SAM GORNALL DELIGHTED WITH MAIDEN PODIUM

Sam Gornall admitted his delight after securing a maiden podium finish in the Vertu Motors MINI CHALLENGE Trophy during the opening race of the weekend at Silverstone.

Gornall hadn’t finished higher than twelfth going into the weekend, with the youngster electing to move teams for the final two meetings having inked a deal with Westbourne Motorsport.

On the pace in a brief morning practice session, Gornall scored his best qualifying result to earn a front row start for the opening race and hit the front early on after battling ahead of Nathan Edwards on the second lap.

Although he would be shuffled back to third after a three-wide moment with Edwards and Harry Hickton at Copse, Gornall was able to grab second from Hickton on the run to the line, securing his best overall result by far and a maiden Rookie Cup win.

“I’m over the moon and couldn’t really have gone much better,” he said. “I made the move for the lead on lap two, but a small mistake then saw me drop back to third.

“I knew from qualifying that our pace was strong so I felt I had a chance to come back at the guys ahead and on the final lap, I saw the chance to grab second.

“I was just able to get ahead on the run to the line and words can’t describe how happy I am with that result – it’s just mega.”