As we head into the season finale at Oulton Park, there is still plenty to play for in the title race. Let’s delve a little deeper into the championship points and see who needs to do what this weekend.
420R
First up, the 420R Championship. While Anthony Barnes sits top of the 420R championship with an 81-point lead over Wiggins, when dropped scores come into play this mean that Wiggins has 86 more points to gain than Barnes over the final two races. With a 5 points difference between the podium places, as well as points being awarded for pole position and fastest laps, it looks as though the championship winner will be deciphered by the final chequered flag.
Second place in the championship standings is currently held by Stewart Calder, but once again dropped scores can change things rather dramatically. When dropped scores come into play, Calder has a maximum of 34 points to gain over the two races, while Mark Stansfield and Lewis Tootell have 104 and 105 points to play for, respectively, and are only 42 and 63 points behind Calder. So second place is also far from safe.
Two strong finishes from Stansfield should be enough to secure third place, behind Barnes and Wiggins, unless they both fail to score. In which case, Stansfield could find himself securing champion status.
420R Sportsman Championship
Heading into this final round, Ian Cowley currently leads Peter Rimer by 77 points, but can only add a maximum of 33 points to his overall tally this weekend. Meanwhile, Rimer in second place can add the full 105 points. With Sportsman tending to finish outside the podium points there are usually lower points differences earned by the drivers, meaning Rimer needs to finish a good two or three places ahead of Cowley in each race to take the title. A podium from Rimer would certainly help the cause.
A good points haul in the bag from both Matt Reeve and Tom Greensall leaves them with an outside chance, should Rimer and Cowley fail to score.
310R Championship
Finally, the 310R Championship. Absent penalty points, only David Yates, James Wingfield or Caroline Everett can win the title. A podium or strong finish for Yates, plus bonus points for pole position or fastest lap would be enough to put the championship in his favour, leaving Everett with only an outside chance of becoming champion.
Taking dropped scores into consideration, this suggests Wingfield as the strong favourite, with a good chance to overhaul Yates’ 20-point lead. This weekend Wingfield is able to gain a total of 59 points, verses Yates’ 22. A good finish from Yates in race one will leave it all to play for in the final race. However, Wingfield only needs to keep Yates in sight to take the 310R crown.
All in all, it is set to be a thrilling showdown to what has been a fantastic 2024 season. Saturday is going to be hectic and brilliant all at the same time. Get those championship spreadsheets at the ready folks!