TOM OVENDEN CHASING TITLE IN SECOND JCW CAMPAIGN

Tom Ovenden has his eyes firmly fixed on adding a second Vertu MINI CHALLENGE title to his resume after confirming his return to the JCW grid with EXCELR8.

Ovenden stepped up onto the headline class last year having lifted the Cooper crown in 2023 and made his mark immediately when he put his car on pole position for the opening meeting of the campaign at Donington Park.

The youngster was able to pick up a podium finish from his debut weekend but then endured a difficult run of results before heading for Oulton Park – where he chased team-mate Nathan Edwards home for a brace of second-place finishes.

After missing out on a certain win in the opening race at Croft when he suffered driveshaft failure whilst leading, Ovenden wasted little time in bouncing back as he led the way in race two for a first JCW victory.

Finishing the season sixth in the standings, Ovenden is now aiming high for 2025 as he looks to make the most of the experience gained in his rookie year, with the ultimate goal of fighting for the championship crown.

“I’m delighted to be staying with EXCELR8 for what will be a fifth successive season, and my second as part of the JCW grid,” he said.

“I had no real expectations in terms of results going into 2024 because it was a big step up from the Cooper category, so to pick up a pole position and a win in my rookie season was really good.

“It’s given me a platform to build on going into year two in JCW, and with the experience I now have behind me, my goal is on consistently fighting for wins and podiums so that I can launch a bid for the championship title.

“I know it won’t be an easy task in such a competitive series, but I have the best team behind me and am confident about what we can achieve.”

Ovenden is the first driver to be confirmed in EXCELR8’s JCW line-up as the Suffolk-based squad bids to defend the title it won last year with Dan Zelos, with further news on the remainder of the driving roster to be confirmed in due course.

“Tom has become part of the EXCELR8 family over the last four seasons so it’s fantastic that he will once again be part of our line-up in 2025,” Team Owner Justina Williams said. “Scoring pole position on his JCW debut last year was hugely impressive and throughout the season, he showed what he could do on track – most notably at Croft.

“The only thing lacking was experience but with a full season now behind him, we’re confident that Tom can make a real impression in the title race.”