MOTORSPORT: Barnes wins his first championship

The Ryhall racer only needed to finish both races in the penultimate round six of the championship at Croft and two second places proved more than enough to earn him his first championship win.

Barnes was determined to put on a spectacle and treated the crowd to a thrilling encounter with the previous championship winner Alistair Calvert.

The two constantly battling for the lead throughout the 30-minute race on Saturday, which saw a maelstrom of wing debris flying from both cars as they fought through the final corners.

Barnes finally finished a fraction of a second behind Calvert.

The second race on Sunday saw Barnes start from the front row but miss a gear change and drop to seventh by the first corner.

Again, despite only needing to finish, Barnes set about charging to the front. With the fastest lap of the race he cut through the traffic and had caught race leader Calvert by the second lap.

A more restrained, but still thrilling, battle developed with both drivers exchanging the lead for the full 30 minutes. Despite desperately trying to outfox Calvert, Barnes again settled for second place by a fraction of a second to secure his first ever Championship win.

The final round of the championship takes place at the Donington Park circuit in the East Midlands on October 15 and 16. Barnes will be driving a Caterham R300 as he moves up to the Caterham Superlight Championship in preparation for next year’s move to the higher classification.