ALEX DENNING DOUBLES UP

Alex Denning made it two wins from two at Silverstone with victory in the second Quaife MINI CHALLENGE race of the weekend.

Denning had started from pole following his victory in the opening race on Saturday afternoon but Sam Weller was able to grab the lead as the pair headed through Copse for the first time.

Running up to Maggotts and Becketts however, Denning saw the chance to reclaim the lead as he slid down the inside to get ahead of the points leader and would remain out front through to the finish despite having Weller on his tail throughout.

The win allowed Denning to move up to second in the overall championship standings, and also means he now has an unassailable advantage in the Rookie Cup.

“That’s five wins in a row from the last five races we have finished so I’m over the moon,” he said. “We know it’ll be hard to beat Sam for the title as he keeps finishing in second place but we’ll keep pushing and see what happens.

“We’ve been very close this weekend but I was able to keep him behind and it would be nice if we could fight for a hat-trick in race three. From fourth on the grid, I’ll be going for the win.”

The only real moment of concern for Weller behind came in the closing laps when oil apparently trailing from the rear of Denning’s car covered the windscreen on his Hybrid Tune machine – affecting his vision and leading a moment going through Brooklands.

Weller was able to keep his car on track however to bag another podium finish and maintain his handy advantage at the top of the standings.

“That Irish lad is pretty quick isn’t he and I seem to be seeing a lot of the back of his car at the moment,” he said. “That was a really good race from my perspective. I got ahead briefly at the start and was then putting him under pressure again until I got oil from his car on my windscreen and I couldn’t see.

“After that, it was a case of trying not to miss a braking point and make a mistake, and just bring the car home.”

As had been the case in the opening race on Saturday, the fight for third would come down to EXCELR8 team-mates Jason Lockwood and Ronan Pearson – with Pearson holding the position at the start and Lockwood closing onto his tail having got ahead of Jack Mitchell on lap two.

Lockwood managed to get ahead on lap five to move into the podium positions but Pearson – who would set the fastest lap – wasn’t prepared to give up on silverware as he nipped back ahead three laps later going into Copse.

As Lockwood was forced to defend to keep Mitchell, Lewis Brown and Dan Zelos at bay, Pearson eased clear of the squabble to grab his sixth podium of the campaign.

“There are no team orders and it’s every man for himself when it comes to me and Jason,” he said. “If we hadn’t been battling then I think I could have fought the front two but we’re on the podium which is great, and the fact we set the fastest lap shows how quick we were. We’re on the front row for race three, and I’ll be disappointed if I don’t finish inside the top two.”

Behind the four-way fight for fourth place – which was resolved in favour of Lockwood ahead of Mitchell, Brown and Zelos – youngster Geri Racz maintained his solid recent form with eighth place, with the top ten rounded out by Jack Davidson and Ethan Hammerton; the pair having fought for position for much of the 20 lap encounter.

Although once again a relatively sedate race at the front, there was plenty going on further down the order, with Max Coates in the wars for the second race in succession.

He would end up in the barriers on lap one after being forced off track after a clash involving Dominic Wheatley and Joshua Jackson ahead, leading to a trip to the pits that dropped him three laps down.

Wheatley would retire to the pits as did Barry Ward, with Joe Tanner lasting as far as Copse on lap one before he too would be forced into retirement.

Harry Nunn was able to join the grid despite concerns that his car might not be repairable at the circuit following damage sustained in race one, and he fought his way to 16th place.