Sam Osborne’s maiden British Touring Car Championship triumph at Silverstone last weekend was emotional for many reasons, not least because of the health concerns that forced his younger brother Jamie out of the Northamptonshire Mini Challenge event.
Osborne Jr had been the dominant Mini driver this season, triumphing in five of the first six races. Although the NAPA racer’s advantage had been slimmed since then, he was still in a strong position heading to Silverstone. But being ruled out on medical grounds after struggling in Friday practice has effectively derailed Osborne’s title bid.
The beneficiary has been Excelr8 Motorsport’s Tom Ovenden, who picked up a second, a fifth and a sixth at Silverstone to now lead by 70 points. But he admitted to having mixed emotions. “It wasn’t nice getting the news that Jamie wasn’t racing but I’ve just got to focus on myself,” he said.
With Osborne on the sidelines and Ovenden not wanting to throw away the unexpected boost to his title ambitions, instead it was Pro Alloys Racing’s Max Edmundson who was the star.
He appeared on course to convert pole into victory in the opener until Lewis Selby’s NAPA Mini was suddenly on his tail with a few laps to go as Edmundson battled fuel surge problems. Twice Selby pulled clear at Copse, only for Edmundson to somehow retaliate at Becketts to prevail by just 0.224 seconds. “I knew I had the pace but, with a problem like that, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I was just lucky [to hold on].”
If there was good fortune to Edmundson’s first win, his second was brilliantly crafted. He steadily worked his way through from seventh on the partially reversed-grid into the lead at mid-distance with a super move on Ovenden on the inside of Becketts.
Selby had struggled to make the same degree of progress and was running fourth when engine woes ground his car to a halt with a couple of laps to go, putting a significant dent in his own title bid.
Edmundson attempted to make it a hat-trick in race three, but Nathan Edwards (Excelr8) was able to repel his efforts – which included a Becketts nudge – on a weekend where the double Civic Cup champion once again underlined his ability while it was all change at the summit.
Ferocious Carrera Cup squabbling results in Rackstraw regaining lead
Rackstraw and Martin (r) had a frantic scrap at the start of Carrera Cup opener
Photo by: JEP
You could tell the Porsche Carrera Cup GB title was on the line in the opening few laps of the first Silverstone race. The ferocious battling between the key contenders was a clear indicator of just what was at stake.
Points leader Will Martin had put his Eden Motorsport machine on pole but his weekend went downhill from there. He was beaten into Copse by key rival Andrew Rackstraw, before barging back through at Becketts, only for Rackstraw to edge back ahead at Brooklands. Martin then had another strong Becketts exit and the pair were again banging wheels through Luffield, which opened the door for Rackstraw’s Century team-mate George Gamble to pounce.
The frantic battling continued onto the next couple of tours but came to a halt when Martin aggressively challenged Gamble and ended up spinning at Becketts. To compound his misery, he was also deducted six championship points for the move, while Rackstraw was free to head home Gamble and Angus Whiteside in a Century 1-2-3.
“I will look back on that one with a big smile on my face!” enthused Rackstraw. “That was probably the most elbows-out racing I’ve done since Formula Ford – I enjoy those races.”
Team Parker’s Seb Hopkins converted reversed-grid pole into victory in race two, while the Century trio squabbled behind. Whiteside got the better of Rackstraw when the new points leader ran wide at Becketts, but the South African was still able to pull further clear of Martin in the standings following the latest title twists.
Bradshaw’s tough Cayman weekend leaves Tofts biting into his lead
Toro Verde driver endured a challenging event that began with startline shunt in the opener
Photo by: JEP
Of all the British Touring Car support series, the one that looked most likely to be settled a round early at Silverstone was Porsche Sprint Challenge GB. But a weekend to forget for Tom Bradshaw has left it all to play for at Brands Hatch.
Heavy rain shortly before the opener meant teams and drivers faced a tough tyre choice but that decision quickly became irrelevant for Bradshaw when he was sent into the pitwall after contact. Cue a very long night for his Toro Verde mechanics.
The subsequent red flag and strengthening winds meant slicks were the way to go and Am contender Matthew Kyle-Henney triumphed outright after making the gamble, while title contender Jacob Tofts (Graves Motorsport) provided further Bradshaw misery by taking second.
Bradshaw did power into the lead briefly in race two, only to outbrake himself at Becketts and tumble to 10th. He was then denied the chance to fight back when Karim Sekkat had a huge crash approaching Becketts that destroyed barriers and left a marshal needing treatment.
The result was declared after just one lap and Bradshaw therefore languished down the finale’s grid and could only manage fifth, while Samuel Harvey (Xentek) scored another win. “I’ve made one mistake all weekend and I’ve ended up scoring six points,” bemoaned Bradshaw, whose lead has been cut to nine.
Red Bull Junior on the brink of British F4 glory as Mercedes junior stars at Silverstone
Jeff-Hall is now the 14th different British F4 winner of 2025 after super Brooklands double pass
Photo by: JEP
Red Bull Junior Fionn McLaughlin is now on the brink of British Formula 4 glory but the Silverstone weekend will be remembered for his Mercedes counterpart Ethan Jeff-Hall’s brilliant double pass to grab his maiden series win.
Jeff-Hall had yet to really demonstrate the ability that guided him to both the Ginetta Junior and World Karting titles last year, but was on stunning form in the reversed-grid middle race. As Argenti team-mate August Raber and Rodin’s Adam Al Azhari battled ahead, Jeff-Hall sensed his opportunity and went around the outside of both of them at Brooklands before then pulling clear.
“It was a high-risk overtake but it was high reward and it was just a great move!” smiled Jeff-Hall, who became the 14th different winner in the series this season.
McLaughlin did not feature in that contest after picking up a puncture on the opening lap following contact from another F1 junior, McLaren’s Dries Van Langendonck, amid general Becketts bunching. But the Hitech driver did boost his title chances with victory in the opener, having repelled Tommy Harfield. However, the Irishman had no answer to Chris Dittmann racer Harfield in the finale and had to settle for second, although his points advantage is still a comfortable 61.5.
McLaughlin twice battled Harfield but retains a commanding points lead
Photo by: JEP
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