British driver Adam Jones made it two wins out of two as the Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe visited the Brands Hatch circuit in Southern England over the weekend although the absent Manuel Villa retains his championship advantage, however his cushion has now been cut to just seven points by Frenchman Benoît Perret thanks to a fourth and fifth place finishes in the double header.

The Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe was once again supporting the FIA World Touring Car Championship as it arrived in England and Jones immediately posted his intent by winning Saturday's opening race which kicked off the fourth round of the series which is contested by identical specification 500 Abarth Assetto Corse racers with 190 bhp. The British driver outclassed Swede Freddy Nordstrom and fellow countryman Rupert Svendsen-Cook. The fate of the fight for first and second places was decided within the first lap. Pole-sitter Nordstrom had a good start but he was quickly overtaken by Jones who braked late into a corner and picked the most effective racing line. Jones then remained in the lead, making no mistakes and keeping his closest pursuers at bay. Italian Emanuele Moncini was also in contention for the podium but he was passed by Svendsen-Cook during the tenth lap. The young British driver had achieved the most impressive of recovery drives, climbing back from tenth to third place.

Further back down the field, a duel had shaped up between Perret and another British driver, Jeff Smith. The fight was fierce but fair and it ended when Smith made a small mistake, giving way to his rival. The Abarth 500 Assetto Corse cars were very spectacular, completing the distance over the British track at an average speed close to 130kph thanks to its balanced weight/power ratio.

After his comprehensive victory in race one Jones started from pole in race two held late yesterday afternoon thanks to his fastest lap in the first encounter and he held the lead from start to finish leaving his closest rivals behind. He gradually increased his lead over Nordstrom who finished in second place for the second day running. Svendsen-Cook and Moncini again tussled but the both went off the track and compromised their races although the Italian went on to finish in eighth place.

Starting from the sixth spot of the grid, England's Jeff Smith took the final podium position ahead of the title chasing Perret. Further back down the field, an intense battle for fifth place shaped up between Italian youngster Simone Monforte, Portuguese Jorge Rodrigues and Briton Rob Gravett. After overtaking Rodrigues in the fourth lap of the twelve lap race, Monforte was then passed by the Portuguese driver during the seventh lap. The other protagonist in this battle, Gravett, came in between them without succeeding in getting the better of the pair and so it was Monforte who eventually prevailed in the frantic confrontation thanks to a bold manoeuvre which saw the young driver squeezing his 500 Abarth Assetto Corse ahead of his two opponents to claim fifth place at the chequered flag ahead of Gravett with Rodrigues in seventh, and with the trio covered by less than a second.

Italian Manuel Villa, who was absent at Brands Hatch, has dominated the series' opening three rounds and this was enough to allow him to keep him in the lead of the Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe standings although more consistent finishing from Perret has closed the gap down to only seven points. Rodrigues (61 points) retains third place but he his closely followed by Monforte and Moncini with the Italians now tied on 56 points apiece.

The fight for final victory will resume at the next meeting of the Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe which is scheduled for September 5-6 on the German circuit of Oschersleben, where again the tiny races will be supporting the FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe Classification, Race 1 (Brands Hatch): 1. Adam Jones (GB), 11 laps in 19min17.077s - average speed 126.82 kph; 2. Freddy Nordstrom (S), + 2.070s ; 3. Rupert Svendsen-Cook (GB), + 12.172s; 4. Emanuele Moncini (I), + 13.785s; 5. Benoît Perret (F), + 17.993s; 6. Jorge Rodrigues (P), + 19.299s; 7. Jeff Smith (GB), + 21.769s; 8. Mitch Millet (GB), + 32.382s. 9. Rob Gravett (GB), + 42.439s; 10. Erika Monforte (I), + 1min15.232s. Fastest lap time by Adam Jones in 1min43.890s - average speed 128.31 kph.

Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe Classification, Race 2 (Brands Hatch): 1. Adam Jones (GB), 12 laps in 21min00.321s; 2. Freddy Nordstrom (S), + 6.841s; 3. Jeff Smith + 8.375s; 4. Benoît Perret (F), + 8.879s; 5. Simone Monforte + 28.838s; 6. Rob Gravett (GB), + 29.485s; 7. Jorge Rodrigues (P) + 29.845s; 8. Emanuele Moncini (I) + 56.152s; 9. Erika Monforte (I) + 1min05.276s. Fastest lap by Adam Jones in 1min43.628s - average speed 128.64 kph.