A motorsport fanatic has passed his final chequered flag in style with a farewell trip around his favourite circuit.

Racing fan Michael Owen was a regular spectator at Brands Hatch for almost 50 years - the petrol head even moved home so he could be closer to the smell of motor oil and the revving of engines.

But the 60-year-old, who lost his battle with kidney cancer last month, was at his beloved track for the final time last week when his hearse completed a lap of honour en route to his funeral.

Mr Owen’s obsession with motor racing began aged 14, when he cycled from his home in Dartford to Brands Hatch to watch the major events.

But in 1986 the racing bug had taken such a hold that he moved to The Grange, in West Kingsdown, to be nearer the circuit and qualify for a residents’ pass - a free ticket handed to home-owners who live near the track to compensate them for the noise.

And his love affair with the track is destined to last long after his death - his family are planning to scatter his ashes in Church Wood, next to the circuit, so he can still qualify for his pass.

His daughter, Sharna Peyto, said: “He was a massive motoring fan and he’s always been mad on Brands Hatch. When he was 12 he used to listen to tapes of engine noises. He just loved the smell and the thrill of it.”

The 34-year-old, of The Briars, West Kingsdown, arranged her father’s final trip around the circuit last Friday before a service at Medway crematorium, in Blue Bell Hill.

New Romney funeral directors, Firmager, of which Mr Owen was a co-owner, led the procession and Foskers, a Ferrari dealership at Brands Hatch, donated a red Ferrari 360 Spider to the line-up as a gesture to Mr Owen, who was an avid Ferrari fan.

Mrs Peyto said: “My dad would often lie in bed or sit in the garden listening to the 'music’ of the sounds coming from Brands Hatch, then sometimes he’d disappear off to the circuit to catch the last few laps of an exciting race. He used to sneak in and sneak out when he was meant to be at Sunday dinner."

Mr Owen leaves wife Wendy, another daughter, Carys Owen, 22, son Simon, 21, and grandchildren Sunny and Corey Peyto, aged seven and four.

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