Mutch and Lowe crowned champions after dramatic Donington finale

Mutch arrived at the University of Derby’s home circuit with a 27-point advantage over Valour Racing’s Cian Geraghty, but with two races and double points available, the outright title remained open.

Qualifying suggested there would be little between them. Just 0.079 seconds split Mutch and Geraghty, with North Motorsport’s Thomas Hodge close behind in third.

The championship picture changed almost immediately in race one.

Mutch led into Redgate, while Geraghty and Hodge made contact fighting for position behind him, sending both into the gravel and out of the race. Byron Crawford was also caught in the opening-lap melee but managed to rejoin, while Lena Galyo retired shortly afterwards.

After four laps behind the Safety Car, Mutch controlled the restart and quickly began to build his advantage. Behind him, the fight for the podium developed between Fangio title rivals John Macleod and Andy Lowe, with Matt Yard and Shane Kelly also in contention.

The mandatory pit-stop window reshuffled the order but did little to threaten Mutch, whose advantage had grown beyond 20 seconds.

The battle behind him was far less settled. On lap 21, Macleod attacked Lowe at the Melbourne Hairpin and contact sent Lowe spinning, damaging both cars. Macleod continued, while Lowe eventually retired four laps from home.

“I’d had a great start, Cian spun in front of me at the first corner, I got rear ended twice and there was just no room when John hit me, I didn’t want to come in though,” Lowe explained after receiving warning flags.

Mutch remained clear of the trouble and crossed the line more than 48 seconds ahead.

“Not really the way we wanted to settle the Championship, but without Cian it was fairly straightforward and I was able to back off in the second half,” said Mutch.

With Geraghty out, the result was enough to secure the 2026 title for Mutch and a second successive Radical racing championship for the University of Derby.

Macleod finished second on the road but received a seven-place penalty for the incident with Lowe, promoting Kelly to second and Yard to third after Yard was also handed a track-limits penalty.

Sam Venning completed one of the drives of the race, recovering from near the back of the field after the opening-lap drama to finish fourth. Jamie-Lea Hawley and Nina Hahn came home fifth on their Radical debut.

If Saturday settled the championship, Sunday delivered the fight the season deserved.

Mutch again started from pole, but Geraghty stayed with him through the opening phase as the pair pulled clear. For Geraghty, still in his first season of car racing after graduating from karting, it was another display of the pace that has allowed him to challenge for the title from the outset.

Kelly looked to have found real pace in the University of Wolverhampton car and ran strongly in third before problems interrupted his race, while behind him Lowe and Macleod remained locked in their own battle for the Fangio crown.

Geraghty stopped first during the pit window, while Mutch stayed out for another three laps before serving an additional 20-second success penalty. Once the stops had played out, Geraghty led by seven seconds.

Behind them, Lowe emerged in third with Macleod in pursuit — enough, if he could hold the position, to secure the Fangio title.

At the front, the gap began to fall.

With three laps remaining, Mutch had closed to within a second. By the final tour, the two title protagonists were together again.

“I didn’t think I would close enough to have a go, but Cian drifted a bit wide at McLeans and Coppice and then defended into the Esses,” Mutch explained.

They exited the Melbourne Hairpin almost side by side before running wheel to wheel through Goddards, Mutch around the outside and Geraghty holding the inside line.

Geraghty held on by just 0.038 seconds in a sensational finish, ending his rookie car-racing season with victory over the newly crowned champion.

“I think that was my closet ever finish and a great way to finish the season,” Mutch added.

“I thought it would be close, but didn’t expect that, my closest finish too,” Geraghty replied.

Behind them, Lowe resisted Macleod’s pursuit to finish third, the pair separated by just 1.2 seconds at the flag, securing Lowe the Fangio Trophy title.

“I couldn't actually see John so didn’t feel any pressure,” Lowe admitted.

“I tried so hard but couldn’t get close and had a bit of a stutter in low gears,” Macleod replied.

Yard finished fifth, while Radical debutant Gio Santori impressed across the weekend with a composed first outing in the championship. The American teenager arrived at Donington following an international karting career, a Formula 4 scholarship in France and two Rookie Cup podiums in the UK MINI CHALLENGE.

After a season that began at Brands Hatch and ran through Oulton Park and Silverstone, Donington delivered two very different conclusions: one title decided amid Saturday’s opening-lap drama, another settled under pressure on Sunday, and a final-lap duel between the two drivers who had defined the outright championship fight.

Mutch leaves as Finecut Radical Cup UK champion, Lowe as Fangio Trophy champion, and Geraghty with the final race victory after pushing the title fight deep into his first season of car racing.

The 2026 UK campaign is complete. The next chapter begins at Silverstone on 8–9 May 2027.