Racer ends season on top of podium

4:27pm Wed Oct 19, 2011

In what was the biggest race of his career, Southwell’s Matt Mason secured his maiden race victory in front of the ITV4 cameras and more than 30,000 people at Silverstone in the final round of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship.

Mason, 19, headed into the weekend hoping to cap off a strong first season with an impressive performance, and the MGR Motorsport driver didn’t disappoint finishing top of the podium for the first time in his fledgling career.

He secured ninth place in his first race and won in the second.

As a result, Mason finished sixth in the championship standings, 14 points off a top-four finish.

He was the leading rookie, 57 points ahead of the next contender.

Mason said: “I arrived at the track knowing this was the biggest race of my career so far, and I just felt so focused from the word go.

“It was the dream weekend. We started this championship having very little time in the car. We worked our way through the season and finished it on such a high at the most prestigious meeting of the year.”

Caythorpe racer Shaun Balfe also ended his season in style by clinching the Radical UK Cup with driving partner Roger Bromiley at Snetterton.

The former Caterham and GT champion went into the final round of two 40-minute races leading the championship.

They took second and third place in the two races at the Norfolk track, in a season that saw them also finish runner-up in the Radical Euro Cup.

Newark biker Tom Young pulled out of the final round of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 championship at Brands Hatch due to gearbox failure.

Young, who ended the season with 30 points, will take stock of the situation before making a final decision on which class to contest in 2012.