DW Racing runner-up in Radical Cup UK points after dramatic Brands Hatch finale

The battle for the 2024 Hagerty Radical Cup UK SR1 Championship at Brands Hatch (13-15 September) was mired in drama and controversy, as DW Racing’s Sam Shaw pulled off some gritty and determined drives but ultimately had a deserved title snatched away from him at the very last.

Shaw’s four-point championship lead was halved when pole position went the way of rival Marcus Littlewood and, with few opportunities to overtake on the short Brands Hatch Indy circuit, the starts would be critical.

From second on the race one grid, Shaw took the high line and got up alongside poleman Littlewood as the field dipped down Paddock Hill Bend, stubbornly holding on around the outside of the Druids hairpin despite being squeezed to the very edge of the track.

This put the Fareham racer on the inside approach to Graham Hill Bend, where he completed a crucial pass for the lead, but there was no let-up and the duelling pair were never separated by more than a second in a race-long dogfight.

The cool-headed Shaw soaked up unrelenting pressure and defended staunchly to notch up his tenth win of 2024, which gave him an extended ten-point buffer in the standings.

However, the championship swung in Littlewood’s favour in race two, as he recorded the fastest lap en route to victory to pull two points ahead of Shaw and turn the last race of the year into a ‘winner takes all’ affair.

The tension was palpable in the Radical paddock as the SR1 grid formed for the start of the season finale, which bore all of the hallmarks of a classic title-decider.

The grid order was determined by the fastest laps from race one, with the top 50 per cent of the field reversed, therefore North Motorsport’s Ashley Gaunt was placed on pole position, with Shaw and Littlewood second and third respectively.

The leaders went three-wide into Paddock Hill Bend, Littlewood getting the jump on both Gaunt and Shaw, who tucked in behind on the rise to Druids.

However, Littlewood presented an SR1-sized gap on the inside of Clearways later around the opening lap and Shaw needed no second invitation.

He cut underneath the #11 Littlewood Motorsport car, but contact ensued as the pair converged at the exit of the long right-hander and Shaw emerged from the fracas on top, Gaunt temporarily putting himself ahead of Littlewood.

It wasn’t long before Littlewood re-engaged Shaw in battle, but track position is king on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit and the DW Racing combatant was faultless, holding the optimum racing line as the pressure ramped up to once again finish first on the road.

Perhaps inevitably, protests and appeals followed, and the outcome of the race and the SR1 Pro Championship was ultimately settled in the stewards room, a one-second penalty for causing a collision enough to reverse the race three finishing order and deny Shaw the title he so deserved.

Nevertheless, the 19-year-old Hampshire driver concluded a stellar rookie car racing season in the Radical Cup UK as a ten-time race winner – the largest victory tally of any SR1 driver.

“When I look back on the 2024 Hagerty Radical Cup UK season as a whole, it has been very good,” said Shaw. “We won ten races, pretty much matching the all-time SR1 record, and that’s better than we expected. We struggled at times but always managed to pull results out of the bag.

“It’s cruel to lose the championship title in the way we did, but I can be happy and proud of my season, knowing I left nothing on the table. I couldn’t have done anything more and I’ve learnt so much as a racing driver. This season has taught me to never give up, because there have been instances when we’ve lacked outright pace but still dragged results from the weekend. You learn to be mentally strong, and I’m certainly a better driver.”

Oscar Joyce rounded off the 2024 Hagerty Radical Cup UK with one of his strongest weekend performances to date, as the brace of podiums and the fourth place achieved on the world-famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit (14-15 September) were enough to lift him to second in the definitive SR3 Pro Championship standings.

Joyce is first to admit that his qualifying performances and race starts have generally been below par all season long, and there was a determination to maximise both so he had a chance of competing for truly representative results in the Brands Hatch finale.

The Richmond-domiciled driver duly locked-in front row grid positions and, in two carbon copy race runs, racked up consecutive P2 results, with the #81 Radical Factory invitational entry of Max McRae shadowing him the whole way.

Joyce capped off the 2024 season with a P4 in Sunday’s sole SR3 race; his car’s tracking was knocked out of alignment when Valour Racing’s Jack Yang turned in on him at the Druids hairpin, but he wrestled his recalcitrant SR3 XXR to the finish, to lift himself above Luke Hilton into second in the definitive SR3 Pro classification.

“The final round at Brands Hatch has possibly been one of my strongest to date and I have to be pleased, especially as I finished second in the SR3 Pro Championship,” said Joyce. “It’s a fantastic result for me and DW Racing. I’ve learnt a lot about myself as a driver and, while we’ve been hindered by a few mechanical issues – things that were out of the team’s control – I’ve developed personally and have a much better understanding of how to drive a car with a lot of downforce.”

Peter Tyler fought doggedly for the 2024 Hagerty Radical Cup UK SR3 Fangio Championship in the Brands Hatch season finale (14-15 September), which began with a spectacular victory.

Two points for sealing the Fangio pole position boosted Tyler’s title aspirations, although there was a hint of frustration over qualifying just two thousandths of a second off third on the overall SR3 grid.

In race one, any early progress was undone by a trip across the Paddock Hill gravel, but the error wasn’t enough to fall out of P1 in class.

Victory would leave Tyler with a significantly reduced seven-point deficit to SR3 Fangio Championship leader John Macleod, who ramped up the pressure until he himself skated wide at Paddock Hill Bend.

Tyler breathed a sigh of relief when his chief rival disappeared from his rear-view mirrors and he duly brought home a fourth class win at the most critical point of the 2024 season.

Unfortunately, his championship aspirations faded in the subsequent races, as the physical demands of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit prevented him from challenging for victory in the second Radical contest, and he went no further than Turn 1 in Sunday’s finale.

As the SR3 pack dipped down Paddock Hill Bend, Tyler was tagged into a spin that resulted in a high-speed impact with the barriers.

The Brands Hatch medical team responded quickly and Tyler was taken to the on-site medical centre, before being transferred to Kings College Hospital in London for further assessments.

Tests revealed that Peter sustained a fractured spine, sternum and ribs in the incident, but he is well and already commencing his recovery.

“It was a big one and I didn’t quite get away without injury,” said Tyler. “I have a broken back, sternum and ribs but, apart from that, I’m fine and have been told everything will heal in time with no lasting damage. It’s a testament to the strength of the Radical SR3 XXR and the work of the Brands Hatch safety team that I am in such good shape. A big thank you to the circuit marshals and medical staff, Nicole Van Der Walt and Radical Motorsport, as well as Darren Winter and the DW Racing team.”

The circuit’s protocols were first class and the Radical SR3 XXR’s safety structures worked as designed.

DW Racing is thankful to the marshals and medical team at Brands Hatch for their immediate and professional response and, on behalf of the Radical Motorsport family, we wish Peter a speedy recovery.