Max Bird just misses out on national motorsport title after titanic season-long battle

The 21-year-old, from Chidham near Emsworth, claimed 11 podium places in 19 races across seven different venues in the Mini Challenge JCW Championship.

But he finished just seven points adrift of Excelr8 Motorsport colleague Dan Zelos after a dramatic final round at Brands Hatch.

The JCW Championship forms part of the popular British Touring Car package, with races televised live on ITV4 on a Sunday and watched by some 1.7 million TV viewers per round and with a trackside audience of around 50,000 per event.

Bird went into the final round trailing Zelos by four points, but was leading by three points after beating his title rival in the first two races. Zelos, though, finished far enough ahead of Bird in the final race to win the championship.

Overall, Bird took three wins, three second places and five thirds in the 19 races, was on pole position in qualifying three times and set two fastest lap times.

‘I fought very hard throughout the year and came so close to the title,’ said Bird.

‘I had a great team behind me and was able to make significant progress.’

Bird is seeking sponsorship for 2022 and can be contacted at [email protected]