Kentish Express Ashford & District
Nathan’s title triumph
Nathan Heathcote won his first title since switching from rallycross to circuit racing in a tense finale at Brands Hatch on Sunday.
The 22- year- old Pluckley racer entered the last round of the Ginetta GT4 Supercup Championship nine points shy of ‘Am’ class leader Colin White.
But after three close battles with his Glastonburybased rival, the 2017 British Rallycross title winner claimed the crown by seven points, helped by White receiving a 10-second penalty in the last encounter.
The 63-year-old – who had already won the ‘Am’ title twice before – was punished for a false start after getting out of his 3.7-litre Ginetta G55 on the grid before the green flag lap.
The officials dropped the series stalwart to 11th in the results, handing valuable championship points to Heathcote, who passed his rival with a decisive move at Surtees to seal the crown with a class victory.
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride all season and the weekend was even more dramatic,” said Heathcote.
“It was shame Colin got a penalty but I thought, ‘let’s turn it into a race anyway’.
“I knew he had quite a hefty penalty and I knew not to do anything stupid, but I wanted to pass him fair and square on track and show I could do it.”
In the first race on Saturday, Heathcote was on course for an ‘Am’ class victory until contact with White at the final corner took both cars out.
White lunged up the inside at Clearways, colliding with Heathcote’s Countrystyle Recycling- backed Century Motorsport Ginetta and sending both cars i nto retirement.
Heathcote, who works full time in his family’s agricultural business, tried to bounce back in race two on Sunday morning, but struggled with a dry set-up on a wet track and could only finish 13th and fifth in class.
It meant he still trailed White by a handful of points before the race three finale, but scored his eighth ‘Am’ win of the season to wrap up the title in style – despite having never raced on the 2.4-mile Grand Prix circuit before.
“Colin is a really experienced driver so to beat him shows you deserve it,” said Heathcote, who is yet to firm up his plans for 2020.
“Switching from rallycross this year has been a lot harder than I thought because it is a completely different driving style. But what an ending to this season that was and I’m so happy to have got the title.”