DYLAN HOTCHIN MOVES CLOSER TO JCW SPORT TITLE

Dylan Hotchin moved closer to becoming the first winner of the JCW Sport title after scoring victory in the opening Vertu MINI CHALLENGE race of the weekend around the Brands Hatch GP circuit.

Taking a healthy lead into the weekend, Hotchin grabbed the bonus six points for pole position but it was fellow JamSport driver Ben Crossley who lined up on pole for the opening race of the weekend, where the grid is decided by second quickest times.

Hotchin however made the best start to take the lead as the top four ran side-by-side going into turn one, and by the end of the opening lap, had also managed to clear the rear two JCW cars to give him a sizeable advantage over Cameron Richardson and Crossley in second and third.

The field would be forced to take avoidance on lap two when the JCW field ahead got caught up in a clash, but it was Hotchin who retained the lead as the safety car was deployed having moved up into the top ten overall, with Crossley still in second spot but Lee Allen in the Invitational Sustainable Fuel Development car having moved into third.

Chris MacKenzie also got ahead of Richardson, who found himself demoted down to fifth spot before the action got back underway on lap six after Jamie Osborne’s JCW car was moved from a dangerous position.

On the restart, Hotchin had the advantage of knowing he had JCW cars to act as a buffer behind and he was holding on to he lead when Albert Webster got out of shape at Westfield whilst running sixth in class after earlier drama.

Losing the rear of his car, Webster took to the grass on the run down Dingle Dell and tried his hardest to recover onto the circuit only to clatter into the barriers on the run up to Sheene, bringing the safety car back out before the race was ultimately red-flagged.

It meant Hotchin scored the win, with the bonus points for fastest lap, and could now wrap up the title in race two on Sunday morning if results go his way.

“We had a good start and I managed to get away and the incidents on track did benefit me,” he admitted. “I managed to get ahead of a few JCW cars which also helped, and it moves us a little bit closer to the title.”

Crossley was forced to settle for second spot which leaves him still chasing a breakthrough win, with third on the road going to Allen.

However, his invitational status meant it was MacKenzie who took the final place on the podium, with Richardson rounding out the scorers.