A TRIO of youngsters sparked a local celebration as a series of season-long battles came to a head in the final round of the Toyo Tires Motorsport UK Rallycross Championship staged at Croft Circuit last weekend.
Richmond’s Tom Constantine led the way, emerging as the Swift Sport champion after a weekend of drama at the North Yorkshire track.
Starting at fourth position in the standings ahead of the final two rounds of the series, it was always going to be a long shot for the 18-year-old to win the title with three rivals ahead of him.
However, after going through Saturday’s card unbeaten at his local circuit in monsoon conditions, the reigning MSA Junior Rallycross champion knew a similar result would keep him in the hunt in Sunday’s drier and sunnier weather.
The Yorkshireman kept his side of the bargain, racing to victory in all three heats in his 1600cc Suzuki Swift. Despite starting from pole position in the final, he knew it was still a big task if he was to get the better of his rivals who really only had to finish near the podium, but as the drama unfolded lap by lap, his competitors gradually fell by the wayside. That left Constantine to take the race victory, and he was crowned overall champion in the most surreal of fashions to make it two titles in two years.
To add to the family celebrations, 15-year-old sibling, Luke Constantine, emulated his elder brother by seeing off the opposition to win the Junior Rallycross final, and also claim the overall title won by Tom last year in another close finish. As a result, Luke was able to add to the BTRDA crown he won the previous weekend.
To make it a weekend to remember for the locals, Northallerton 21-year-old Drew Bellerby swept to victory in the BMW Mini class to take the title in the most dramatic of fashions when her chief rival, Ferryhill’s David Bell, suffered a mechanical problem in the final.
Her sister, Paige, brought her Fuchs-backed Lotus Exige home just behind fellow Northallerton driver Guy Corner in his Lotus in the SuperNational final to clinch second place in the standings.
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