Wylie clinches Sprint class title

The 28-year-old recorded first and second places in the final races at Brands Hatch last weekend.

Sharing an FF Corse Ferrari with car owner and businessman David Mason, the duo accumulated an impressive 13 class podiums including four class wins in the 14-race series.

Due to the combination of dropped scores – the duo having just one non-points scoring finish this year – and a lack of entries in their class in the two Brands “night” races, they just missed out on snatching the outright Sprint title.

Wylie, from Thornhill, said: “A pole, double podium and two fastest laps was a great way to finish the year.

“David and I won the Class 1 Sprint championship but ended up second in the overall sprint Championship.

“I’m happy with that title but of course always want more. We came very close to getting the double victory, losing the lead on the final lap of Race 1 but it was a good race nevertheless.

“We bounced back in Race 2 starting from second place on the grid.

“I took the lead on the outside of Turn 1 and then got my head down to stretch out a one-lap lead before handing over to David. He did a great job to bring the car home to victory.”

For the fourth time this season, Wylie claimed pole-position – by almost a second – in the multi-class field and built up a massive lead before handing the Ferrari over to Mason on lap 38 of Saturday’s 50-minute race.

There was heartbreak for the team though as Mason was overtaken on the 56th and final lap, the Wylie/Mason Ferrari ultimately denied a second consecutive outright race victory by a mere 0.925secs, Ross having set a fastest race lap over two seconds faster than any other car.

Starting from the front row of the grid in Sunday’s 50mins race, Wylie again built up a commanding lead before pitting under Safety Car conditions on lap 34, Mason this time managing to stay ahead to record another class victory with Wylie earning his 11th race fastest lap of the season.

Wylie said: “It was such a cool spectacle racing in the dark around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, the night time added a completely new dynamic to the racing.

“The closing speed when lapping slower cars was the biggest challenge which meant you had to constantly be on your toes and there was no chance to rest during a lap because it’s such a short circuit but I loved it.”