OLLIE CHADWICK finished his season on a high with a victory in the final race of the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge at Donington Park on Sunday.

Chadwick, Tetbury's exciting teenage motor racing prospect, therefore secured the runner-up spot behind George Gamble in the season-long championship.

Another series of blistering performances from the 18-year-old across the final weekend, beginning with a dominant qualifying session in which he lapped a full 0.7 seconds quicker than anyone, resulted in a boosted tally of six wins for the year and no fewer than 14 podiums.

It has been Chadwick’s first year as a senior driver in the British GT Championship-supporting Ginetta Challenge and the youngster’s first with newly-formed team Xentek Motorsport.

But for a number of minor incidents – more often than not beyond his control – he would have won the overall title.

Even so, his statistics for the 2014 season make very impressive reading: eight pole positions; nine fastest laps, including three lap records; six race victories and 14 podiums.

At Donington, Chadwick finished fifth in the opening race on Saturday – following contact from rival Dennis Strandberg at the final corner while disputing the lead – and then added second place in race two, just 0.435 seconds behind winner Gamble, and a superb win in race three.

“Naturally, I’m disappointed not to have won the title,” said Chadwick.

“I feel I had the team, the car and all the attributes to achieve it and we did our best. Various events seemed to conspire against us and motor racing is often like that.

"I would nevertheless wish to congratulate George (Gamble) on his success, he had the most consistent season and that made the difference.”

Xentek Motorsport co-principal, Chris Richards, added: “We can’t fault Ollie, he always gave 100 per cent in every race and was without doubt the most exciting driver on the grid.

"It’s just a shame he had such tough luck at some rounds, often through other people’s errors. Then there was Round 12 at Snetterton which was cancelled, when he had qualified on pole.

“Anyone who has followed this championship will have seen that he really is a remarkably talented driver. Misfortune has seen him having to recover through the pack, often going from the back to the podium – we calculated 77 overtakes during the year.

"His capabilities and racecraft can’t be faulted. He’s been great to work with and very popular in the paddock.”

When asked about his future plans, Chadwick said: “I’m considering various options for 2015, in tandem with my business studies and aviation interests.

"I hope that my achievements this year have been noted as I feel I have a lot to offer. I’ve been invited to test an Aston Martin GT3 car in October, which will be a big step upwards, and may help crystalise my thinking for next year.”

FELLOW Tetbury driver David Krayem was out of luck at Brands Hatch over the weekend when competing his Ginetta G50 in the Dutch Supercar Challenge.

Krayem's first race was over virtually before it started when he was nudged into the first corner and ended up in the gravel trap.

He also had to retire from race two on Sunday afternoon after a multi-car crash caused damage to his Ginetta G50.