Harry Hickton Enjoys Season-Best Weekend At Croft

Harry Hickton produced his strongest showing to-date in the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE JCW this past weekend (2-3 August) as he charged to a pair of hard-fought Rookie Cup wins at Croft Circuit.

Kicking off the second half of the 2025 season in North Yorkshire, the Mannpower Motorsport driver underlined his credentials as one of the leading lights in the one-make series as he added back-to-back top five finishes to the silverware that he also collected.

The 18-year-old travelled to the challenging 2.13-mile circuit with renewed optimism following the mid-season break and he immediately made his mark on proceedings as he ended Friday’s two practice sessions sitting at the top of the times.

Hickton maintained his front-running form during Saturday morning’s qualifying session as he hustled his front-wheel-drive machine to seventh fastest overall - ultimately finishing a little over half a second off the pole position time.

With second fastest lap times deciding the starting order for race one, Hickton blasted away from third row of the grid as the lights went out and he wasted no time in launching an attack on those ahead of him.

After filling the mirrors of Albert Webster for a number of laps, the Hampshire racer found a way past his rival and from there he comfortably cruised to fifth place and with it, a maiden Rookie Cup victory of the year.

Hickton - who is backed by Maber Construction, Hysons Chartered Accountants, The Platform Lift Company, Vernham Labels, Woodstock Plumbing and Heating Supplies, MDH Roofing & Son, Vertex VT Consultants, GSF Car Parts and DPH Services - would once again star in race two.

Taking centre stage in front of a bumper trackside crowd and many more watching live on ITV4, Hickton again demonstrated his talents as he made two masterful overtakes to progress up to fifth by the finish. In doing so he once again claimed a second successive Rookie Cup win.

Harry Hickton: “What a way to kick off the second half of the season! Prior to the summer break I felt like we hadn’t had the chance to really show what we were capable of so its nice to have come here and been mixing it towards the front.

“From the moment the car rolled out onto the track on Friday it’s been feeling great and we’ve just made subtle changes to it after every session. I’ve got to say a huge thank you to everyone at Mannpower Motorsport for all of their hard work.

“I had some great battles out there so to come away with a pair of top five finishes and two Rookie Cup wins is mega! It’s great momentum to take into the next round and I really feel like that first overall podium isn’t too far away now.”

The Vertu MINI CHALLENGE JCW campaign continues in less than two weeks’ time when the series heads north of the border to Knockhill in Scotland on the 16-17 August.