Hucknall's Ruben Hage narrowly misses out on top three championship finish but reflects on a positive season

Hucknall's teenage racing sensation Ruben Hage was satisfied with the conclusion to his Junior Saloon Car Championship (JSCC) campaign at Brands Hatch the weekend before last.

The 16-year-old claimed two fourth place finishes, agonisingly missing out on a podium in race one by a meagre 0.1 seconds after an intense, clean race long battle.

However, despite main rival Alfie Jeakins starting from two lowly grid positions he managed to salvage enough points to deny Ruben a top three championship finish by just four points.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, Ruben said: "It was a good weekend, we had good pace all weekend.

"Qualifying was really tight. I wasn't particularly happy with fifth and sixth but it was that tight that it wasn't that bad a result really, especially with my rival down in 20th so that gave us a bit of a chance to claw back points.

"Both the races went pretty well, two fourths doesn't sound good but the racing was really close as usual. It wasn't quite enough points to get what we wanted out of it but I'm still walking away from the season pretty happy."

Reflecting on the season which saw him claim a circuit victory for the first time in his career, he added: "I'm quite happy with it. The points I got last year I think I got almost double that this season. Last year I didn't get a single podium, this year there's been a podium pretty much every weekend. The progression's been there.

"Obviously GardX, Asta and Händler have been the main partners this year. Without any of them we wouldn't have made it on the grid this year. It's all down to them, I can't thank them enough for it.

"Thank you also to JCT600, Automotive Repair Systems, JDA Customs and everyone who has been a part of getting me on the grid."

Even though the season has now finished, attention has already turned to next season with prospectuses sent out to prospective sponsors and partners as Ruben tries to pull a budget together to allow him to compete in his championship of choice for next season.

"I've been focusing on the driver side, being on the sim every day, getting better physically, going to the gym more often. Trying to link all the dots together ready for next year to give it our best shot."

For further information about Ruben's career, visit his website here.