Dan Zelos is the MINI CHALLENGE’s first-ever three-time champion after clinching the coveted crown with a round to spare courtesy of a characteristically classy and committed performance at Knockhill last weekend (10-11 August) that yielded a sixth triumph of the campaign.
With four previous wins to his credit in Scotland in the fiercely-disputed single-make series, the undulating Fife circuit has always been a happy hunting-ground for Zelos, and after setting the pace in both free practice sessions in the high-calibre, 19-strong field, the EXCELR8 Motorsport British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) Reserve Driver proceeded to qualify third for race one, a scant 45-thousandths-of-a-second shy of the top spot.
Having lost out to a fast-starting Lewis Selby when the lights went out, Zelos posted two consecutive quickest laps to rapidly regain the position and zero in on the leading duo. After then forcing chief rival Max Hall to go defensive into the hairpin at the end of lap 15, the talented young Norfolk ace drew alongside on the start/finish straight and completed his move for second at McIntyre’s before closing the door going into the chicane.
He would subsequently, however, be handed a five-second track limits penalty, which dropped him to sixth in the closing stages. Lapping consistently fastest behind the wheel of his distinctive, Davanti Tyres and CAM Systems-sponsored MINI, Zelos dug deep to recover to fourth on the final tour, missing out on reclaiming the runner-up spoils by barely 1.5 seconds.
Fired-up by that frustration, the defending champion made an assertive start to race two the next morning by swiftly displacing Selby from second and hunting down Tom Ovenden ahead. He duly relieved his team-mate of the lead with a neat dive into the hairpin on lap four, thereafter effortlessly pulling away as his pursuers squabbled over the scraps in his wake.
Despite not pushing to the limit as he focussed on managing his pace and his tyres, Zelos was supreme, taking the chequered flag almost seven-and-a-half seconds clear of Hall. A rain-affected Donington Park race back in April aside, it was the largest winning margin of the season, with fastest lap completing a perfect score.
From fourth on the grid for the weekend’s finale, and in front of both the live ITV4 television cameras as well as a huge trackside crowd – with the MINI CHALLENGE featuring prominently on the support package to the tremendously popular BTCC, the UK’s premier motorsport series – Zelos immediately gained a spot to third as Hall pulled off with a driveshaft issue.
Settling into a fraught four-way fight for honours, Zelos twice swapped positions with Jamie Osborne prior to snatching second from Dominic Wheatley on lap 15.
Piling the pressure upon Nathan Edwards in the lead, the former Norwich University of Arts and Dereham Sixth Form College student attacked around the outside of the hairpin with two laps remaining only to find himself edged onto the grass and gravel on the exit, relegating him to fourth – but with Hall out of the equation, that was still more than sufficient to seal an unprecedented third career title. Not that he realised it at the time...
“Unbelievable!” he enthused. “Nobody had told me it was possible going into that race – although it now appears most of the team knew I could do it! I didn’t realise I had won the championship until I was in parc fermé afterwards and I was shown the points table – and even then, I had to ask to see it three times just to believe it!
“It’s brilliant to get it done before the final weekend, although of course it wasn’t nice seeing Max [Hall] at the side of the road, particularly through no fault of his own – he’s been such a great competitor all season, and it was a shame we couldn’t battle it out properly on-track.”
Be that as it may, that Zelos is a deserving champion is beyond question. From 16 races in 2024, the 26-year-old East Anglian has achieved six wins and five second places; his sole finish lower than fifth was the consequence of a puncture.
“The team has done a fantastic job to help give me the points buffer to wrap things up early,” he reflected. “Knockhill wasn’t the easiest of weekends, but we had great pace in all three races and while things didn’t go to plan on Saturday, that only gave me even more motivation for Sunday. I wanted to put on a real show for everybody watching, because the Scottish fans were amazing as ever!
“Race two felt like redemption and then my car was on rails in race three. We were definitely fast enough to win again and I’m never satisfied to settle for second or third, but I’ve been coaching Nathan [Edwards] for the past two-and-a-bit years and I’ve probably taught him too much! He knows all my tricks and he had an answer for everything I tried.
“Unfortunately, when I did finally manage to get alongside him at the hairpin, he understeered into me, which pushed me off the track. He apologised afterwards, but ultimately, it didn’t affect the championship situation and he deserved the victory after a stellar drive.
“I wasn’t able to defend my first title due to a really tough season in 2022, so to win back-to-back in 2023 and 2024 is an astonishing feeling and means a lot. There are a lot of rapid drivers in the MINI CHALLENGE, but I feel I’ve developed even more in myself and my own driving and if anything, we’ve had an even better year than last year.
“We definitely made it hard for ourselves at times by not getting qualifying right – none of our wins were achieved from the front row of the grid – but that has enabled me to really showcase my racecraft in fighting my way through, which has been very satisfying and enjoyable. So while nothing will beat the first title, I’ve got to admit, this one runs it close...”
Image: Jakob Ebrey Photography
