When she crossed the finish line in the final round of the 2026 BTRDA BMW MINI Championship, 18 year old Leah McManus from Kildare became the Champion after a stellar season. She adds this to her Irish MINI Graduate Championship, which she won over the 2026 season at Mondello Park.
Leah made her UK debut at the opening round at Blyton Park in March and despite her lack of circuit knowledge and the fact that she had stepped up to a supercharged Cooper S MINI, came home a very impressive second, opening her championship challenge.
Round two was in June at the same venue and Leah drove superbly, fighting her way up from third place to take her first UK win. She followed this up with wins at round three in Lydden Hill in Kent and round four in Pembrey in Wales. She was first across the line in round five too, but a penalty dropped her down the order making the final round in Knockhill in Scotland at the weekend.
A high speed accident at Mondello Park when a suspension component failed meant her MINI sustained heavy damage with less than two weeks to the final UK round, putting big pressure on her Motorworx team, run by her Dad Thomas. They somehow had the car stripped down and repaired in a matter of days though and Leah was able to test it briefly at Mondello Park, where she works as an Instructor ,to make sure it was all in working order.
The family team just had time to load up the car and head for Belfast, where they got the Ferry to Scotland and drove to Knockhill, where Leah would face the challenge of yet another track she had never seen before! Having cycled the track the previous evening, Leah was immediately on the pace on Sunday morning - but disaster struck as her engine lost power in Heat Two. The Motorworx team quickly got to work and soon had the car running again. Leah decided to sit out the last heat though to ensure the car was healthy for the all important final.
Thankfully, the car ran superbly and Leah was able to taker her fourth win of the season and more importantly, secure the UK title, quite an achievement on her debut UK season. Leah's supercharged MINI Cooper S is prepared by her family Motorworx business, based not far from Mondello Park in County Kildare.
Leah's father Thomas is an ex Autocross competitor and has also achieved success in Irish Rallycross, having most recently taken two wins in the Cooper S that Leah drives in the UK rounds
