HARRY HICKTON DOUBLES UP IN SNETTERTON FINALE

Harry Hickton made it two wins from three at Snetterton as Westbourne Motorsport completed a clean-sweep in the opening weekend of the new Vertu MINI CHALLENGE season.

Hickton had come through the grid from ninth spot to win the second race of the weekend, and lined up third on the grid for the finale – the grid for which had been set by the best times set by each driver in qualifying.

As a result it was Sam Gornall who started from pole position but his place at the front would be short lived as the race one winner found himself forced to contend with an ABS issue that would hamper his chances through the race.

Instead it was Alex Solley and Hickton who would go into turn one side-by-side for the lead, with Hickton emerging out front on the run to Montreal for the first time. Solley would then come under pressure from Jamie Keates for second and although the PerformanceTek Racing man briefly nosed ahead, Solley soon reclaimed the position.

Hickton held a slender advantage at the front but unlike the earlier two races, the leader was unable to build too much of a lead at the front, with Solley starting to close back in as the gap between the two dropped to seven tenths of a second.

Behind, impressive rookie Ronnie Smith managed to get ahead of Keates briefly before the positions were once again reversed, with Reece Lycett, James Black and Frankie Taylor behind.

Taylor dropped out of the fight on the fifth lap when contact with Luca Marinoni Osborne at Nelson put both drivers out of the race.

A lap later, there was more drama at the same corner, when Keates found himself tipped into a spin going through Brundle that resulted in his car being broadside across the track at Nelson, where the following Black was powerless to avoid him, resulting in two more of the front-runners being removed from the equation.

Out front, Hickton was able to keep Solley at arm’s length to secure the race win by half a second, with Lycett taking full advantage of the late dramas to come through to third place and secure his first overall podium finish in the series.

Ronnie Smith crossed the line in fourth spot but a late penalty for exceeding track limits resulted in him being demoted back down to sixth place, promoting Alex Keens and Gornall into fourth and fifth.

Despite that penalty, Smith still secured the Rookie Cup win for the third time in the weekend, whilst the top ten was rounded out by Ashley Gregory, Gabe Fairbrother, Josh Wilby and youngster Leo Purches.

Directors Cup honours went to Paul Manning to make it three class winners in three races, with rivals Ben Taylor and John Castle both battling issues.

Taylor suffered a spin on the green flag lap following contact with Rhys Hurd, who would be forced to retire, whilst Callum Eason and Steven Chandler also failed to finish after clashing on the infield late on.