CRESSING'S Will Stacey is celebrating after claiming the Lotus Elise Trophy Championship title by an impressive 40 points.

Stacey secured the crown in his first full year of Lotus Racing after securing 437 points after eight rounds, finishing well clear of runner-up Craig Denman.

His victory in the final race of the year at Snetterton rounded off an exceptional season, with podium finishes in all 16 individual races.

The line-up for the final round of the year proved strong and full of new talent, with 26 cars packing out the Trophy grid slots.

The qualifying session for the final two, 30-minute races proved as nail-bitingly close as ever.

Only one tenth of a second around the two-minute lap separated the two championship challengers, Stacey and Denman.

Denman headed the results, with Stacey in second, John La Master third and Jason Mcinulty sitting fourth.

Stacey's championship lead over Denham going into race one meant that the title was his, as long as he scored a point.

It was case of bringing the car home without contact and he drove a cautious race to secure second place.

Despite Denman enjoying a strong victory after leading the whole race, the large points haul gave Stacey a Championship victory.

With the reversed grid format, race two provided an action-packed first lap.

Off the start line, Denman found himself overtaking Seth Walpole to the outside, with Axel Van Nederveen to the inside.

With the cars running three abreast entering the first corner, there was little room to spare and Van Nederveen's car was spun around, whilst Walpole and Denman were caught in a sandwich.

This provided the opportunity for Stacey and newcomer Joe Taylor to break through.

Stacey chased Taylor and overtook him through Oggies, to take the lead and establish a dominant advantage of more ten seconds over the finish line.

Denman and Mcinulty’s strong pace helped them recover and make it up onto the podium, in second and third place.

With the winter approaching, Stacey's thoughts have now turned to where he will be racing in 2018.

There is the prospect of him returning to defend his Lotus title, or the dream of moving up the ladder into GT racing.

Stacey would need financial support from a backer for that to happen and would dearly love to secure a sponsor.

Anyone interested in partnering the newly-crowned champion can contact him at william.stacey.racing@gmail.com