Rhys Hurd, Alex Solley Share Thruxton Spoils
Rhys Hurd and Alex Solley shared the wins in the latest rounds of the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy as the Cooper class competed on the BTCC support bill for the first time this season at Thruxton.
Following events at Snetterton and Pembrey, the biggest grid of the year to date made the trip to the fastest circuit on the calendar for rounds seven, eight and nine of the season where Solley emerged as the head of the times in qualifying to snare his first pole position of the campaign for Graves Motorsport.
Solley’s second fastest lap was good enough to ensure that he would also line up on pole for race one of the weekend but it was Hurd who emerged on top in the race after a fine run from sixth spot – the Chandler Motorsport driver having had to serve a grid penalty carried over from the previous event at Pembrey.
Hurd was helped by the fact that James Black and Harry Hickton ran across the grass at the chicane whilst battling for second place and lost momentum, enabling the reigning Rookie champion to break the tow at the front.
A train of cars would end up fighting for P2 on the final lap and as the train came up Woodham Hill it was Sam Gornall who suddenly found himself in second spit, with Black following him home in third.
Solley would end up crossing the line back in sixth, but then found himself on pole again for race two thanks to the reverse grid draw.
This time around, he would remain out front from start-to-finish, with Alex Keens keeping him honest in the early stages before he missed a gear and lost momentum. As with Hurd in race one, that allowed Solley to break the tow as he secured his second win of the campaign having also come home first in the reverse grid race at Pembrey.
Gornall would again leave it late to grab second spot thanks to a last lap move at the chicane, with Keens taking third despite hitting a tyre stack and damaging the front of his car late on.
Solley would again hold the lead at the start of the final race ahead of Hurd, but the pair swapped positions when Hurd made his move just before the deployment of the safety car following an off for series returnee Mick Fitzgerald at Church.
Only a few minutes remained once Fitzgerald’s car had been recovered, with Hurd holding on at the front to snare his second win of the weekend ahead of Solley, with Black once again on the podium in third spot.
The Cooper grid now heads into a mid-season break before racing resumes on the Donington Park GP circuit in late August.
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