Snetterton Speed Shop owner Jonathan Lewis has been so successful in the Mighty Mini Championship that the rules have been amended for next year to exclude experienced racers.
Lewis's long motorsport career started in Minis, competing in grass tracks races, before he moved on to circuit racing alongside his successful brother Chris.
Soon Lewis moved into team management and ended up as the team manager for the highly successful Van Diemen Works Formula Ford team.
The Snetterton based team morphed into Comtec Racing and he continued with the Carlton Rode outfit for many years winning the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship for the local squad in 2006 with Alx Daniellson.
Having started his new business, based at the entrance to Snetterton Circuit, Lewis returned to his roots and started racing in the Mighty Mini category for lightly modified original series cars.
'The cars are just great to drive and the racing is very close,' said an enthusiastic Lewis. 'The engine is bullet proof with many spec parts like dampers and tyres making for a cheap way into the sport.'
Lewis's experience won out in the end but the local driver was pushed hard throughout the season which started at Castle Combe in Wilshire and was the only venue where he was beaten on the road in race two by Damien Harrington.
The series moved onto Silverstone with the local racer claiming a pair of race victories, giving him the championship lead.
The next stop was Brands Hatch but a pre-event accident resulted in Lewis having to re-shell his car. 'I rolled while testing,' recalled the new champion. 'I got a little out of shape at Paddock Hill bend and slide sideways into the gravel trap on the outside which tipped me over.'
However it didn't dent his title hopes as he continued on his relentless winning streak with his second pair of victories which he carried forward to his home event at Snetterton having passed rival Zack Booth just yards from the finishing line in race two.
What did stop the Lewis steam roller, and could have easily derailed his title hopes, was a mid-year operation which saw the Team Baily racer miss two vital rounds at Oulton Park and lose the championship lead in the process.
However Lewis recovered in time for the following races but recorded his only non-finish of the season in the opening Cadwell Park event before he signed off his highly successful season with a fourth double victory at Donington Park to make it 10 victories for the season.
To round out his season Lewis entered his former championship winning Monoposto Van Diemen, in Snetterton's final meeting of the season, having rebuilt the car for its new owner, which was found sitting idle in a Manchester garage.
'I forgot how fit you have to be to race single-seater,' said Lewis who found the slippery conditions difficult on the Saturday before showing he had lost none of his skills with a podium finish the following day.
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