JCW SPORT TITLE BATTLE GOES TO THE WIRE

The battle for the JCW Sport title will go down to the wire in the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE after conflicting fortunes for the championship rivals in race two at Brands Hatch.

Going into the race, Dylan Hotchin had put one hand on the title with victory on Saturday but lined up in fifth on the grid for the reverse grid encounter, with title rival Cameron Richardson on pole.

Richardson held the lead as the field headed to Paddock Hill Bend for the first time with Hotchin looking to make up ground, but the title fight took a twist mid-way through lap one when Hotchin went off into the gravel on the Grand Prix loop.

With Hotchin forced to benefit from assistance to get out of the gravel whilst the safety car was deployed, he was forced to bring the car into the pits to retire – leaving him to take on a watching brief.

When racing resumed, Richardson had to push to keep the car of Bitcoin Racing Chris MacKenzie at bay before a second caution period to recover a JCW car from the gravel at Stirlings saw the safety car deployed a second time to back up the field.

A two-lap dash to the flag saw Richardson hold on to score a vital victory although he was unable to grab the six bonus points for fastest lap, which instead went the way of Mackenzie behind.

“That was unreal – you couldn’t write it,” Richardson said. “You don’t want to see a rival run into problems but it looks like his car is fine which is the important thing as you want to battle on track.

“It’s all going to come down to the final race and we’ll push as hard as we can and see what happens.”

Hotchin will still secure the class title should he finish the final race, but a further DNF for the JamSport man would open up the chance for Richardson to steal the crown for NAPA Racing UK should he score a minimum of 43 points.

Behind the lead pair in the race, Albert Webster battled his way to the podium in third place, with the Sustainable Fuel Development car in the hands of former champion Lee Allen taking fourth spot having been unable to keep pace with the lead trio.

Ben Crossley then rounded out the field to maintain his 100 per cent scoring record this season.