After a successful penultimate round of the Mini Challenge Championship at Thruxton Nelson was ready for the final round set at Silverstone national Circuit in front of the British Touring Cars crowed.
Friday morning started with good pace setting the 6th fastest time in first practice, an impressive feat after being Nelson's first time around the circuit. This strong form would motivate the team going into the weekend. Second practice saw an overcast sky approach with Nelson setting fast times and putting himself in P4 on the timing sheets, a good place going into qualifying. After free practice Nelson was debriefed by driver coaches Alex and Max to push for them extra few tenths to try and secure pole position.
The next morning welcomed spectators to the circuit eager to watch the Mini challenges exciting format. Qualifying was et to be 30 minutes long a good run time to set quick times. A disappointing qualifying of P11 was unfortunate after the strong times set in practice the day before. After qualifying Nelson said
'' I'm quite disappointed with the result after qualifying but I know we have the pace to make our way through to the front ''.
The afternoons race saw the grandstands full with fans ready to watch and exciting Mini race. A rocky start saw Nelson fall down the order a few places, but a quick recovery saw him enter the top 10. Unfortunately the race was cut short by an incident on the main straight halting Nelson's progress through the field. Never the less Nelson made good ground breaking into the top 10, ready for the televised races on Sunday.
Sunday came round quickly with an early start for the Mini Challenge, showing foggy skies and a gloomy atmosphere, a condition that no one had raced in all weekend. A flawless start of the line shot Nelson up the order quickly banging on the door of the top 5. A long race of 20 minutes showed Nelson's strong pace setting consistent times hounding the top 5, the last lap saw a brave move to claim 5th place in the second race of the weekend.
The final race of the weekend and the year was sure to be a cracker as a reverse grid of the top 10 had Nelson lining up in 6th position. A hectic start saw Nelson quickly enter the top 3 and then within a few laps, the lead. An impressive defensive drive saw Nelson hold onto the lead going into the closing stages of the race, with a frantic last lap Nelson showed his skill going round the outside into the second to last corner making it a drag race to the line. A photo finish saw Nelson miss out on his first car racing victory by only 0.01 of a second, heart-breaking for Nelson after leading the majority of the race. Nelson stated after the race
'' A really difficult pill to swallow today after nearly claiming my first victory in cars, but overall a really good race today and a good end to a strong rookie season ''
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