Harry Hickton Scores Maiden MINI Challenge JCW Podium At Silverstone

Harry Hickton’s wait for a maiden overall podium in the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE JCW came to an end at Silverstone this past weekend (20-21 September) as the Mannpower Motorsport driver finally broke his duct in style.

Having come close to scoring a top-three finish on a number of occasions this year, the 19-year-old produced a sublime drive in the weekend’s finale at the Home of British Racing to claim a hard-fought third place.

Arriving at the world-famous venue eager to make his mark towards the front of the field, Hickton featured towards the top of the times during practice however come qualifying he missed out on a slipstream when setting his best lap time, which resulted in him finishing sixth overall.

Race one around the 1.640-mile National layout would prove to be a frenetic affair as Hickton jockeyed for position throughout the bout; and in the end he would progress to take the chequered flag in fifth place.

The Hampshire-based racer would again be forced to get his elbows out in race two as he showed his fighting spirit to continue his impressive run of top-five results in the competitive tin top category.

Going wheel-to-wheel with a number of his rivals in the early-going, Hickton battled his way up to fourth place although by that time the top-three had broken clear by a handful of seconds, leaving him to be best of the rest in fourth.

Hickton’s crowning glory finally came live on ITV4 and ITVX on Sunday afternoon as last year’s MINI CHALLENGE Trophy title winner rose from sixth to third to snare a first podium of the season - although it wasn’t without drama.

After producing a number of eye-catching overtakes at Brooklands and Luffield to move up to third, Hickton was adjudged to have exceeded track limits one too many times and was handed a five-second time penalty.

That dropped the second-generation racer off the podium although following a post-race appeal, the talented teenager was reinstated.

Harry Hickton: “Finally we’ve got our podium! It would have been nice to actually stand up there and collect the trophy in the moment but the main thing is that we’ve got the result - it’s fair to say it has been a long time coming.

“This past weekend has been packed with action and the given the nature of the Silverstone National circuit, there was never a moment’s rest on-track. It was relentless out there so I’m proud that we held our own, got three more solid finishes and some silverware.

“I’ve got to say a massive thank you to the entire Mannpower Motorsport team for their hard work, my family and all of my amazing partners for their support. I couldn’t do this without them so this is as much their podium as it is mine.

“We’ve got one more round to go now and while third place is great, I’ve got my eyes on that top step of the podium at Brands Hatch - a circuit that I absolutely love!”

The Vertu MINI CHALLENGE JCW season will conclude around the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on the 4-5 October.