Alice Powell increased her lead at the top of the MSVR F3 Cup drivers’ standings with victory in round two at Silverstone.

It made it three wins from four races for the 20-year-old Chipping Norton ace.

The Mark Bailey Racing driver, who had to settle for second place on Saturday to Henry Chart, followed pole-sitter Alex Craven into the first corner, but quickly dispatched him through Becketts, pulling away early on to take the chequered flag.

Lanan Racing’s Craven, who suffered with clutch issues, also lost out to Chart on the opening lap, but came home in second after Chart was forced to pull off on lap four with engine issues.

Powell said: “With the Toyota engine being quite heavy I’ve been losing five mph on the straights, so I knew I had to get past (Craven) early on, which I did at Becketts.

“I was struggling to get heat into the tyres, but they came to me late in the race and I was able to pull out a gap.”

The previous day, Powell never really threatened Chart, who converted his first pole position into a maiden F3 Cup victory.

The pair quickly pulled clear of the pack, but the Seer Green racer managed the gap until the closing stages, when a slight lock-up allowed Powell to close in.

However, Chart hung on to claim a deserved first win.

The next rounds take place at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent on June 1-2.

Standings (top eight): 1 A Powell 121pts, 2 A Craven 104, 3 T Cliffe 76, 4 G Ussi 56, 5= M Harrison, H Chart 55, 7 L Hamilton-Smith 48, 8 J Cross 46.