MAX HALL CHARGES TO DOUBLE MINI CHALLENGE TROPHY WIN AT SNETTERTON

Max Hall produced one of the best performances of his fledgling career to-date this past weekend (13/14 May) as he charged to a brace of commanding victories in the Vertu Motors MINI CHALLENGE Trophy at Snetterton.

The Westbourne Motorsport driver emerged as one of the stars of the show at the Norfolk venue as he became the first driver in the one-make series to clinch multiple wins this season, while an additional second place finish further added to his silverware haul.

Hall’s near-perfect showing means he ends the second meeting of the 2023 campaign having vaulted up to second in the overall standings. He also tops the Rookie Cup leaderboard after taking a clean sweep of class wins.

After impressing on his debut last month, the 16-year-old wasted no time in picking up where he left off during Saturday’s qualifying session as he guided his front-wheel-drive machine to fifth on the grid for the weekend’s opening encounter.

Hall - who is backed by Halls Electrical, Brigade Electronics, Fischer Panda, Durite, PVL and Brandfixx - made a lightening start to move up to third on lap one before he lost ground and was shuffled back to sixth by the end of the second tour.

In no mood to settle for a top-six finish, last year’s Junior Saloon Car Champion re-passed Alex Solley on lap four before then completing a sensational move down the inside of both Tom Ovenden and Rhys Hurd into turn one the following lap.

Closing down Jack Byrne in no time at all, the teenager dived down the inside at Murray’s at the end of lap five and soon pulled clear to clinch second place and his first podium of the year.

The Motorsport UK Academy driver went one better on Sunday morning as he didn’t put a wheel wrong to triumph in what was a shortened second race.

Despite dropping a spot to team-mate Harry Hickton at the start, Hall once again demonstrated his fighting spirit to re-take the spot at the end of lap one and then go on to produce a stunning move at Agostini to take the lead from Nicky Taylor.

Resisting the immediate challenge from Taylor, Hall soon got his head down and controlled proceedings before the race was brought to an early finish due to there being fluids on the circuit.

Hall concluded what was a weekend to remember for both he and his family with an overtaking masterclass to claim victory in the reverse grid finale.

Pulling number six from the bag, Hall made light work of his third row start as he carved his way up the order with a number of sensational moves during the opening exchanges.

By the end of lap five, the former karting ace had reeled in race leader Byrne and after sizing him up, he made bold move down the inside at the final corner to take the lead.

Holding his advantage down the start-finish straight and through the first turn, Hall soon broke clear and romped to an impressive second win of the day.

Max Hall: “What an absolutely incredible weekend! To come away with two wins and a second place is just mega and now we can head into the next round sitting second overall and leading the Rookie Cup!

“At Brands Hatch we struggled with a few ABS issues but the team at Westbourne Motorsport were able to fix them and what a job they did because the car was on absolute rails from the moment we went out for qualifying.

“I was happy with second in race one but I knew we had more in the tank and that was evident in races two and three. We had great pace and I was just able to keep pushing and keep making moves.

“I’m over the moon; this is dream result for everyone. I’ve got to say a massive thank you to all of my loyal sponsors and partners because without them these results wouldn’t be possible. Hopefully this is just the start for us all this year!"

The Vertu Motors MINI CHALLENGE Trophy season continues on the 3/4 June around the fastest circuit in the UK, Thruxton.