JOSHUA WILBY BATTLES TO RACE ONE VICTORY

Alex Keens picked up victory in the second Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy race of the weekend at Brands Hatch, which saw racing disrupted by the introduction of the safety car on two separate occasions and two penalties after the finish.

The action kicked off with Olivier Algieri on pole position after the top seven on the grid were reversed from race one, but the Westbourne Motorsport man was slow away from the line which enabled Rhys Hurd to blast ahead on the run to Paddock Hill Bend for the first time.

Algieri also slipped behind Gabe Fairbrother on the run up to Druids but then tried to come back at the EXCELR8 on the exit of Clark Curve as the pair crossed the line to start lap two – with Fairbrother able to hold on to the place.

Further down the pack however, Paul Manning lost the rear of his car going into turn one thanks to a fluid leak, which saw him spin off into the gravel and saw the safety car deployed.

Racing resumed on the seventh lap once Manning’s car had been recovered, with Alex Keens nabbing third from Algieri just before the polesitter suddenly slowed with a mechanical issue that forced him back into the pits to retire.

The top two broke clear of the fight for third as Keens came under pressure from race one winner Joshua Wilby, who nosed up the inside at Clark to get ahead at the end of the eighth lap – maintaining the position when Keens tried to come back at him through Paddock Hill at the start of lap nine.

At the front, Fairbrother and Hurd were going wheel-to-wheel for the win and on lap eleven, Fairbrother drew alongside heading across the line and took the outside line going into Paddock Hill, where slight contact between the pair was enough to see Fairbrother slide off into the gravel.

Hurd was able to save a wild slide to retain top spot as the safety car was called out for a second time.

Three laps remained when the race resumed, with Wilby having a look at McLaren on lap 16 and then trying to get a run into Druids – although that opened him up to attack from behind.

Keens managed to get a run on the outside heading down to Graham Hill Bend and as the pair ran together down the back straight, held on around the outside into Surtees to grab the position.

That left Wilby in danger from the train of cars behind which was headed by Alfie Garford, who had overtaken the battling pair of James Sherrington and Jenson Mason on the restart.

With Wilby on the outside line, Garford also nipped ahead into third spot but out front Hurd was able to hold on to score his second win of the season despite the best efforts of Keens across the final lap.

However, there would be a sting in the tail for Hurd when he was deemed to be at fault for the incident that saw Fairbrother retire and handed a ten second penalty that made Keens the race winner.

Garford was therefore promoted to second place and should have headed a two-car podium finish for the Wera Alliance Academy team, only for team-mate Mason to be excluded from the result for contact with Sherrington under the safety car.

It meant third place for Wilby despite taking the flag back in fifth place, with Luca Marinoni Osborne coming through from 14th on the grid to finish fourth, with Monroe Rennard and Sherrington rounding out the top six.

The two penalties provided extra points for both Ashley Gregory and Leo Purches as they fought their way from the back of the grid after that dramas in race one, with Craig Morgan and Henry Foote completing the top ten.

The late safety car and the ten second penalty dropped Hurd down to 17th place.