GRAVES TRIO LOOK TO CHASE DOWN OVENDEN

The Vertu Motors MINI CHALLENGE Trophy heads to Silverstone this weekend for the penultimate weekend of the season, and three races that could go a long way towards deciding who emerges from the campaign on top of the pile.

Tom Ovenden is currently the man to beat in the standings having grabbed a third win of the season at Donington Park last time out in what was the final meeting for the Coopers alongside the British Touring Car Championship.

The EXCELR8 driver has now scored five successive podium finishes to leave him as one of the form men in the series, although he was only able to slightly extend his lead in the points – which now sits at 47 points once dropped scores are taken into account.

However, with 124 points up for grabs this weekend – and the same again at the Brands Hatch season finale – there is still plenty to play for, with Ovenden unable to relax considering the trio giving chase behind.

That trio all compete for the same Graves Motorsport team, and is currently headed by Alex Solley – who has more wins this season than anyone else.

Solley scored win number four of the campaign at Donington Park but finds himself playing catch up following a tough weekend at Croft, where a second successive DNF cost him valuable ground in the points race.

Not far behind, team-mates Nicky Taylor and Jack Byrne sit third and fourth – and are split by just a single point.

Taylor has been the most consistent driver this season and has yet to finish lower than seventh, meaning he is the second-highest-scoring driver before drops are taken into account.

What that means is Taylor has a little more margin for error across the final six races knowing that he has more points in his back pocket than anyone else in the field, although he will be keen try and ensure they aren’t required by adding to his win tally.

Byrne meanwhile has won three times, but suffered a second DNF of the season at Donington Park to hit his title challenge as he bids to add to this Rookie Cup win last year.

The top four remain clear of the chasing pack, with Rhys Hurd moving up into fifth on the back of an impressive performance across the three Donington races.

A hat-trick of podium finishes for the Chandler Motorsport racer saw him enjoy his best weekend of the season to date, and also allowed him to move further clear in the race for the Rookie Cup having extended his advantage over Max Hall.

Westbourne Motorsport racer Hall was a winner earlier in the season at Snetterton but has now slipped to sixth in the standings, with another Graves racer in the shape of James Black and EXCELR8’s Nathan Edwards rounding out the top eight.

Edwards secured his maiden race win last time at Donington Park in emotional scenes, and will bid to try and carry that form into the weekend ahead to add further silverware to his tally.

Lee Pearce and Harry Hickton round out the top ten, with Pearce looking to potentially wrap up the Directors Cup this weekend if results go his way and Hickton looking to add to the podium he picked up last time out.

The entry for this weekend sees a number of changes, with Sam Gornall and Jamie Keates both switching teams for the penultimate weekend of the year.

Gornall moves over from AReeve Motorsport to join an expanded Westbourne Motorsport line-up, whilst Keates will now be run by Mannpower Motorsport as opposed to LDR Performance Tuning.

As at Donington Park, Andy Cobb will run his car as a privateer whilst Brendan Fitzgerald will be missing as a result of his accident last time out – which saw his car end the final race of the weekend on its roof after a dramatic roll.