JOHN Batchelor has captured the 1999 Super Road Saloon Championship - in his first full season of racing.

The Blackburn-based driver took the title in a dramatic final round at Brands Hatch.

Needing to finish in the top eight to secure the series, Batchelor saw his two rivals, Terry Flatt and Ian Curnow out of the title race when the gearbox of Flatt's Golf GTi blew in qualifying and Curnow rolled his Fiesta XR2i on the second lap.

"It was a fantastic feeling when I crossed the line and realised I had won," said John, who works for System Hygiene, Altham.

"But it was nerve-racking during the race. I knew I had to finish, and when I saw Curnow's car in the gravel all I could think about was keeping out of trouble and reeling off the remaining laps."

His pre-race strategy of de-tuning the Blackburn Rovers-backed Fiesta XR2i for reliability rather than outright performance paid off.

"We decided to play safe, and although we only qualified 15th, the car was superb in the race and held up really well.

"It's taken some time to really sink in that I'm the champion. I only did two races last year - retired with engine failure in one and finished last in the other!"

John has now started a search for sponsorship after landing a seat with the Cleland Motorsport team in the next year's Ford Credit Fiesta Championship, which runs alongside the BTCC.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.