TOM OVENDEN RISES THROUGH THE ORDER FOR REVERSE GRID SUCCESS

Tom Ovenden overcame the penalty of the reverse grid draw to make it two wins from two in the opening round of the Power Maxed MINI CHALLENGE at Donington Park.

The top seven on the grid had been reversed for the race which put Max Edmundson on pole, but the Pro Alloys Racing driver was slow away from the line – allowing Harry Campey to grab the lead from Harry Hickton and Olivier Algieri as the field headed through turn one.

Edmundson recovered through to second by the end of the lap behind Campey, and then bagged the lead at the start of lap two just before Campey suffered a wild spin on the exit of the Old Hairpin.

That spin also allowed Algieri to move into second, with Ovenden having come through to third – helped by the a spin for Nathan Edwards going into the chicane that resulted in contact with Hickton to drop both down the order.

Edmundson was able to lead the early laps but Ovenden chased him down having moved ahead of Algieri, and the defending champion hit the front going into Redgate at the start of the sixth lap.

From there, the EXCELR8 driver wasn’t headed and will now look to repeat the feat of Jamie Osborne twelve months ago by going for a hat-trick of wins in race three.

“We got through a bit easier than I expected, although we were helped by a bit of carnage early on,” he said. “Luckily we managed to avoid all that as the reverse grid can be a bit dicey, so two wins from two is great.

“I’m keeping my feet on the ground in terms of a hat-trick, and just have to try and do the best job we can.”

Edmundson would be overhauled by Algieri on the run up to McLeans on lap nine but the rookie then picked up a five second penalty for exceeding track limits.

Even though he kept Edmondson at bay on the road, the penalty dropped him down off the podium when the chequered flag flew as Edmundson instead picked up his first podium finish of the campaign as runner-up.

“I’ve always struggled with the starts in these cars and obviously have a bit more work to do!” he said. “I tried my best and recovered well, although we didn’t have the pace of either Tom or Olivier. To get a podium finish is still a good result.”

Algieri’s penalty allowed Charlie Hand to round out the top three for BPC Motorsport after a solid run for the second-year racer, with Algieri dropping down to fourth spot ahead of Alex Solley and Ned Anthony.

That was despite Solley picking up a five second penalty for exceeding track limits during a battle with team-mate Sam Gornall, who was also penalised as he dropped down to eighth in the results behind Cameron Richardson.

Directors Cup winner Joe Tanner and returning guest driver Max Bird rounded out the top ten.