Archie Johnson bagged his first win in the JCW Sport class of the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE with victory in the second race at Donington Park.<\/strong><\/p>\nJohnson had endured a tough start to the weekend with issues in qualifying and then alternator failure during a red flag period in race one leaving him pointless going into the race – where he lined up fifth on the grid.<\/p>\n
There was drama before the start when Henry Howarth – winner of race one – suffered a spin on the green flag lap, with the Jamsport driver reclaiming his place in the field ready for the start.<\/p>\n
Will Crooks led the field away at the start having taken reverse grid pole and held the lead through lap one before being overhauled by Howarth – who was then handed a penalty for a false start that dropped him down the order.<\/p>\n
It meant Crooks remained the defacto leader on the road until Johnson and Ben Crossley both nipped ahead, with Crooks then going wheel-to-wheel with Nicky Gauci in the battle for fourth.<\/p>\n
Contact between the pair going down the Craner Curves ultimately ended with Crooks spinning off into the gravel, with Gauci collecting a trackside banner before being forced to return to the pits to retire.<\/p>\n
It left a four-car field to battle for the win, with Howarth continuing to lead the way on the road ahead of Johnson – who was mindful of the fact that he didn\u2019t need to overhaul his partner.<\/p>\n
Although Howarth crossed the line first, Johnson secured his first win and also bagged the extra three points for fastest lap to put his name on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew we had pace and showed it in part one of race one before the alternator went and then did it again there,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew Henry had a penalty so there was no need to battle, and made sure the car didn\u2019t overheat and did nothing stupid to bag the points.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nAn additional penalty for Howarth for track limits meant Crossley would be classed second, with Howarth having to settle for the final place on the podium.<\/p>\n
A tricky race for Bitcoin Racing\u2019s Chris Mackenzie saw him round out the finishers in fourth place.<\/p>\n
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