JCW FIELD READIES FOR A WEEKEND IN THE PARK

After a weekend off at Thruxton, the Quaife MINI CHALLENGE’s JCW category rejoins the BTCC support package at Oulton Park for the only double header meeting of the season.

With 30 cars set to appear on track this weekend, high-speed battles are to be expected at every turn across the two races – one of which will take place on Saturday with the other then being held on Sunday in front of the live ITV cameras.

JW Bird Motorsport driver Jack Mitchell was the man to beat last time out at Brands Hatch; grabbing pole position and then winning the opening two races of the weekend.

That leaves him on top of the standings once dropped scores are taken into account, even after an unfortunate DNF in race three and Mitchell will be keen to impress again this weekend in what will be the home meeting for his team.

Team-mates Ru Clark and Jamie Osborne both enjoyed strong starts to the campaign at Donington Park but then found the going more difficult in the mixed-weather conditions that impacted on the Brands Hatch meeting – meaning the pair will hope to get back on form in Cheshire.

Whilst Mitchell may be sitting pretty at the top of the standings after dropped scores, Sam Weller has more points on the board thanks to another solid weekend on track for Hybrid Tune last time out.

Fresh from his maiden wins in the Donington opener, Weller followed Mitchell home to second in the opening race at Brands Hatch and just missed out on the podium in the two races that followed.

Weller will be eager to try and add to his win tally this weekend, and can expect to be supported by team-mate Joe Tanner who picked up three top ten finishes at Brands Hatch and made it five Directors Cup wins from six starts.

Hannah Chapman and Taylor Whitson round out the four-car line-up looking to further improve on the seasons best results they scored last time out.

Victory in the final race at Brands Hatch went the way of Max Coates, which marked the first win of the year for the Graves Motorsport driver.

A further podium finish allowed Coates to jump up the championship order and puts him right in the midst of what is currently a four-way battle for third in the standings going into round three.

Fellow Graves driver Alex Denning added to his own podium tally at Brands Hatch to maintain his strong start to the campaign and the Irish racer will be keen to try and keep his run of Rookie Cup wins going during the weekend ahead.

Both Bradley Gravett and Lewis Brown will be eager to try and fight their way into the top ten after mixed results at Brands Hatch, with rookies Dominic Wheatley, Ross Marshall and Harry Nunn all hoping to push further up the order as they continue with their JCW education.

Defending champion Dan Zelos – a double podium finisher at Oulton Park last season – grabbed his first silverware of the year at Brands Hatch and is one of a trio of EXCELR8 Motorsport drivers looking to build on strong starts to the campaign.

Ronan Pearson picked up his maiden victory in the series at Donington Park, whilst Jason Lockwood – another podium finisher last year at Oulton – has already secured a brace of top three finishes this time around and will be chasing his first win.

Outside the top ten, Ethan Hammerton and Joshua Jackson have both shown flashes of pace so far, whilst Hungarian rookie Gergo Racz continues to gain valuable knowledge in his first season at this level.

Jack Davidson continues to head the LUX Motorsport entry and will eager to return to the top step of the podium having yet to take a win this season, with the Scot part of a five-strong line-up this season,

Kenan Dole and Ryan Faulconbridge will both look to move up the standings from 20th and 21st respectively – with David Stirling and Baz Ward making their second appearances after debuting at Brands Hatch; the latter enduring a trying meeting that saw him unable to secure a finish.

LDR Performance Tuning round out the multi-car entries, with Leo Panayiotou hoping to build on three solid finishes at Brands Hatch and team-mate James Griffith keen to make up ground in the standings after a tough start.

Robbie Dalgleish retains a top ten championship position with his small family team despite a first DNF of the year at Brands Hatch, and the Scottish racer will seek to replicate the form that saw him go close to the podium at Donington Park.

Lydia Walmsley and her own family squad, and Autotech Racing’s Billy Hardy round out the grid with both drivers hoping that they can fight their way forwards up the pecking order after solid starts to the campaign – with Walmsley breaking into the top 20 for a third time this season at Brands Hatch and Hardy picking up his first top 20 of the year at the same meeting.