Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Prepares To Resume Battle At Croft

23/07/2024 13:19 Share

Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Prepares To Resume Battle At Croft

The Vertu MINI CHALLENGE season resumes this weekend at Croft with the latest two rounds of the year at the North Yorkshire circuit for both the JCW and JCW Sport categories.

After the season passed the half-way point at Oulton Park prior to the summer break, defending champion Dan Zelos continues to lead the standings as he looks to secure a place in the history books as the first driver to win the MINI CHALLENGE title for a third time.

Zelos holds a commanding lead over top rookie Max Hall in the standings, with the pair split by 75 points at the top once dropped scores are taken into account – with each driver not counting their two worst scores each season.

However, remove the dropped scores and Zelos is actually 152 clear at the top and very much in the box seat for the rounds still to come as a result.

In JCW Sport, Dylan Hotchin remains the man to beat for the JamSport Racing squad and is 49 points clear of Cameron Richardson – a gap that increases to 83 when you take dropped scores out of the mix.

PODIUM FINISHES

Zelos tops the standings in terms of points and also in terms of podiums, having made it onto the rostrum in nine of the eleven races run so far. In fact, he hadn’t finished lower than second prior to the previous meeting at Oulton Park.

His five wins is the most scored so far in 2024, two clear of Hall with the other wins going to Nathan Edwards and Lewis Selby. Edwards took both wins at Oulton Park, with Selby scoring his maiden win at Donington Park by the largest margin in series history after an inspired tyre call.

Hotchin has also scored nine podium finishes in the JCW Sport class with four wins to his name, which is one more than Richardson and Ben Crossley – although Crossley has yet to make it onto the top step.

Albert Webster has the most victories with five, which came in succession after he returned to action following a heavy accident in round one at Donington Park.

QUALIFYING

Hall has been the top qualifier so far this season, which is particularly impressive for a youngster in his rookie season. Pole position at Brands Hatch was the highlight and gives him a slightly better average than fellow rookie Tom Ovenden – who kicked off the year at the front of the grid at Donington Park.

Josh Price and Edwards are the other two drivers to have lined up at the front of the field.

In the Sport class, Webster has been the man to beat in qualifying having scored pole for each of the three events he has contested – missing Brands Hatch as a result of concussion. For that weekend, it was points leader Hotchin who led the way.

FASTEST LAPS

When it comes to fastest laps, Zelos leads the way having scored the quickest lap time on five occasions – which means he had secured an additional 30 bonus points from his race pace. Zelos hasn’t set the quickest lap of the season however, with that honour going the way of Bradley Gravett in the opening race of the campaign at Donington Park at an average speed of 95.81mph.

In JCW Sport, the fastest laps have been shared around to a greater extent with Dylan Hotchin setting the greatest number on three – albeit with Cameron Richardson having posted the fastest race lap of the season to date at Donington Park. Noticeably, an Invitational Class car running on sustainable fuels has set the fastest lap three times in the hands of two different drivers.

LAPS LED

Given he has scored the greatest number of wins so far this season, it is little surprise that championship leader Zelos has led the most races but he hasn’t led the most laps. That honour instead goes to Hall, thanks in no small part thanks to leading the way in two of the races at Brands Hatch Indy – one of the shortest laps on the calendar.

Four drivers have led races in JCW Sport, with Albert Webster out front for the most laps despite the races he has missed.

PLACES GAINED

In terms of places gained, the combined nature of the grid means it is JCW Sport drivers who have made the most gains during the season to date, in part due to the fact that issues for any JCW cars ahead allow them to automatically move up the order.

Richardson has therefore gained the most places on 43, just ahead of Crossley and Hotchin, with the most places gained amongst the JCW drivers being NAPA Racing UK’s Jamie Osborne.