Mid Wales racing driver Ben Power was the overall winner of the final day’s races in the MRF National Legends Car Championship at Brands Hatch, but it wasn’t quite enough to gain the championship title.
Power, aged 27, from Guilsfield, near Welshpool, charged through from 25th on the grid to finish sixth in the final race, but had to settle for runner-up spot in the championship, behind multiple world champion John Mickel.
He entered the final weekend in second place overall, and despite closing the gap, it was not enough to secure the title.
“Even if I’d won the last race it wouldn’t have been enough, I couldn’t have tried any harder” he said.
“With 32 cars on the grid, in the wet on Saturday, going offline to overtake was tricky, and with 10 laps you don’t always have enough time to get to the front. I’m very satisfied with the season though, 14 wins but just too many DNFs – you need the luck to go with it!
“It has been a really good year,” said Power. “We led the championship multiple times, but we had a few disappointments along the way, that were beyond our control and that made the difference.
“It was a great end to the year – Brands Hatch is a fantastic venue, and the TV cameras were there. It was a shame to lose it by a handful of points.”
Final points standings:
1 – #04 John Mickel – 7670
2 – #55 Ben Power – 7520
3 – #66 Steve Whitelegg- 6650
4 – #13 Jack Parker – 6055
5 – #51 Paul Simmons – 5600
Power made his debut in the Legends Car series in 2009 – finishing 8th overall and 2nd in the rookie table, having switched to the circuits after winning the Junior Rallycross crown in 2006 and Supermodifed Rallycross titles in 2007 and 2008.
His progress in Legends racing has seen him climb from a 10th place finish in the 2010 championship to 6th in 2011, 4th in 2012, 3rd in 2013, 2nd in 2014, and 3rd in 2015. Last year he only raced in one round, as he focused on his off-track career commitments.
The formula originated on the US oval tracks, and the cars have an American look, being 5/8-scale replicas of classic US models. Guttercrest Racing runs a Ford Coupe 1934 replica, with a 1250cc Yamaha motorcycle engine.
With identical cars and the fastest drivers having to start at the back of the grid, there is said to be more overtaking in a single Legends race than in a whole season of Formula 1.
Guttercrest Racing is backed by the family-owned aluminium guttering company Guttercrest, based in Oswestry. The team has further support from award-winning Cardiff-based PR and communications consultancy Weltch Media.