Sedgwick belies his rookie status in the Clio Cup

Alex Sedgwick on his way to two top-ten finishes at Brands Hatch.

The championship, seen as the feeder series to the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), ventured to Brands Hatch for its final race weekend with Sedgwick buoyed by an impressive debut showing at Silverstone.

The 16-year-old qualified in 13th and eighth position for the two races, lining up on the sixth row of the grid for Saturday’s opener.

And in a safety car-dominated race, he battled his way through the field to take the chequered flag in seventh.

However, time penalties for two of his rivals moved him up to fifth and the third-placed graduate driver.

“What a race,” said Sedgwick. “It was typical Clio racing with very hard moves and a lot of action everywhere.

“I really enjoyed the race and finishing fifth is fantastic in only my second Clio race.”

Sunday’s second race, which was staged in front of thousands of BTCC fans, saw Sedgwick get caught up in chaos at the start and dropping to 13th as a number of cars crashed out.

Four laps were completed under the safety car before the race restarted, with the teenager climbing to ninth at the finish on the back of the third fastest lap time.

“During the race I had to avoid a car which hit the pit wall in front of me,” said Sedgwick.

“The hard braking, I think, overheated the brakes as afterwards I hardly had any brakes.

“This made it very interesting as I could not slow the car as I needed to.

“Anyway, another top-ten finish is a perfect end to the race weekend.”