LEE Watson finished in fifth place in the British Formula One sidecar championship following the final round at Brands Hatch.

Sidecar passenger Watson, from Rayleigh, and Hampshire-based driver Ben Holland were sixth in the standings heading into the final two races at the Kent circuit.

They qualified fifth for first race but had to make hasty repairs to their Kawasaki-powered JH Racing Cat Finning machine due to gears sticking.

Rain started to fall as they lined up on the grid and the race was reduced from 10 laps to six to allow teams to decide which tyres they wanted to use.

The gear problem continued throughout the race and Watson and Holland finished 10th on the 2.4-mile Grand Prix track at Brands.

But the second race went much better and they did not suffer technical issues as they secured a fifth place finish after a good start.

“We have proved that we can run at the front, so we will see what next year brings,” said Watson.

Holland added: “It’s been a trying season with some good results, but the whole team have stuck at it.”