BASINGSTOKE Skip Hire-backed Jack Rawles ended his Ginetta Junior Championship in great style with his first podium of the season at Brands Hatch.

He then followed this up with a fourth place in the final race of the championship.

The teenager made the most of a messy qualifying session at the famous Kent circuit. After some early red flags, he claimed fifth spot on the grid for race one and sixth for race two.

The first race, in damp conditions, saw the young racer make a storming start, moving up to third by the end of lap one.

He opened up a nice gap and, when the race was stopped four laps early after an accident in fading light, Rawles was able to climb onto the podium for the first time this season.

The following day, the teenager started from sixth and held his position until lap four, when he passed both Ryan Hadfield and James Kellett.

Rawles was then locked in a duel with Hadfield for fourth place for the duration of the race, with the Basingstoke Skip Hire-backed racer coming out on top to secure his fifth top-five finish of the season.

His final two results made sure he finished ninth overall in the championship, achieving his aim of a top 10 finish at the start of the season.

Rawles said: “The podium has been a long time coming this year, with lots of frustrating results and damage which has stopped me. I am just relived that I could repay my sponsors, Basingstoke Skip Hire and Monsterwraps.co.uk and my team, Tollbar Racing, who did a fantastic job to give me the car I needed all year.”

He added: “I would like to thank my family for all their continued support over the season.”

Next year, Rawles will be racing historic 1960s cars while also being involved in modern endurance racing.