JAMIE OSBORNE RETURNS TO THE TOP STEP

Jamie Osborne saw off the early challenge of Albert Webster to secure victory in the second Vertu MINI CHALLENGE race of the weekend at Snetterton – making it three wins from four this season.

The NAPA Racing UK driver lined up on the second row of the grid with Webster having been drawn on pole, and the JCW Sport graduate made the best start to lead the field ahead of Lewis Selby – with Osborne getting ahead of Charlie Hand.

Heading into the Wilson hairpin, Osborne took the outside line to try and go around the lead duo and took the inside line for Palmer where he swept into the lead, only for Webster to then hold on around the outside of Agostini and Hamilton.

That gave him the inside line for Oggies only for the JRW Motorsport man to run wide, allowing Osborne to nip back through.

Even then, the battle between the pair wasn’t over as Webster reclaimed the lead going into Nelson to at least hold onto P1 after the opening lap.

Osborne wasn’t prepared to sit back however, and a fine move around the outside at Coram on lap two allowed the championship leader to get ahead and he was able to scamper away to victory.

That allowed him to extend his points leader, with closest rival Tom Ovenden way down the order a spin on lap two whilst fighting for third.

“That was another race where I was meant to hang back and take the points,” Osborne said, “but I’m not very good at doing what I’m told to! I got the scent when I was battling with Albert and when I got ahead, I was able to control things from the front. It was unfortunate for Tom that he had an issue, but it’s good for us in terms of the points.”

Whilst Osborne sailed on to victory in a race that was shortened by an incident for one of the JCW Sport cars, it was a different story behind in the fight for the remaining spots on the podium, with Webster becoming the cork in the bottle.

Max Edmundson had been able to jump up three spots into third on the second lap when Ovenden’s moment caused Selby and Hand to check up ahead and put pressure on Webster for second before getting a run out of Murrays at the end of lap three – allowing him to draw ahead across the line before completing the move into Riches.

Edmondson then eased clear of the pack to repeat his race one result and also bag victory in the Rookie Cup for the second time in the weekend.

Next to attack Webster was Jacob Hodgkiss, who had managed to overhaul Selby in a move that also opened the door for both Hand and Harry Hickton to pass the NAPA Racing man – with Josh Porter from P12 on the grid then clearing Selby for seventh.

As Hodgkiss tried to get ahead of Webster, he came under attack from Hand, who grabbed the place at the Wilson hairpin on lap six, with Porter following through as he overhauled both Hickton and Hodgkiss in a single lap.

Hand immediately launched a bid for third against Webster and having gone wheel-to-wheel for the first half of the lap, contact at Agostini saw Webster run wide and opened the door for Porter to pass the pair as he went on to take his maiden JCW podium.

“Starting from P12, I didn’t expect much and it’s amazing to come through to third,” he said. “Every time someone made a mistake in front of me and there was a chance to make up ground, I took it and there were some really good moves along the way as well.

“This is my third year in JCWs and finally I’ve got that podium finish. It means to much.”

Hand would spend the final laps battling wheel-to-wheel with Mannpower Motorsport team-mate Hickton but when Hickton did manage to get ahead, he would lose the spot when the red flag saw the result taken back a lap to the point when Hand still held the position.

Behind the pair, Selby would be classified in sixth ahead of Harry Campey, with Hodgkiss, Webster and Alex Solley rounding out the top ten.

Solley would later be handed a five second penalty however for gaining an unfair advantage earlier in the race, which promoted Marlo Cordell up into tenth.

After his early dramas, Ovenden was unable to catch up to the rear of the JCW field and was classified back in 15th spot, with the only retirement being the Sustainable Fuel Development Car in the hands of Steven Chandler – which returned to the pits after two trips off track on the exit of Nelson.