Career-best weekend for Aiden Moffat at Brands Hatch

Aiden Moffat said he was toasting his “best ever weekend” in the BTCC at Brands Hatch, after rounding off a strong performance with a second place in the final race of the season.

It marks the first time the young Scot has stepped on a BTCC podium, as his previous visit came following a post-race penalty for Andy Priaulx at Knockhill. And it was also only the second time Moffat had collected three top 10 finishes over a weekend, a feat he also managed at the penultimate round at Silverstone.

Moffat finished eighth in the opening encounter, rising to sixth in the second and benefiting from the reverse grid draw to start the finale from the front row. His second position was never seriously under threat, despite the decisive title fight between Sam Tordoff and Gordon Shedden taking place in his mirrors.

“It’s a little bit special. We knew the car was good here, but I’ve never been great here in the past. I was quietly confident we could do well, but I would never have expected to get second,” said Moffat to TouringCarTimes.

“In the first race I came eighth but I was hanging on a bit. In the second race the car felt great and I got up to sixth, but I had Tordoff in front and didn’t want to get too involved.

“I knew we had a good chance on the front row for the final race, but it was the most weight we’d carried and we were on the soft tyre. I didn’t expect to hold off Sam at the start, so to hold our own and see it through to the end is a bit of a special feeling.”

Moffat said the weekend represented a high point for him in the series, but believes it could have also happened earlier in the season if luck had gone his way.

He said: “It’s our best ever weekend. Last time at Silverstone was the first time we had three top tens, and here we got eighth, sixth and second.

“But I would have liked to have seen how Thruxton would have panned out. We qualified second, picked up damage and a puncture with two laps to go while sitting in second. The car was amazing and that could have been an amazing weekend.”

Looking ahead to next season, Moffat said: “There’s a few things on the table in a few different places. I love being in a touring car, but you never know. We just need to make sure we make the best and most sensible decision.”