RALLYCROSS returned to Brands Hatch for the first time in eight years and it was if Sittingbourne’s Pat Doran had never been away.

Against the odds, Doran secured a crucial final victory in Sunday’s Super Final to claim second place in the British Championship over fellow Kent driver Will Gollop.

This was the best possible result, with Dermot Carnegie entering the final round having already clinched the title.

Doran's weekend started well, setting some solid times in Saturday' free practice in his Hydrex Ford RS200.

However, in the final practice session the engine let go in a big way and Doran was forced to sit out the rest of the day, which included the first of three qualifying sessions.

The team then set about what would become a 14-hour overnight session involving two engine changes, help from several other competitors and cross county trips to the machine shop to rebuild various engine parts.

As the sun came up on race day the car was back in one piece and thankfully would be ready for the morning's qualifying sessions.

With more than 200 guests arriving to support Doran in this final round, he put in a solid qualifying performance to qualify on the from row of the A Final in third place.

The A Final itself was an incident packed affair with new Champion Dermot Carnegie and local rival Gollop failing to finish, both with transmission problems.

With Doran in second place behind a charging John McCluskey, the Sittingbourne driver's engine started to tighten up while negotiating Druids Hairpin on each lap.

From this point on Doran could do nothing more than drive cautiously to a third place finish and hopefully protect the engine for the all-important Super Final.

However, with the Super Final looming, there were major doubts about the engine, and with seconds to go the decision was left to Doran whether to risk major failure to a £25,000 engine or to just go for it.

Doran obviously made the right decision, as he took the start and stormed away from the line to take the lead on the first lap from McCluskey.

Once ahead, he drove a controlled race despite intense pressure from the Peugeot 306 of McCluskey who tried everything, but could not find a way past a determined Doran.

The Sittingbourne driver finished just 1.2 seconds ahead of McCluskey before a crowd of around 10,000.