ALFIE GARFORD DOMINATES JCW SPORT OPENER AT DONINGTON

Alfie Garford made the perfect start to his JCW Sport with victory in the opening Power Maxed MINI CHALLENGE race of the weekend at Donington Park.

Garford would prove to be the class of the field in the season opener as he led the way from the front, which his pace being evident in qualifying where he was able to set a lap time quicker than a number of the JCW runners.

A demon start when the lights went out saw Garford quickly getting involved with the rear of the JCW field, which allowed him to put a number of cars between himself and his nearest class rival.

Taking the flag in 17th overall, Garford would be more than 15 seconds clear at the front of the class to bag a maximum score having also set fastest lap.

“It might have looked easy, but it wasn’t inside the car,” he said. “It’s a really tricky car to drive but I couldn’t really ask much more than the results we’ve had over the course of today.

“At the start, I had to tell myself to chill a little bit and not get too involved with the JCW cars as that is when there is the risk of some mistakes creeping in or the possibility of getting into a bit of a sticky situation.

“I had to chill out and make sure we got the result, which is what we’ve done.”

Behind Garford, Chris Mackenzie had a somewhat lonely run to second spot for Bitcoin Racing as he was unable to keep pace with Garford at the front but had time in hand on Murray Richardson.

The second of the Wera Alliance Racing Academy drivers dropped off the back of the field after a moment on the third lap, but kept his nose clean from that point to take the final place on the podium.

Eden Spanswick endured a tricky start to his campaign running for BTCC outfit Speedworks Motorsport, with his car slow away from the line when the lights went out and his race then ending with a spin into the gravel going down the Craner Curves.