Ryan Parkins crossed the finish line on Sunday to be crowned the first ever PCGB Sim Racing champion. Although Paul Riga and Gavin Halls were the winners of the double-header event at Spa, it was Parkins who secured the championship after clinching third and second place.

Going into the race weekend Ryan Parkins only had to finish in front of his nearest rival, Carl Sharkey, to ensure he claimed the championship in race one. Gavin Halls, in the PorscheSport #38 911, took the pole position in qualifying, ahead of Parkins by only 0.07 seconds. You had to look to the 4th row of the grid to find Carl Sharkey, with an already a mammoth job to stop Parkins this weekend, it was made harder starting from 7th. Dan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZuRj-HAN1k, who has looked strong into the final rounds of this years championship, managed to clinch third place ahead of Austin Greatorex. With lights out, Parkins struggled to get off the line and dropped down to 8th position before turn one. The drama didn’t stop there, Sharkey looked to have the better of Parkins but contact between him and Mark Baxter-Jones into turn one allowed Parkins to close onto the back of Sharkey. Meanwhile at the front, Gavin Halls and Dan Bathie held onto first and second, followed by Mark Phillips and Austin Greatorex. Sharkey did manage to hold Parkins off for lap one, but as they reached La Source on lap two, Parkins had comfortably taken fifth position.

The race was far from over, more drama occurred between the top runners and a spinning Mark Phillips was collected by Carl Sharkey, resulting in heavy damage for the #77 PorscheSport car. With Sharkey now recovering from eighth and with damage, Parkins now looked strong in third position. In the remaining seconds of the race, there were incidents further down the order as Paul Stout and Amreek Sachdev battled for thirteenth position. An on-looking Danny Jones looked set to capitalise on any mistakes but Stout and Sachdev went side-by-side in Blachimont, contact was made, unfortunately collecting Jones on the way. Meanwhile, an untouchable Gavin Halls at the front the pack took the chequered flag, well clear of Dan Bathie taking second, with Ryan Parkins claiming the final podium spot and ultimately the championship.

Race two featured the fans favourite, as the reverse grid from race one made up our starting positions. An early retiring Paul Riga in race one claimed the pole position and led well off the line. In a frantic dash to Blachimont, it was Mark Searle who had the unfortunate part to play, making contact with Paul Stout as they accelerated up the famous hill. Our newly crowned champion also did well to avoid any disasters, but came close as Mark Bow, Chris Bowie and Stuart Clark all made heavy contact in the opening lap. At the back of the grid, familiar faces of Carl Sharkey, Gavin Halls, Austin Greatorex and James Cummings all battled to gain track position. Our race one winner Halls, led the chasing pack and had already gained an impressive 15 positions by the second lap. He did however, have a huge scare as Mark Baxter-Jones turned into Halls under heavy braking, thankfully Halls was able to keep the car straight. Great battles continued throughout the field, Austin Greatorex and Dan Bathie had an impressive battle for sixth position and avoided much of the dramas around them. By lap five, Halls and Parkins were battling for third position and impressed fans with a climb up the field from last on the grid. Parkins finally got the better of Halls, whilst also taking the opportunity to take second position off Oliver Cawardine, who then lost out to Halls on the same lap. Paul Riga, with a clean and effortless drive took the chequered flag with Ryan Parkins in second and Dan Bathie in third.

“Yes boys! Very, very happy! The race start, yes it was nerves. I had barely any practice on this track, every time I’ve gone out on this track I’ve made a mistake and felt really nervous. It reminded me of Sebastian Vettel in 2012 who only had to get fourth. Brands Hatch, I will go do some practice, I still want to go and win the next round.“ Ryan Parkins

“The first race win, it’s a massive monkey off my back. I've done a lot of racing and I can tell you I’ve never worked so hard for a race win. I honestly thought it was never going to happen. There’s been a lot of issues all season, with collisions, jumps starts, internet problems and silly mistakes. It’s been non-stop, but I learnt from my mistakes and finally came good today“ Gavin Halls

“I’d firstly like to congratulate Ryan on the championship, he fully deserves this. I didn’t get much practice this week so I’m happy with a fourth and fifth. I’ve closed the gap on p2 in the championship and pulled a gap on fourth place. Brands Hatch I’ve raced with the MX-5’s, so I’ll put some practice in this week. It’s similar to Zandvoort, with lots of crests. Hopefully I can get a podium there.“ Austin Greatorex

“It was good, it was nerve wracking with Ryan Parkins coming up the road behind me. It’s a little difficult when you’re racing on your own and I kept making tiny mistakes. Each lap I looked at my times and they were fairly consistent, but I did think I would get caught. A big congratulations to Ryan on the championship.“ Paul Riga

With still one race weekend left in the championship, Ryan Parkins again showed us how he has dominated throughout the year by taking the championship at Spa, with still two races remaining. Parkins fought off stiff competition from rivals Matthew Dorrington, Carl Sharkey, Gavin Halls and Austin Greatorex this season, providing fans with some fantastic battles. In it’s first year of existence, the Porsche Club Great Britain Sim Racing Championship has proved that the excitement of the real PCGB Championship can be replicated in the virtual world. With over 25 drivers competing and a large community growing around the series, many fans are already looking forward to next season. Although Ryan Parkins has claimed the overall championship, the following pack are still fighting for positions going into the final round at Brands Hatch. Carl Sharkey and Austin Greatorex look set to battle it out for second position in the champions. Be sure to tune in here.