TOM OVENDEN, HENRY HOWARTH SCORE DONINGTON PARK POLES

Tom Ovenden and Henry Howarth shared pole positions in the first qualifying session of the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE season at Donington Park.

Ovenden topped the times in the JCW class for the second successive season on his 21st birthday, whilst Howarth emerged as the man to beat in a hard-fought battle for top honours in JCW Sport.

Qualifying would be a somewhat chaotic affair as drivers pushed to the limit – and beyond – in the quest for a lap time, with a number falling foul of track limits, including Ovenden himself.

The EXCELR8 Driver Development Programme driver would set his quickest lap early on in the session and laid down a marker for his rivals to chase, with Jamie Osborne getting closest before he was forced to end his run early with a fuel surge issue.

That left Ovenden out front by just 0.045s to take pole for race three, with his second quickest time good enough for pole for the opening race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon.

“A big thank you to Donington Park as I obviously like this place,” he said. “I felt more pressure than twelve months ago because there was no real pressure on me last year for my first weekend. This time around, it was expected to be in the mix and I knew it was in me and the car, so I’m glad we were able to deliver.

“It’s hard to pinpoint where the difference is when the times are so close, and it’s a case of being as committed as you can be without dropping any time – and avoiding track limits which is particularly tough at the final corner.”

Even after losing the final ten minutes of session with his issue, Osborne was still able to secure his spot on the front of the grid for both races one and three as he maintained the strong pace shown by NAPA Racing throughout Thursday testing, where team-mate Lewis Selby had been quickest.

It leaves Osborne well placed going into the races having been within a tenth of a second of the quickest lap for both races.

“Out of the box the car was mega and we got some good laps in but then had fuel surge and couldn’t really get another run as the car was cutting out,” he said. “It’s nice to be up in second as it’s where we deserve to be and hopefully we can turn a front row into some strong results.

“We should have some good tyres having finished qualifying early, and will look to try and get ahead at the start and then keep the other guys behind.”

Behind the top two, Nathan Edwards was third and just 0.055s off pole, with a gap of a tenth of a second back to Selby, who was a winner here last season in wet conditions.

Selby was one of the few drivers to post his quick lap late in the session as he moved just ahead of Josh Porter, with the top six being rounded out by Jacob Hodgkiss – who was the best placed of the Rookie Drivers for series newcomers Race Car Consultants.

Hodgkiss headed a raft of rookies ahead of Max Edmundson, Harry Hickton and Alex Solley, with the top ten being rounded out by Marlo Cordell.

JCW Sport looked set to be headed by Chris Mackenzie for much of the session as the Bitcoin Racing led the way in the class, only for Howarth to make his move to the front in the closing stages.

Howarth had been quickest for Jamsport in Thursday testing and edged clear at the front on his second run in qualifying to grab the six bonus points and take the first pole of the campaign.

His second best time would also be good enough to head the pack for the opening race.

“It’s going to be a close season and when I came in for tyres and needed to find a tenth of a second, I knew I had to push,” he said. “I managed to find the space to get the lap in and I’m delighted with pole.

“After the pace we showed on Thursday when we came out on top, I had a lot of confidence that we would be in the mix, so to come out on top is great.”

Behind Howarth, series returnee Ben Crossley managed to sneak ahead of MacKenzie to take second spot on the grid with Nicky Gauci and Will Crooks in fourth and fifth.

Archie Johnson rounds out the grid for both races, although the Jamsport driver was off the expected pace with car trouble.