NELSON KING OUT TO MAINTAIN DOMINANCE AT SNETTERTON

The Quaife MINI CHALLENGE Trophy rejoins the British Truck Racing Championship package for the second time this season at Snetterton this weekend as a frenetic run to the end of the campaign kicks off in Norfolk.

Three meetings still remain before the Cooper title will be decided, although the chasing pack have work to do if they want to stop Nelson King’s apparent march towards top honours.

Since he secured three victories in the opening round of the campaign at Pembrey, King has been the man to beat, and goes into this weekend with a stunning record of eight wins in ten starts so far in 2022.

It means that he holds a lead of more than 100 points at the top of the standings after dropped scores have been taken into account – with the Graves Motorsport driver also taking a bigger drop than any of his rivals behind.

Whilst that means the title is very much King’s to lose – even with nine races and more than 500 points still on the table – he can’t afford to relax, with the chasing pack still fighting hard to try and close down the gap at the top.

Tom Ovenden currently heads the chasing pack after taking victory last time out at Thruxton, with the EXCELR8 driver on a strong run of form that has seen him finish in the top two in the last four races.

That has allowed the former rallycross ace to jump ahead of King’s team-mate Nicky Taylor into second spot whilst his own team-mate Matt Hammond sits fourth.

The trio are currently covered by just nine points and have managed to build a small gap over an equally tight battle behind between Charlie Mann and Lee Pearce.

Mann has finished in the top six in the last six races and will be keen to add to his lone podium finish at Thruxton whilst Pearce will look to replicate his winning performance from last season in order to get his campaign back on track following a rough run of form that has seen him score just one top ten in the same six race period.

Joe Wiggin and Jack Byrne following behind to round out the top eight, with the latter on a high following his first overall podium finish last time out, ahead of Alex Solley and Oliver Meadows. Karting graduate Meadows is another driver looking to build on a breakthrough result at Thruxton, where he secured rookie cup honours for the first time to end Byrne’s run of success.

Outside the top ten, Frankie Taylor, Morgan Wroot and Tyler Lidsey all enjoyed their strongest weekends of the season last time out at Thruxton and will be seeking to at least replicate those results, whilst Louis Capozzoli – the only driver other than King and Ovenden to grab a win so far – will be chasing ore silverware as he bids to fight back from a points deduction incurred at Croft.

The bumper field heading for the longest circuit on the calendar includes both Clark Wells and Jonny Sargeant, with both drivers able to return to action after their dramatic incidents at Thruxton.

There is also a new addition to the field, with Alex Keens making the first of two planned appearances with Graves Motorsport.

The Quaife MINI CHALLENGE Trophy will join the remainder of the paddock in falling silent this weekend in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, with a two minute silence planned for both Saturday and Sunday.