Connor Mills wrote himself into the history books at Knockhill this past weekend (August 12/13) as he was crowned the inaugural Champion of the Legends Cars Elite Cup with JLM.
On what proved to be a breathtaking finale north of the border, Mills overturned an 80-point deficit in the final race of the series to clinch the coveted crown ahead of Robert Barrable and Jack Parker.
Mills had begun the 5/8 scale series – which was supporting the British Touring Car Championship across three events this year – having barrel rolled into the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap at Brands Hatch back in May but he bounced back in supreme style.
Notable performances at Croft brought him back into contention arriving at Knockhill, where just about everything happened amidst atrocious weather conditions at times.
The Team HARD supported driver blasted his way to victory in Saturday’s final by a mere 0.005 seconds; which set him up for a Sunday that will undoubtedly live long in the memory.
Picking up pivotal points in the opening contest, Mills went on to withstand a barrage of attacks in heat two to triumph and crucially keep him within striking distance of then category leader Barrable.
With both drivers starting the near the back of the 31-car field, the race to be champion was on. Slicing their way up the order, Barrable unfortunately found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time as he was caught up in a multi-car accident at the hairpin.
Mills meanwhile managed to make his way through the melee untroubled, moving into the top ten in the process, and from there he climbed up to seventh to take the title by just 20 points.
“I didn’t know where I’d finished [in the final race],” said Mills. “I tried to take two cars at the last corner, I’ve never gone so hard on the brakes in my life! The car is bits and bones, I’ve never ragged a car like that in my life.
“There is a lot of hard work that goes into this, it’s a real team effort. At the start of the year we barrel rolled into Paddock Hill Bend [at Brands Hatch] and now we’ve won the title!
“Big thanks to everyone, Team HARD and especially my Mum and Dad. It’s good to get another title as a Dad and lad operation!”
Following the conclusion of the Legends Cars Elite Cup with JLM, next on the schedule for the drivers and teams will be the resumption of the Legends Cars Championship with allgrowth Ltd – which takes place at Snetterton on October 7/8.