Another brilliant performance by Rhys Griffiths secures the title with a maximum score.

It would have taken a disaster at the final round to stop Rhys Griffiths taking the title, and victorious he was; a maximum score confirmed the saloons title and secured the Young Guns win too.
Katie Milner started this year as a driver with huge potential and will end it as a star; she has risen to prominence this year and will start next season as one of the favourites for the title.
There have been times where she’s been on terms with Griffiths, with Ollie Stevens in the mix too, but the Severn Valley youngster has simply been too quick, consistent and reliable for the end result to be any different, and his maximum score in the final round is indicative of his commitment and determination.
Indeed, Milner too was unbeaten in the heats – they were the only two to achieve three heat wins – but she lost out in the final to Stevens and Morgan Bailey; another driver who is something of a rising star.
Bailey gave a superb performance at the Junior Nationals to ensure his name was remembered, and drove the Danny Hobson/Amy Carter car at round five as his own machine was out of action. He was ten points off a maximum qualifying score and immediately amongst the frontrunners in the final.
Griffiths took an immediate lead, pursued by Milner; but as she braked for turn one, Stevens dived up the inside to claim the position, with Bailey taking a wide line and drawing level with the new champion. The pair went down the finish straight side by side and stayed that way for the next lap; the positions eventually ordered after a little door-handling exiting turn one.
Behind the pair, Stevens and Milner fought over third place briefly as they too circulated side by side. Stevens moved up to third at the end of the first lap, leaving Milner vulnerable to Ben Jackson.
Over the course of the race, Bailey, Stevens and Milner all took turns at challenging each other, which allowed Griffiths to extend his lead at the head of the field, and also meant that Jackson was able to hang onto the warring trio for a while.
Come the mid-point, Jackson had fallen away a little and ran tail-to-nose with Jason Alderson, with Emma Robinson at the rear of the pack. For the remainder of the race the top four may have gained on each other slightly; dropped back again, then gained a little ground once more, but the positions stayed the same, with Griffiths in a commanding lead as he took the chequer to end his winning season in the most authoritative fashion.

Main: Griffiths could have settled for a steady run but maximum attack yielded a maximum score (photo: Sam Barrett).