for a place in the Ginetta Junior Championship the following year. 

Astonishingly, Alisha won the competition in her debut year, earning her a place in the 2022 Ginetta Junior Championship, one of the most prestigious junior racing competitions in the UK. 

Aimed at 14–17-year-olds, the national competition gives young drivers the opportunity to race up and down the country, and it has helped produce a plethora of talented drivers- most notably McLaren’s Lando Norris. 

After racing in the Ginetta Junior Championship for two seasons, Alisha decided it was time to try and progress even further, which led her to make the step up to single-seater cars. 

She got her big break at the start of this year, when she was offered a place in the 2024 GB4 Championship, a support series to the British GT which gives racers the lifechanging opportunity of racing at some of the most iconic tracks in the country, including Silverstone and Brands Hatch. 

Alisha has no regrets, but admits she was unsure which avenue to go down after calling time on her Ginetta career: 

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after Ginetta, I thought about going down the GT car route as I’d had experience with those in the past but as soon as I got in a single seater car, I knew it was meant to be.” 

After making the transition into single-seater cars at the start of this year, Alisha began to get the hang of things very quickly, and won her debut race in March, at Oulton Park- an unbelievable achievement. 

Despite taking to single-seater racing like a duck to water, Alisha admits it was quite challenging to adapt at first: 

“It’s just so different to racing in regular cars, you travel at around 150mph and go around corners so much quicker. 

“The G force is just immense too as you are essentially racing in Formula 4 cars.” 

“It’s so physically demanding, which I think people don’t realise- there's no power steering and you have to use so much force on the brake pedals. 

“I’ve had to put in so much work over the past few months and have spent countless hours in the gym and using the simulator.” 

Alisha has already completed three out of the seven races in the GB4 Championship season, and she is delighted with how it has gone so far: 

“I’ve had a little bit of bad luck in a few of the races, in one of them there was a bit of a mechanical issue which meant my car got stuck in 6th gear throughout the race but other than that it has been pretty positive- I have come away with a podium position in every weekend and I’m really pleased with that. 

“This first season was just about gaining confidence for me, getting wins was just a bonus, but to win my first race was just a dream come true.” 

Alisha’s next race takes place on the weekend of July 13, when she travels to Snetterton, which she is very much looking forward to: 

“I can’t wait to get going again, it’s been about six weeks since my last race which is quite a big gap. 

“It’s the second longest track in the UK so it’s going to be tough, but fingers crossed I can pick up another win.” 

Though Alisha has an undeniable talent for the sport, she admits she could not have achieved the things she has without the support of her family: 

“My parents have just been so supportive throughout my career, they have been to every single one of my races and have sacrificed so much time and money over the years. 

“Any holidays they have off work are usually spent watching me race and we haven’t been on a family holiday in years. 

“I really wouldn’t be where I am today without them, and I owe them so much.” 

Alisha was also keen to highlight the work that goes on behind the scenes with her racing team: 

“I also don’t think people realise just how many people are involved, all the focus is usually on the drivers especially in F1, but there are around 30 to 40 people in my team and they all put so much work in, I couldn’t do what I do without them either.” 

Despite her fantastic achievements this year, Alisha is not resting on her laurels, and she is already thinking about how she can progress further in the sport. 

She is currently in the process of trying to secure a seat in the F1 academy next year, which is a support series to Formula One. 

It involves following the F1 circuit all around the world for eight weekends, in places such as Miami, Adu Dhabi, and Singapore. 

The all-female event involves 15 drivers, 10 of which will be supported by an F1 team, and Alisha is hoping to secure a place on one of the teams for 2025: 

“I’ve been in talks with a couple of teams and things are looking promising, I can’t say too much but it’s looking like I’ll be on the grid next year. 

“It would be a fantastic opportunity for me to showcase my talent and hopefully act as a role model to aspiring female racers out there, so fingers crossed everything goes to plan. 

“It would mean so much to help raise the profile of racing, especially among females, because so many aren’t aware of the pathways available to them. 

“As a young girl growing up, I didn’t even know motorsport was an option, F1 is such a male dominated sport in terms of drivers, mechanics, and team members, and I just hope I can help show the next generation of girls that motorsport is an avenue they can go down.” 

If you would like to follow Alisha on her journey, you can drop her a follow on Instagram: @alishapalmowski or check out her website: www.alishapalmowski.com 

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact: info@alishapalmowski.com