MAX HALL ROUNDS OUT SNETTERTON WEEKEND WITH VICTORY

Max Hall prevented Dan Zelos from securing a lock out of the Snetterton wins with victory in the final Vertu MINI CHALLENGE race of the weekend.

Hall started the race from the front row of the grid alongside Josh Price, but an astonishing start on a damp track saw him rocket through turn one on a wider line and hit the front of the field.

Zelos slotted into third behind Price before making a move on the former BTCC racer going through Hamilton on the fifth lap, with Dom Wheatley following suit going across the line to start lap six having earlier battled his way ahead of the Laser Tools Racing entry of Nelson King.

At that stage. Hall held a lead of more than three seconds but as heavy rain started to fall, Zelos started to reel the youngster in – bringing the gap down to under a second by the end of lap eight.

Through the final lap, Zelos continued to bring the gap between the pair down but Hall had enough in hand to bring his car to the finish for a third victory of the season.

“That’s a great way to round out the weekend,” he said. “The team did a great job to sort the car after race two and I was a bit worried when Dan was closing in behind but I had enough in hand. The rain helped a bit because the tyres were getting too hot on the dry part of the circuit, so when that started to come down, it made our job easier.”

Second place for Zelos allowed him to maintain his points lead over Hall, with the six additional points for fastest lap meaning the pair both picked up 50 points from the race to maintain the status quo at the head of the championship race.

Wheatley meanwhile was able to ease away from King to grab a second podium finish of the weekend, having taken third in the rescheduled Donington Park race on Saturday afternoon.

“I didn’t know if we’d made the wrong call on the tyres but when the rain arrived, I knew we’d actually made the right call,” he said. “I could see Dan chasing Max and I thought it might come to me if they got caught up with each other but I’m pleased with another podium finish. The team has worked well and we’ve scored some good points.”

Behind King, Jamie Osborne produced a strong drive through the field from eleventh on the grid to take fifth place, with Bradley Gravett rounding out the top six to cap a weekend that saw him put solid points on the board to move into the top ten in the points.

Price would put his lack of time in the car to one side to secure seventh place ahead of Lydia Walmsley, with the top ten being rounded out by Nathan Edwards and Tom Ovenden.

Despite a trip off track, Matt Hammond took Directors Cup honours with Lewis Selby spinning off early on having gambled on slick tyres.