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Dijon To Daytona: Derek Johnston Wins European Masters & Daytona Drive

13th October 2009

Radical SR8 driver Derek Johnston rounded off his motorsport season in style, scooping a ‘hat-trick’ of prizes at this weekend’s Radical European Masters round in Dijon, France. Derek is the inaugural winner of the Rolex 24 At Daytona Driver Challenge presented by Sunoco, after two calculated drives in challenging conditions.

Johnston won both the 2009 Radical European Masters Driver’s title and class title on Sunday, but had done all he could in pursuit of the Sunoco drive at the final round of the Radical UK Cup at Snetterton two weeks ago.

Only one other driver, Rob Garofall, could take the title, but the exceptional reliability of Johnston’s Radical, coupled with a disastrous weekend for Garofall in the final round of the poorly-supported SPEED series at Silverstone this weekend, left Derek with a comfortable victory.

Derek’s prize is a drive in a Grand-Am prototype at the famous Rolex 24 at Daytona, Florida, at the end of January. Derek’s all-expenses-paid trip will include January’s test days around the 3.5-mile American track. The accolade is awarded to the highest points scoring driver in the Radical UK Cup, British GT, British F3 and SPEED series.

“Congratulations to Derek, it’s great to see that a winning combination of his driving skills and the SR8’s enduring reliability have enabled him to come out on top, ahead of drivers in series such as British GT and British F3,” added Mick Hyde, co-founder of Radical Sportscars. “Derek has, throughout the season, beaten stiff rivalry from our extremely competitive Radical UK Cup season. I have fond memories from Radical’s trip to Daytona in 2001, the first outing for a Radical in the USA, so I know what an awesome track Daytona is. I’m sure Derek will have great fun on the banking.”