Mini Challenge series at Donington Park dominated by 17-year-old Henry Howarth with two wins and a third-place finish

Henry Howarth had an opening weekend to remember in the Mini Challenge series at Donington Park.

Howarth, 17, won two of the three races, finishing third in the other, to take an early lead in the standings.

He also claimed a double pole position and a fastest lap.

Free practice (FP) was a sign of things to come, with the teenager, who lives near Bingham, second in the opening session and quickest in FP2 and FP3.

He won the opening race from pole position and was only denied victory in the second race after being hit with 10-second and five-second penalties.

A lively finale saw him take the chequered flag by five seconds despite damaging his car in an incident that saw rival Owen Hillman fall by the wayside.

“It’s been an amazing weekend,” said Howarth. “Race one was quite a calm race on my part.

“I just made a gap and maintained it. Even though we had safety cars and red flags, I managed to keep eeking out a gap.

“Race two was a reverse-grid race.

“Unfortunately I had a moment on the green-flag lap and fell to the back of the grid.

“I was given a 10-second penalty along with a five-second penalty later in the race for track limits.

“On the road I finished first but unfortunately, due to penalties, went back down to be third.

“The third race was a very chaotic race.

“I had a good start, fighting with Archie (Johnson) all the way through was really good and I had some battles with other members of the sport grid, which kept me on my toes.

“Some contact halfway through the race, with a JCW spinning off, meant I had some damage, which made it a lot harder to secure the win.

“I’d like to say a massive thanks to all my sponsors for getting me here this weekend.”