Edinburgh's Tim Sleigh powered to a winning double in the latest rounds of the Celtic Speed Scottish Mini Cooper Cup at Knockhill.
Edinburgh's Tim Sleigh powered to a winning double in the latest rounds of the Celtic Speed Scottish Mini Cooper Cup at Knockhill.
Starting from pole position in the opening race, Sleigh immediately pulled out a healthy lead which stopped the chasing pack from slipstreaming him in the early part of the race. By mid-distance though, his pursuers were back on his rear bumber.
"I did well at the start of the race to break the tow, but I started making a couple of mistakes and overheated the tyres," Sleigh explained. "After that I just had to defend."
Adopting a line which left nearest rival Vic Covey Jr describing Sleigh's care as "the widest white Mini" he'd ever seen, leaving him no gap to attack, Covey Jr in turn demonstrated real presence of mind.
Speeding towards the final turn, he was just ahead of main title rival David Sleig,h but took a tactical line through the hairpin to slow his advisory.
"I thought I'd see if a few others could get him," Covey explained. It worked, because his big rival dropped to sixth at the flag.
Perhaps the man to profit most from the tactical nous of Covey Jr was Jamie Cleland. Making his return to the series in a Celtic Speed Mini, the son of double BTCC champ John Cleland, pulled one of the moves of the weekend.
After grabbing third place by going around the outside of two cars, Cleland admitted the move "was out of the old man's book of tricks."
In the reverse grid race, Chris Smiley - whose weekend had started badly with his car having to have an engine change - took full advantage of his pole position. Covey Jr made it through to second.
© Celtic Speed 2026
