CROFT RETURN KICKS OFF SECOND HALF OF 2024

The headline class of the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE returns to Croft this weekend for the first time since 2021 as the JCW and JCW Sport categories resume battle following the summer break.

Heading into the second half of the campaign, defending champion Dan Zelos continues to lead the way for EXCELR8 despite seeing his remarkable run of podium finishes come to an end at Oulton Park.

Having scored five wins in nine starts and never finished lower than second, Zelos failed to make it onto the podium last time out but still extended his advantage in the points over rookie Max Hall – albeit only by virtue of a fastest lap after the pair posted the same race results.

This weekend, Zelos will run a special livery to showcase his support for Parkinson’s UK, with a charity track walk also scheduled to take place on Sunday morning before the racing action gets underway.

Teenager Hall – who heads the Rookie Cup – has scored three wins in his rookie campaign to sit 75 points behind his more experienced team-mate, with Nathan Edwards completing an EXCELR8 1-2-3 in the points.

Edwards enjoyed his best weekend by far at Oulton Park with pole position and a double win allowing him to vault up the championship order ahead of Laser Tools Racing’s Nelson King, who himself scored a double podium last time out in his strongest showing of the campaign to date.

Yet to make it onto the top step in 2024, King currently finds himself in the midst of a huge battle in the standings, with seven points covering five drivers.

NAPA Racing UK’s Jamie Osborne is just a single point behind in fifth spot and he in turn has just a two point buffer over Tom Ovenden – a winner at Croft in the Cooper category last season and another driver who grabbed his best JCW results yet at Oulton Park.

Leading Directors Cup runner Lewis Selby and local racer Dominic Wheatley round out the top eight, level on points and four behind Ovenden, with the top ten being completed by Josh Porter and Lydia Walmsley.

The JCW class welcomes a new name for the weekend as Antony Sullivan comes in to the JamSport line-up, although Bradley Gravett, James Griffith and Matt Hammond are all missing.

In the JCW Sport class, Dylan Hotchin remains the man to beat at the head of the points having returned to the top of the podium at Oulton Park.

Hotchin continues to head NAPA Racing’s Cameron Richardson and fellow JamSport man Ben Crossley in the standings, with JRW Motorsport’s Albert Webster holding fourth despite seeing his run of successive wins ended last time out.

Bitcoin Racing’s Chris MacKenzie rounds out the drivers eligible to score points in the class, with the Sustainable Fuel Development car being run as an Invitational entry in the hands of Stephen Harrison for the weekend.