Ryan Cunningham survived wet-dry conditions at Brands Hatch to provisionally become the 2024 Racing Hondas Champion as, ahead of him on track, Dan Brown and Alfie Jeakins sewed up the class A and B titles.

Race 1, held in soaking wet conditions, produced possibly the most exciting action of the season with Kevin Talbot getting in on the Dan Brown vs Liam Collins act to make it a thrilling three-way scrap for supremacy at the head of the field amongst the higher-powered A runners.

Collins, who’d started from pole position, and Brown spent the opening laps battling side-by-side for the lead before a heart-stopping moment as they lapped a slower car – one either side into Paddock Hill Bend (see pic above).

This moment proved decisive as Brown, who’d followed Collins until that point, came out in the lead before drawing away for the win.

Talbot was then also able to edge ahead of Collins only for the latter to regain the position before the flag. In the spray, however, the unsighted Collins had made the move in a yellow flag caution zone, so their positions were reversed post-race, giving Talbot a personal best result of P2.

In a dry race 2, Brown led all the way with Collins finally finding a way past Talbot on lap 9 when officials stopped the action early so marshals could tend to a crashed car. The results were thus declared based on positions from the lap before, putting Talbot back ahead of Collins for his second P2 result of the day.

This denied Collins crucial points and means Brown can no longer be caught in next month’s season finale at Snetterton.

CLICK HERE for the latest points standings.

In Class B, Dave Buky came out of the two races with two winning scores but it wasn’t enough to prevent Jeakins from putting the title out of reach.

The two biggest shocks were newcomer Dan Thackeray qualifying on class pole (P7 outright) on his championship debut and then, in race 1 with the nimbler B machinery making lighter work of the sodden track, Jake Hewlett setting the fastest lap of anyone to guarantee pole outright for race 2 ahead, even, of the fastest Class A cars…

Buky took the win ahead of Hewlett, Thackeray and Jeakins in race 1, the latter taking points for P2 thanks to Hewlett and Thackeray being ineligible to score.

In race 2, it was Hewlett ahead of Thackeray, Buky, a back-on-form Loui Hounsell and Jeakins on the road. Again, though, with Hewlett and Thackeray ineligible to score, Buky, Hounsell and Jeakins were awarded points for positions 1, 2 and 3 in class.

Ultimately, Jeakins can no longer be caught in Class B, with Buky (also with bonus points for two fastest laps in class at Brands) now up into second.

Cunningham, meanwhile, continued his winning ways in Class C with another maximum score thanks to pole position, two wins and two fastest laps.

Technically his current tally can be bettered by Brown at Snetterton but only briefly, for Brown will then have to drop his two worst scores which will put him back behind Cunningham.

There was joy in race 1 in Class C for Ed Sibbald who took a best-ever P2 result ahead of Callum Houchen in P3. In race 2, Sam Linssner took an P2 in class ahead of Houchen who took his second P3 of the day.