Tom Jackson is within touching distance of second place in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship after a solid points scoring weekend at Brands Hatch.

The 18-year-old - who went into his local event on Saturday 32 points behind Mexican rival Rodrigo Fonseca - came out of the weekend just 13 points shy after two podiums and a fifth place finish.

After qualifying fourth for race one, Jackson passed Harrison Newey at the start and remained in a comfortable third for the remainder of the encounter.

Race two saw the Chart Sutton charger start from sixth on the grid. He gained places at the start and despite struggling with fading tyres, Jackson crossed the line in third to take his fifth podium of the season.

Jackson continued to chip away at Fonseca’s points advantage with a strong fifth place finish in race three to round off a successful weekend.

He said: “It was a very solid weekend at a track which is not good for overtaking. The only place to have a real chance at passing is at the start and I exploited that.

“I am very happy with the podiums and silverware but more importantly I beat Fonseca in every race.

“Second place in the championship is definitely reachable, I reckon I can catch up.

"First place is going to be difficult but I will give it a shot. If I can get second then I would be buzzing, it’s a big step up from last year so things are looking forward.”

Goudhurst racer Jake Hill was forced to retire from round six of the British GT Championship following a promising start at Brands Hatch last weekend.

The 21-year-old was set for a good finish in his GT4 class but had to retire just 12 minutes from the finish after contact with Aston Martin driver Dennis Strandberg.

Hill’s teammate Graham Coomes began the two-hour race eighth in class and put in a steady performance for his half of the race.

The pitstop didn’t run smoothly due to a fuel difficulty - losing the team precious seconds - but Hill soon made up the time when he got behind the wheel.

Overtaking both Ross Gunn and Gavan Kershaw, the Porsche driver found himself hunting down a podium.

Chasing down third place, the youngster made his move after Strandberg ran wide at Paddock Hill bend but contact between the pair sent Hill into retirement.

Hill said: “I went for the lunge and was alongside him, I had a lot of space and knew it was going to be a clean overtake. He turned in and we had contact. I got a puncture and the car was damaged, forcing us to retire.

“I watched the incident after and am 100% confident it wasn’t my fault. It’s extremely annoying but there are lots of positives, the car and team performed well and we were very close to getting a great finish.”