NATHAN EDWARDS SCORES FIRST WIN OF 2026 IN SECOND SILVERSTONE ENCOUNTER

Nathan Edwards secured his first win of the Power Maxed MINI CHALLENGE season with victory in the reverse grid second race of the weekend at Silverstone.

Edwards started from fourth on the grid but was able to fight his way to the front to secure victory for EXCELR8 in a race where the JCW Sport title was decided.

Henry Howarth had lined up on pole at the start ahead of Max Edmundson, and was able to retain the lead when the lights went out, with Harry Hickton slotting into third and Edwards in fourth.

Further down the pack, a touch between Tom Ovenden, Olivier Algieri and Harry Campey saw Algieri and Campey both go off wide at Brooklands.

Hickton made a move for second on Edmundson at the end of the second lap, with Edwards following him through going into Copse at the start of lap three just before the safety car was called out for two cars going off into the gravel.

Alex Solley and Murray Richardson were the two unlucky drivers to be forced out of the race, with the safety car in action until lap eleven when the race got back underway.

Edwards wasted little time in fighting his way into the lead and was able to then race away from the pack behind to score victory by just over three seconds as Howarth defended hard to get his rivals at bay.

“It feels like ages since my last victory and I thought we were going to be winless this season,” Edward said. “However, we kept chipping away even when we had problems and the team gave me a fantastic car.

“I had to just pick my moment when I could and a big thanks to the team. I also think I owe Henry a beer because him defending so hard behind certainly helped!”

Howarth was able to hold off Edmondson behind for second spot, with Edmundson in turn forced to defend in the final stages from team-mate Sam Gornall – who stormed through the pack from eleventh on the grid.

Gornall was amongst those to benefit from Hickton retiring when he collected a trackside advertising board and had to pull off to the side of the circuit.

Despite his earlier clash, defending champion Ovenden recovered to fifth to once again minimise his losses to Edmundson in the standings, with Josh Porter rounding out the top six.

Joe Tanner was lead Directors Cup runner in seventh, with the top ten completed by Algieri, Charlie Hand and Cemil Cipa.

Richardson’s early retirement meant Garford only needed to take the finish to take an unassailable lead in the Sport class, securing the title with four races left to run.