Jack Mitchell converted pole position into his third race victory of the MINI CHALLENGE season at a red-hot Snetterton 300 Circuit on Sunday, 14th August, to deliver richly deserved silverware for JWB Motorsport and the Motorbase Driver Academy.
After finishing in fourth position during round 12 on Saturday, 13th August, having challenged for the podium early on, Mitchell – who lives close to the Motorbase headquarters in Wrotham – then took fourth again in round 13.
The weekend’s third race was the undoubted highlight, with Mitchell nailing his start and leading throughout the 10 laps to claim the win by just under a second. In terms of the championship, he departed Norfolk second in the driver standings.
Team-mate and fellow Academy driver Jamie Osborne had a more frustrating weekend under the scorching skies, with a brace of retirements bookending the event. Having moved up from 25th on the grid into 19th place in race one, his involvement reached an early conclusion on the sixth tour.
Race two delivered his sole finish of the weekend, 21st position and seventh in the Rookie class the result after a fairly sedate encounter. In the final race, round 14, Osborne was on course for a much-improved 16th place until it all went awry on the last lap.
Fellow Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship support category the Ginetta Junior Championship brought two more trophies for Motorbase Driver Academy racer Harri Reynolds, who is third in the title race for Assetto Motorsport.
Qualifying sixth fastest for the round 14 grid, Reynolds was involved a fantastic battle for the podium and did actually lead into the final lap before having to settle for third position – just 0.2 seconds shy of victory on the dash to the line.
Producing a similarly impressive performance in round 15, his hopes of a podium hat-trick were dashed when he had to take to the grass to avoid a spinning car and ultimately finished eighth. In the finale, round 16, Reynolds stormed through from the fourth row of the grid to finish third again, sealing his second trophy of the weekend after another super-close sprint to the chequered flag.
In the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship, NAPA Racing UK supported driver Hugo Ellis had to settle for a pair of sixth place finishes in Pro-Am after two frustrating races. In qualifying he had displayed his clear promise with the second fastest time in class, 10th overall.
Speaking after the weekend, Pete Osborne Motorbase Performance Team Owner and Team Principal, said: “It was fantastic to see Jack back on the top step of the podium in the MINIs, exactly where he should be, after such a great drive from pole position. Overall it was a very strong weekend for him and keeps the championship very much alive.
“Equally, Harri did a fabulous job in the Ginettas and it so easily could have been three podiums from three. He raced incredibly well, in very challenging weather, and the strong points he’s taken away could be crucial with just a few races to go this season.
“It’s a shame Jamie and Hugo both experienced a tough weekend at Snetterton, sometimes that’s how motorsport is and you just have to hit back as strongly as you can at the next event. I know both of them will be doing their very best to do just that.”
Images courtesy of Jakob Ebrey Photography