ARCHIE JOHNSON OPENS JCW SPORT WIN ACCOUNT

Archie Johnson bagged his first win in the JCW Sport class of the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE with victory in the second race at Donington Park.

Johnson had endured a tough start to the weekend with issues in qualifying and then alternator failure during a red flag period in race one leaving him pointless going into the race – where he lined up fifth on the grid.

There was drama before the start when Henry Howarth – winner of race one – suffered a spin on the green flag lap, with the Jamsport driver reclaiming his place in the field ready for the start.

Will Crooks led the field away at the start having taken reverse grid pole and held the lead through lap one before being overhauled by Howarth – who was then handed a penalty for a false start that dropped him down the order.

It meant Crooks remained the defacto leader on the road until Johnson and Ben Crossley both nipped ahead, with Crooks then going wheel-to-wheel with Nicky Gauci in the battle for fourth.

Contact between the pair going down the Craner Curves ultimately ended with Crooks spinning off into the gravel, with Gauci collecting a trackside banner before being forced to return to the pits to retire.

It left a four-car field to battle for the win, with Howarth continuing to lead the way on the road ahead of Johnson – who was mindful of the fact that he didn’t need to overhaul his partner.

Although Howarth crossed the line first, Johnson secured his first win and also bagged the extra three points for fastest lap to put his name on the scoreboard.

“I knew we had pace and showed it in part one of race one before the alternator went and then did it again there,” he said. “I knew Henry had a penalty so there was no need to battle, and made sure the car didn’t overheat and did nothing stupid to bag the points.”

An additional penalty for Howarth for track limits meant Crossley would be classed second, with Howarth having to settle for the final place on the podium.

A tricky race for Bitcoin Racing’s Chris Mackenzie saw him round out the finishers in fourth place.