Zelos has the Mini Challenge trophy in his sights
6th October 2023
The Mini Challenge Championship trophy is well within the grasp of Dan Zelos for the second time in his career, after securing his tenth victory of the season at Silverstone.
Lap times were inevitably going to be tight around the short, 1.64-mile circuit, but that didn’t deter Zelos. In qualifying, Zelos and team-mate Oliver Meadows worked together to secure each other the best grid slots possible.
It was a good start for Zelos in the first race having taken an early lead, before chief rival, Will Orton took over. The top four drivers then proceeded to race alongside each other before Zelos settled for a safe second place, knowing that with a healthy championship lead, there was more to be lost than to be gained from a risky attempt to reclaim the lead.
Race two saw the perfect damp and greasy conditions for Zelos, an environment which he has excelled in in the past. After an intense side by side battle with Orton, Zelos took the lead and managed to create some welcome breathing space away from the rest of the drivers, allowing him to take the victory.
Zelos began the weekend’s finale later the same day from fourth on the partially-reversed grid. Again, he did not stay there for long. Making the most of late getaways by two of the drivers ahead to immediately climb to second, Zelos then took the lead from Thomas Jack Lee before the opening lap was out. Despite never managing to pull more than half-a-second clear, he remained strong under the pressure to cement his tenth triumph of the campaign.
The result extended his margin to 101 points with only 174 left to play for at Brands Hatch.
Zelos commented on the weekend:
“I didn’t expect to come away with results like that! Silverstone is one of the tracks on the calendar that can really mix things up, and given the importance of the tow, I knew if my pole position run was going to end anywhere, that’s where it would be.
“I focussed on getting my head down, and I just tried to stay consistent. My Davanti MINI felt fantastic too. Now let’s go to Brands Hatch and finish the job!”
Catch Zelos in the grand final of the Mini Challenge 2023 at Brands Hatch.
