SAM GORNALL PLEASED WITH CAMPAIGN DESPITE MISSING OUT

Sam Gornall insists he is proud of his 2024 season despite missing out on securing the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy title at Brands Hatch.

In his second season in the series, Gornall marked himself out as a title contender during the opening meeting of the year at Snetterton as he stormed to pole position and then took the first victory of the campaign.

A hard-fought battle with Westbourne Motorsport team-mate Harry Hickton followed, with Gornall battling his way to the championship lead going into the final rounds of the season at Brands Hatch.

Gornall endured a tough start to the weekend when clutch failure at the start of the opening race – where he was starting from pole – left him with only third gear, resulting in a 13th place finish a reduced championship lead.

Having seen Hickton take the points lead with victory in race two, Gornall battled to victory in the final race of the campaign but it wasn’t enough to reclaim the points lead – although he did wrap up the Graduate Cup crown.

“There are no real words for how I feel,” he said. “After the opening race I was really on the backfoot with the lost points and the fact we had to start further down the grid, and it was a case of doing what I could from that point.

“It hurts a bit to come so close and miss out but at the same time, I’m pleased to have won the Graduate Cup and ended the season with a win. Overall, I’m come on leaps and bounds as a driver this season which is what I wanted to do, and I’m proud of how I’ve performed.

“It’s just a shame we couldn’t finish it off at the end.”