The latest rounds of The Vertu Motors Mini Challenge series recently raced at the wonderful 1.27-mile Knockhill circuit.
The event, which took place just north of Edinburgh, saw Jamie Osborne arrive with 453 Championship points which was 38 points clear of closest rival Tom Ovenden at the top of the drivers’ table.
Unlike previous events, this one saw the drivers contest three races across the weekend. The first of which took place on the Saturday.
Race One (Round 11)
The race saw Jamie start from second place in his Napa Racing UK Mini JCW Sport. He got away well in the un-televised race and fought with the EXCELR8 Driver Development Programme Mini JCW Sport of pole-sitter Nathan Edwards.
However, he couldn’t get Edwards so brought his car home to finish on the second step of the podium. Even though he missed out on another victory, the result did mean that Jamie extended his Championship lead.
He told the Vertu Motors Mini Challenge website that, “It was a tricky one, as our pace was good over a lap. But the overall pace wasn’t quite as good. We couldn’t keep up when the tyres dropped off, but we’ve scored good points again, which is important.”
Race Two (Round 12)
Round 12 of the season saw Jamie start his number 77 Napa Racing UK Mini JCW Sport on the outside of the fourth row of the grid.
He got a good launch off the line in this twenty minute race, and got by teammate Lewis Selby just before the Napa Racing UK driver clashed with Nathan Edwards to bring out the safety car.
Racing resumed with thirteen minutes remaining, as Jamie battled with Owen Hillman (Pro Alloys Racing). By the time the clock had counted down to eight minutes, Jamie had guided the number 77 Mini JCW Sport by Hillman and Harry Hickton (Mannpower Motorsport), with a brilliant overtaking move on the latter through the chicane to join a four-car battle for second place.
Fifth became fourth when Pro Alloys Racing Mini JCW Sport of Max Edmundson went wide and had to drive through the gravel. Jamie then got by Murray Richardson (Wera Alliance Racing Academy) to edge up into the podium positions, before chasing after Alex Solley (Napa Racing UK) and Josh Porter (EXCELR8 Driver Development Programme) with just four-and-a-half minutes left to race.
This brilliant battle continued to the chequered flag, as Porter fended off Solley, Jamie, and Tom Ovenden (EXCELR8 Driver Development Programme). Jamie was promoted to another second place of the weekend, after Solley was hit with a penalty. The result of which saw Jamie continue to stretch his championship lead over Ovenden to a healthy 54 points.
Race Three (Round 13)
The third and final race of the weekend saw Jamie start in second place for the 25-minute round.
He got his number 77 Mini JCW Sport off the line well to draw alongside pole-sitter Nathan Edwards (EXCELR8 Driver Development Programme) as they went into the first sequence of corners. However, Jamie got clipped into the gravel which dropped him down to seventh.
He set about battling it out in a four-car train with Max Edmundson (Pro Alloys Racing), Tom Ovenden (EXCELR8 Driver Development Programme), and Owen Hillman (Pro Alloys Racing) for the remainder of the opening lap.
A great ding-dong ensued between Jamie and the latter duo, before he passed Max Edmundson to take sixth place at the start of the third tour. However, while chasing title rival Ovenden for fifth place, Jamie slowed and dropped down the order before entering the pits with seventeen minutes of the race still to run.
Having had a batch of grass removed from the front of his Mini JCW Sport, Jamie returned to the race albeit a lap down in 20th place. He was bumped up to 19th with ten minutes remaining, after Josh Porter (EXCELR8 Driver Development Programme) was forced to pit.
Nineteenth was where Jamie would remain, as he finished to score 23 championship points to minimise the damage caused in his title chase with Tom Ovenden, which sees Jamie end the weekend with 564 points, forty clear of Ovenden.
