MINI CHALLENGE - Oulton Park | Rounds 7 & 8

The 2025 MINI CHALLENGE season continued at Oulton Park with Rounds 7 and 8 of the JCW Sport, where the JamSport drivers looked to maintain the strong form shown at Snetterton. Henry Howarth, Archie Johnson, and Nicky Gauci were all back behind the wheel and ready to push further up the championship standings.

Friday’s running was used effectively to scrub tyres and bed in brakes across all sessions. With no major issues, the team came away from practice feeling confident heading into Saturday’s qualifying.

In qualifying, Archie put in a strong performance to secure P2, although a number of his best laps were unfortunately removed for track limits including pole position. Nicky and Henry ended up in P4 and P5 respectively, having opted not to push during the first half of the session and only setting their best times on laps 12 and 13. The late push limited their ability to capitalise fully on tyre conditions, but all three drivers were well placed for the opening race.

Race 1 saw a superb launch from Henry, who made the most of a clean getaway and was already in the lead by the end of the opening lap. From there, he drove a composed and controlled race to take a well-earned victory. Archie followed closely behind, pushing Henry throughout the race but ultimately settling for second place, while also picking up the fastest lap. Nicky enjoyed a hard-fought battle for the final podium spot, just missing out and bringing the car home in fourth after some quality racing.

In Race 2, the team looked on course for a 1-2-3 in the early stages. Nicky made a lightning start and moved into the lead on the first lap, holding P1 for the opening five laps before contact placed him down to second. Henry then moved into the lead and managed the pace at the front, crossing the line first. However, a post-race penalty dropped him to second and Nicky took his first MINI CHALLENGE JCW Sport race win. Archie had been running in strong formation with his teammates, but an incident involving Nicky after a safety car restart forced him into the pits. He rejoined and salvaged a P5 finish despite the setback.

It was another highly productive weekend for Jamsport, with 2 wins, 4 podium finishes, and a fastest lap from just two races. Henry now extends his lead in the championship standings, sitting 65 points clear at the top. Archie holds onto third place overall, while Nicky’s win helps move him up to fourth in the standings, 41 points behind his teammate. With the championship battle heating up and no dropped scores this season, every point continues to count heading into the second half of the season.