LEWIS SELBY SECURES FIRST WIN OF 2025 IN NAPA RACING 1-2

Lewis Selby held off the determined challenge of a charging Jamie Osborne to score victory in the second Vertu MINI CHALLENGE race of the weekend at Oulton Park.

The race had kicked off with Tom Ovenden on pole position having set the pace in the dry on Saturday, although rain before the start meant far from easy conditions for the field – with everyone sticking with slicks bar Charlie Hand who dived in at the end of the green flag lap to switch onto wets.

Ovenden was able to hold the lead on the run down to turn one but behind, Alex Solley found himself off line and went off into the gravel on the outside of Old Hall to bring out the safety car.

Behind him, Selby had managed to get ahead of Josh Porter into second spot, with Harry Campey and Osborne the big winners – making up five and nine places respectively to climb into the top seven.

It would be lap four when the action resumed, and Campey was in the wars immediately, dropping to the rear of the field when he was tagged at turn one by a spinning Albert Webster – although the race was able to remain green as both were able to get going.

At the front, Selby was able to dive ahead of Ovenden to grab the lead, with Nathan Edwards taking third from Porter and Osborne benefitting from the incidents ahead to move up into fifth – which then became fourth at the start of the following lap when Edwards ran wide exiting Old Hall and lost momentum.

Osborne’s charge forwards saw him then overhaul both Porter and Ovenden on lap six just before another caution period, originally called for Ben Crossley’s JCW Sport car going off at Druids but also being required to allow Marlo Cordell to be recovered from Knickerbrook after he went off following contact from Max Edmundson.

Three laps of racing were possible when the action resumed for a second time, with Osborne trying more than once to get ahead, but Selby held on to score a first win of the campaign and maintain his third place in the standings.

“Jamie was never going to let me have that one easy but he played fair,” he said. “For him to come from 16th on the grid to second was mega and for us to score a 1-2 for the team is great.

“It was a challenging race with the conditions, and getting heat into the rear tyres was a real issue early on. It was only in the final few laps when I really realised how much grip there was and I knew we had the pace on everyone else to at least take second – but I prefer the win!”

Osborne’s charge allowed him to extend his lead at the top, albeit only by a single point as a result of the bonus points scored by Ovenden for taking the fastest lap.

Porter would overhaul Ovenden before the second caution period to bag his second podium of the season, with Ovenden having to settle for fourth place and Edwards recovering from his brief excursion at turn one to take fifth.

Behind them, Amigo Motorsport racer Ned Anthony enjoyed his most competitive race of the campaign to date as he rose from 13th on the grid to take sixth and secure the Rookie Cup win ahead of a recovering Edmondson and Jacob Hodgkiss.

“It was a really difficult race on the slicks early on but when it started to dry up, things started to work for us,” he said. “It’s great to get my best result of the season so far and I’d have been happy with that to end the weekend. Coming away with some silverware and a Rookie Cup win is an added bonus.”

Cameron Richardson and Campey then rounded out the top ten, with the latter scoring the bonus points for fastest lap. Harry Hickton had finished inside the top ten on the road before a time penalty for being out of position at the start dropped him down to eleventh, with Hand on his wet tyres having to settle for twelfth when the circuit dried too much for his wet rubber.

Hillman and the delayed Webster completed the finishers.