Roscrea racer Nicole makes motorsport history in Spain

Roscrea racecar driver Nicole Drought made motorsport history over the weekend by securing the Spanish GTX AM Championship title during the season finale at the iconic Circuito de Jerez in Spain.

The Roscrea native and past pupil of Coláiste Phobal wrapped up the crown with a race to spare following a breakout debut campaign in international GT racing.

Having won the UK based title in 2024, Nicole, who works as Finance Manager at the Mondello Park race track during the week, moved to European based GT racing for 2026 and teamed up with the Portuguese based Protech Motorsport squad, in what proved to be hugely successful campaign.

Ahead of last weekend's final races of the season Nicole had taken a podium finish at every round, despite never having raced at any of the circuits before.

Nicole, who is a previous winner of a Roscrea People of the Year award and daughter of well-known mechanic and fellow racer Owain Drought, grew up around cars and racing and always harbored a passion for the high-octance sport. 

Nicole is Ireland's top female racing driver and is a six time motorsport Champion and has won in Circuit Racing, Endurance Racing, Rallycross, Stage Rallying, Endurance Trials and Autotesting.

Nicole is an Ambassador for Joe Mallon Motors, ITM Naas and Siltex Safety Solutions and is an Accountant by trade and currently works at Mondello Park Racing Circuit.

In 2024 Nicole won the UK MSVR Trackday Trophy Championship winning races in the UK and Spain on her way to the title. In doing so, she made history as the first woman ever to win the championship and last weekend the Roscrea Rocket made history again in Spain.

She is also double Open Clubman Rallycross Champion, a former double Endurance Trial Champion and has won races in a variety of different cars.

After struggling initially in testing on Friday last when they prepare the racecar, Nicole, her co-driver Lucas Fothergill, along with the Protech team engineers, decided on a change of setup before qualifying.

This proved to be a clever move, as the car was far better, allowing Nicole to claim the coveted GTX AM pole in Saturday morning qualifying. At the start of the race, she pulled clear of her title challenger's McLaren and forged her way past a number of Porsche GT3 Cup cars to hand over to Lucas with a strong class lead.

Lucas managed the gap to the second placed car to take the chequered flag for a hugely popular victory, with the duo amassing enough points to assure them of the coveted championship title.

After the frantic race Nicole expressed delight:

“I'm delighted to have got the job done today. The Balance of Power did not suit the Porsche this season, and we have had to work so hard on setup and strategy to make this happen.

"It's a great championship though and I am so lucky to be able to race a Porsche at these amazing venues. A big thank you to Protech, to Lucas and of course to all of my wonderful partners and supporters.

"I think we have made good steps this weekend in terms of setup and will be pushing as hard as we can to make it two championship wins, when we visit Estoril in December."

The Jerez event brings the Spanish 2026 campaign to a close, with the Roscrea racing legend now a seven time motorsport champion, spanning three different disciplines.

The Iberian series has one more round, at Estoril in Portugal in early December, with Drought and Fothergill hoping to better their current position of third in that series.

For the remainder of 2026, Nicole competes in the Iberian Supercar Championship and Supercar Espana series.