NATHAN EDWARDS CONVERTS POLE INTO VICTORY AS DAN ZELOS PROVISIONALLY CROWED

Nathan Edwards converted pole position into victory in the final Vertu MINI CHALLENGE race of the weekend at Knockhill, whilst Dan Zelos secured an unassailable lead in the championship standings with one meeting left to run.

Edwards started the race from the front having topped qualifying and held the lead on the run to turn one for the first time ahead of Dominic Wheatley, with Zelos coming under attack from title rival Max Hall.

Going down Duffus Dip and round turn three however, Hall suddenly slowed and pulled off with a driveshaft issue that left Zelos in a position where he could wrap up the title as long as he picked up at least 25 points.

Edwards led the race through the early stages from Wheatley, with Zelos shadowing the pair ahead before coming under pressure from Jamie Osborne, with the pair briefly swapping positions before the defending champion reclaimed his place.

Zelos then set off after Wheatley and got ahead at the hairpin to take second and had a look at Edwards for the lead at the hairpin only to be run wide into the gravel.

That dropped him back down the order meaning Edwards took the win from Wheatley and Osborne to secure a third victory of the campaign.

“I knew the race would be tough having not been here before, and then we got taken out of race one and had to just focus on staying out of trouble in race two,” Edwards said.

“The car was really loose and I had to try and back Dom into the cars behind and it’s awesome to come up here and take the win. It’s special because this is a win against the best of the best.”

Marlo Cordell would take fourth place having got ahead of Zelos late on, with fifth for the EXCELR8 man giving him a second successive title – although Cordell was then dropped two places for gaining an unfair advantage when passing Lewis Selby.

It moved Zelos up to fourth spot ahead of Lydia Walmsley and Selby after a spirited battle between the pair, with Cordell, Josh Porter, Tom Ovenden and Brent Bowie rounding out the top ten – with Ovenden having picked up a penalty for track limits.

Gerry Hendry was five laps down after issues with his car, whilst Nelson King joined Hall in retiring early on.