Lucas Romanek wins twice at Brands Hatch in 2022 Formula Ford finale

Already the overall champion, the 18-year-old signed off his title campaign by dominating from start to finish.

Romanek claimed pole on the final lap of qualifying by a quarter of a second and enjoyed a ding-dong battle with rival Alex Walker in the opening race before a penalty for his peer handed the Swindon driver first place.

Having passed each other numerous times throughout the race, Romanek knew he would only have to stay in touch in second to claim victory.

After race one, Romanek said: “When I saw the penalty come up I knew there was no point massively fighting. It was Alex’s first time back in a long time, so it was good to race him again.”

In the second outing, there was less – but not an absence of – drama as the 18-year-old led from lights out to flag. He opened up a 1.5-second gap early on before Walker fought through the pack once again to challenge for the lead. Despite Walker’s best efforts, Romanek held on by 0.29 seconds at the chequered flag.

Reflecting on his year as a whole, the three-time Brands Hatch winner said: “We have had a great year, it has been a real rollercoaster for us.

“We won the national Formula Ford Tourist Cup and finished third overall, and second place in the United, but really, if we hadn’t experienced mid-year mechanical failures, we could have won both championships.

“The formula ford national always brings in the American Academy Scholarship racers, which always brings a serious challenge, but we are confident that we can compete, and will be looking for the overall win next season.”

Romanek confirmed he will compete nationally next year and is also keen to compete locally at Castle Combe.

He said: “We’ll decide which tracks to compete in over the winter. If we can get enough sponsorship, I’d really like to compete locally too. I remember watching racing there and it would be great to also bring excitement to the local race fans.”