MINI CHALLENGE - Brands Hatch | Season Finale
The 2025 MINI CHALLENGE season came to a dramatic close at Brands Hatch, with Jamsport Racing fielding a four-car entry across the JCW and JCW Sport categories. The spotlight was on the JCW Sport title fight between teammates Archie Johnson and Henry Howarth, while Nicky Gauci aimed to end his campaign on a high and Jenson O’Neill-Going looked to continue his development in the JCW class.
Qualifying was interrupted by a red flag, leaving limited time once the cars switched to fresh tyres. In JCW Sport, Archie Johnson secured P1, Henry Howarth followed in P2, and Nicky Gauci took P6 after missing the chance to set a flying lap. In JCW, Jenson O’Neill-Going continued to impress, qualifying P8 and P6 across his two grids.
In Race 1, Henry made a strong start and converted his front-row position into victory with P1, while Archie followed closely in P2 and claimed the fastest lap. Nicky finished P5 after a consistent drive, while Jenson delivered another solid result with P7 in JCW.
Race 2 brought plenty of drama. After a mid-race red flag, the restart left just ten minutes on the clock. Archie charged through to take his first win of the weekend, finishing P1, while the opening laps saw an intense fight between Henry and Nicky for the lead. Contact unfortunately forced Nicky to retire, with Henry recovering to finish P3 and add another fastest lap. In JCW, Jenson suffered a driveshaft failure before the restart, rejoining from the pit lane and finishing P16.
In Race 3, Nicky was unable to start due to damage from the previous race, while Henry led the opening laps before finishing P3. Archie, knowing exactly what was needed to seal the championship, drove a measured race to finish P6, securing the biggest prize of all.
As the chequered flag fell, Archie Johnson was crowned 2025 MINI CHALLENGE JCW Sport Champion, with Henry Howarth taking the Rookie Championship title. To round off an incredible season, Jamsport Racing were also confirmed as JCW Sport Team Champions.
