SHAFTESBURY-BASED Formula Ford 1600 racer Josh Barnett finally won his first Champion of Brands event at Kent after battling back from a poor start.

Barnett travelled down at 6am from Leicester, where he studies for an English degree, on the morning of the race and took pole position by nearly three tenths of a second from sportscar ace Alex Kapadia.

Despite the advantage of qualifying first, Barnett made a poor start, dropping down to third place at the first corner.

Having found a way through into second early on in the race, the 20-year-old quickly closed down the gap to the leader.

For the next eight laps, the pair were never more than a few feet apart, dicing side-by-side, corner after corner.

Eventually, Barnett pressured Kapadia into a mistake on the final corner, allowing him to squeeze up the inside on the start straight.

Despite being forced up against the pit wall, Barnett made the pass stick into the first corner before promptly building up a two-second cushion that he held until the chequered flag.

“It’s fantastic to finally take my first win at Brands Hatch. It’s been nearly a year since my last victory so I’m completely over the moon,” said an ecstatic Barnett.

For 2012, Barnett hopes to move up into the MSA British Formula Ford Championship.

However, this depends on the amount of sponsorship that the Dorset driver can raise. To find out more on Barnett visit joshbarnett.co.uk