TITLE GLORY SECURED IN CARRERA CUP GB FINALE

It was a title winning end to the season for Matty on Sunday afternoon, as the 24-year-old secured rookie championship honours in Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch.

Graham finished the sixteenth round of the year in sixth place after fighting his way up from sixteenth on the grid on a track noted for its difficulty to overtake on.

Starting ahead of Lorcan Hanafin, his only remaining challenger for the rookie class title, Graham surged through the field and was up to ninth by lap 13 as he made a series of decisive passes.

Having started at towards the back of the grid after being taken out whilst battling for the lead in the first race of the weekend on Saturday, the gap to those at the front of the field was closed when a safety car was deployed to cover the recovery of the stranded car of Sam Macloed by the track marshals.

A good exit from Paddock Hill bend saw the number 81 car power past Ryan Ratcliffe for eighth shortly after the restart, but Hanafin remained in close pursuit to keep the pressure applied.

That came to a head on lap 26 when the JTR driver looked to pass Graham into the breaking zone of Druids hairpin. Attempting to go around the outside of Matty, it was a misjudged effort that instead saw Hanafin clip the rear of the Redline Racing car and pull off into retirement.

With the title secured, the chase continued of the cars in front, with a four car battle over sixth place building over the next four laps.

When Ross Wylie and Aaron Mason made a slow exit out of the final corner onto the pit straight, the loss of momentum saw Graham and Scott McKenna check-up as they came across Mason’s machine and go three abreast into the first turn.

McKenna emerged in front as he vaulted from eighth to sixth but a five-second penalty for track limit infractions meant when Matty made his move for seventh, he simply had to remain within touching distance of his team-mate to take a further position after the race.

It proved a satisfactory end to a first season of racing in three years and lays solid foundations on which to build on in 2021.