TOM OVENDEN BOUNCES BACK FOR MAIDEN WIN

Tom Ovenden bounced back from the disappointment of race one to secure his maiden win in the JCW class of the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE in the second race at Croft.

Ovenden had lined up second on the grid behind Jamie Osborne and was bidding to make up for the retiring from race one whilst leading after suffering a driveshaft issue late on.

Osborne held the lead when the lights went out as Ovenden found himself battling to keep Lewis Selby behind on the run down to turn one for the first time.

Selby would lose third to Dan Zelos before the end of the opening lap, when the safety car was deployed after Josh Porter and Marlo Cordell clashed on the run down to turn one and ended up in the gravel.

The race resumed on lap four, with Zelos bidding to move ahead of Ovenden into second spot – attacking into the final corner as Ovenden himself tried to find a way into the lead ahead of Osborne.

Zelos got into P2 on the run across the line but Ovenden had the inside line into Clervaux to regain the position and then launched a bid for the lead at Tower, sweeping ahead of Osborne and hitting the front.

From that point on, the EXCELR8 driver was untroubled at the front as he stormed to victory, ending up just over four seconds clear of the pack behind.

Osborne held on to second despite coming under attack from Zelos on more than one occasion with the battle between the pair only ending when contact at Tower on lap eleven as Zelos tried to go down the inside left the defending champion with a puncture that forced him to pit.

That promoted Selby into the podium positions but on the final lap, he was attacked coming through the final corner by Max Hall, who had battled his way through the pack from seventh at the half-way stage to join the podium fight.

Hall however would be penalised for contact with Dominic Wheatley as he worked his way up the order and dropped three places in the result, putting Selby up into third spot ahead of Lydia Walmsley and Wheatley, with Hall completing the top six.

In what would prove to be a bruising race for the JCW field, guest racer Antony Sullivan was seventh ahead of Zelos and the delayed Nathan Edwards, who dropped two laps with a driveshaft issue.

Nelson King joined Porter and Cordell in retirement after a clutch issue left him stuck in gear.