ALEX KEENS, JOSH SELVADORAI SHARE SATURDAY WINS AT THRUXTON

Alex Keens and Josh Selvadorai bagged a win apiece in the opening two races of the weekend for the Mairon Motorsport MINI CHALLENGE Trophy at Thruxton.

On a busy day of action alongside the BTCC for a second time this season, Keens was able to add to his win tally in the opening race of the weekend following a post-race penalty for series returnee Rhys Hurd, whilst Selvadorai battled to victory in the reverse grid race for the second meeting in succession.

Race 1:

Jenson Mason had qualified on pole for the opening race of the weekend ahead of Keens and it was the guest driver who held the lead at the start ahead of Keens and Luca Marinoni Osborne, who moved up a spot on lap one having got ahead of Matt Luff.

Mason led the early stages of the race before being handed a five second penalty for a false start, which made Keens the defacto race leader – although the Graves Motorsport man then took the lead on the road on lap three with a move going into the chicane.

Keens found himself under pressure from Marinoni Osborne on the following lap but managed to keep his rival at bay, with the second placed man instead being under attack from these behind, which included team-mate Rhys Hurd.

Having rejoined the grind for the weekend, Hurd was on a charge from eighth on the grid and wasted little time in moving his way through the podium spots, fighting ahead of Marinoni Osborne before slotting in behind Keens at the front.

Keens would lead a train of a cars for a number of laps before Hurd had no option but to make a move in order to avoid being attacked from behind, taking the lead on lap nine – with Luff following him through.

Within a lap, Luff had been run out of line and dropped down the order which moved Marinoni Osborne up to second and he got ahead of Hurd to lead the way going into the final lap.

That final lap saw a train of cars heading up Woodham Hill towards the final chicane in the battle for the lead, with Keens, Hurd and Luff all drawing past Marinoni Osborne to go three wide into the final corners.

Hurd appeared to get a tag from behind which unsettled his car and forced him to run across the corner, with the Westbourne racer emerging at the front to take the flag ahead of Keens and Selvadorai – who got a better run out of the final corner than Luff to grab third spot.

However, post race, Hurd was handed a penalty for gaining an advantage through the final corner, which meant the victory went the way of Keens, with Hurd having to settle for second spot.

“Even before Rhys got the penalty we were on for maximum points which is good for the championship,” he said. “It was an action packed race and I was mindful of the fact that Rhys wasn’t scoring and it was a case of picking my battles a bit. It was like playing a big game of chess.”

Behind Selvadorai, Luff took fourth spot from Marinoni Osborne, with the top six being rounded out by Josh Wilby who managed to fight his way through from tenth on the grid.

Richard Jepp took seventh ahead of Harry Smith, with Ashley Gregory in ninth despite a high-speed trip across the grass following contact at Church mid-way through the race. Isaac Doble took tenth ahead of Mason, who picked up a further penalty for exceeding track limits.

Jorrel Julias, who was also penalised for exceeding track limits, took the flag in twelfth despite clattering the hay bales at the chicane avoiding the spun car of Henry Foote and secured reverse grid pole for race two.

Race 2:

From pole, Julius led the field away when the lights went out but the EXCELR8 driver wouldn’t remain out front for long as he was shuffled down the order on the opening lap to slip back to fifth.

Instead, it was Mason from alongside on the front row who hit the front from Isaac Doble and Smith, with the latter moving up from fifth on the opening lap.

The top three would remain in status quo through the early laps before Doble dropped away from the lead battle after an incident at the chicane, where Luff got sideways and tapped the Race Car Consultants driver to leave him outside the top ten.

A multi-car battle for the lead saw Mason finally overhauled on lap ten as Luff hit the front, with Selvadorai having surged through the field from tenth place to move into second spot, leaving him right in content for the win.

Luff would be able to keep Selvadorai at bay until the final lap when coming up Woodham Hill, the Rookie Cup leader made his move for position and slipped through to score victory.

“The team made sure they let me know what lap we on so I knew it was my last chance to try and grab the win,” he said. “I saw there was an opportunity to get ahead and thought ‘I’ll have that’ and managed to pull it off which is great.

“Mum’s just pointed out that it’s a repeat of Pembrey having come from tenth on the grid to win so I’m really happy and it just shows that our win there wasn’t a one-off and we can race at the front.”

Behind, Mason managed to get ahead of Luff through the final corner but his hold on second spot wouldn’t last for long, with the positions being reversed post race with Mason having run off track in order to get the position.

That means Luff now retakes the championship lead from Keens, who would take the flag in fourth place, with the leading four drivers covered by less than a second, with Smith and Marinoni Osborne completing the top six.

Leo Richardson came from 17th on the grid to seventh with a strong drive through the field, with Julius slipping back to eighth. Wilby and Foote rounded out the top ten, with the latter having to come from the back of the grid after picking up a penalty in race one.

Hurd had been set for a top ten finish but a penalty for exceeding track limits meant he finished back in 13th.