WHILE many teenagers spent their half-terms catching up on lost sleep, there was no rest for Emily Linscott.

Instead, the Basildon teen racer took on the famous Laguna Seca race track in California before hopping straight onto a plane to the south of France to take part in the Volant Winfield scholarship on the Circuit Paul Ricard, and the F1 Grand Prix circuit.

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Advice - Emily alongside Pippa Mann

The buzzing, but exhausted, GCSE student at St Clere’s School, in Stanford-Le-Hope, even managed to make it back in time for her mock exams the following morning after touching down from the whirlwind just after midnight.

Emily said: “I’d been awarded the scholarship drive in the US by Pippa Mann and the Lucas Oil School of Racing last year, so we had everything booked and planned to go to California for a week to do that.

“But the week before we were due to fly out, my mum found a tweet from the FIA Women in Motorsport about the chance of doing the Volant Winfield in France, which is a training programme for young drivers too, but with a full scholarship drive in the French F4 Championship for the winner.

“We applied for it and they offered me a place, but we had to find the money to do it. A new sponsor, Hedgehog Security, offered to help so we changed all of our plans to accommodate the trip to France too.

“The Lucas Oil School of Racing at Laguna Seca was amazing. Pippa and the whole team were fantastic and gave me everything I needed to have to learn the challenging track in their very playful cars.

“It was an experience I’ll never forget, but one that I very much hope to do again soon.”

The racer ended up finishing fifth overall.

She added: “We then had to get the plane on Wednesday, land at Heathrow on Thursday evening, drive straight to Gatwick, fly to the south of France early Friday morning and travel to the hotel near the track in the afternoon.

“The next three days were all about performance and learning, but I was so exhausted from jet-lag and no sleep for two nights that I couldn’t perform well at all on the first two days.

“I couldn’t believe how much it had affected me. Monday’s on-track sessions were much better - closer to what I know I’m capable of in a car, but I’d missed my window of opportunity to impress early on. The experience was amazing though.”

The talented teen has since decided to launch a competition using an autographed cap by British racing driver, Pippa. All the cash raised will go to Make-A-Wish Foundation charity.

She initially set a £250 target but donations have since topped £1,000.

She added: “I’m so proud and grateful to everyone for their generosity and for what we’ve all achieved.”

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