Champions weren’t just crowned in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch this past weekend (October 8/9), as titles were also decided across the four support championships that make up the TOCA support bill.
On what turned out to be an action-packed finale around the famous Grand Prix circuit, the bumper crowd in attendance were treated to a feast of wheel-to-wheel thrills as the battle for supremacy across each of the one-make categories reached an exciting crescendo.
In the ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA, teenage sensation Louis Sharp took a huge step towards fulfilling his Formula 1 dreams by becoming the latest champion of the single-seater series.
Entering the final meeting of the year holding a one-point advantage over Will Macintyre, the Rodin Carlin driver clinched the crown in impressive fashion, starting by blasting to pole position in qualifying and subsequently converting it into a lights-to-flag victory.
Starting towards the back for the reverse grid race, Sharp made as much progress as he could however Macintyre’s superior result meant that his lead was once again cut – leaving him with a slender points buffer heading into the finale.
Needing only to finish ahead of Macintyre to secure the title, the Kiwi was happy to shadow fellow front row starter Deagan Fairclough throughout the final race of the season, with MacIntyre hot on his heels but unable to make up the ground he required to deny him.
Dan Zelos wrote his name into the history books of the Vertu Motors MINI CHALLENGE JCW as he was crowned champion of the ultra-competitive tin top series for a second time in three years.
Having been the driver to beat for much of the season, the EXCELR8 Motorsport driver arrived at Brands Hatch with a commanding 101-point lead and he wasted no time in wrapping things up as he followed winner Sam Smith to the chequered flag in race one.
With the title in the bag, the pressure was off Zelos for the remainder of the event however he was unable to curtail his season with one more victory. The remaining spoils instead went the way of Smith and last year’s champion Sam Weller.
Having been the cream of the crop for much of the year, Team Parker Racing’s Joe Warhurst savoured title success as he emerged victorious in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain.
Arriving at the Kent circuit in the pound seat, the rising star was wheel-perfect in races one and two, taking commanding victories, which in-turn proved to be enough to see him crowned champion.
Warhurst came oh-so close to making it a coronation to remember as he narrowly missing out on a third win to Steve Roberts by just under two tenths of a second.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain might have already been decided prior to Brands Hatch but that didn’t stop the monstrous field of rear-wheel-drive 911 cars from putting on a show for one last time this year.
Rosland Gold by Century Motorsport’s James Kellett secured second in the overall championship as he stormed to victory in the opening encounter and then, fittingly, newly crowned champion Adam Smalley reigned supreme in race two to end the year on the top step of the podium.
To view the full classification of results from all TOCA support championships, as well as the final standings for each, CLICK HERE.
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship and TOCA support package will return in 2024, with the new season scheduled to get underway at Donington Park on April 27/28.