NELSON KING CELEBRATES ‘AMAZING’ TROPHY TITLE

Nelson King admitted it was a dream come true to provisionally wrap up the Quaife MINI CHALLENGE Trophy title in the opening race of the season finale at Brands Hatch.

The Graves Motorsport driver had gone into the weekend with one hand on the title after a stunning campaign that saw him take nine wins, and was left needing to simply finish the opening race to wrap up the championship.

From fourth on the grid however, King produced a champion’s drive as he worked his way quickly to the front and then eased away from the pack behind after a mid-race caution to take his tenth win of the year and an unassailable championship advantage.

King’s victory makes him only the fifth driver to his double figures for race wins in a season in the current Cooper car, and moves him into the top six in the all-time Cooper winners list.

“I wanted to be champion from the front and it was a really good race,” he said. “I had a fantastic car underneath me and I couldn’t have hoped for more than to win the race and wrap up the title.

“I learned at Donington from following Matt [Hammond] how bad it was in the spray, so I wanted to get to the front and stretch my legs a bit. The first three laps were key and once I was in front, I wasn’t going to lose it.

“Winning the title means the world to me as I came close to becoming British Champion in karting and missed out by a few points, so to win this title now is amazing. I have so many people to thank who have been involved and without doubt, this year has gone way better than I could have imagined it would.

“To take ten wins on this grid when its so competitive speaks for itself, and even though I’ve not always been the fastest driver, I’ve made it to the front. I could just sit in the garage and watch on tomorrow, but I’m a racer and I’ll be going out there to race and have some fun.”