Young gun Cameron Dawson crowned British Junior Supersport champion at Brands Hatch

The Co Tyrone teenager was caught out by the damp conditions and slid out of the race unhurt, with Dawson forced to watch the action from pitlane after the race was restarted over five laps of the GP track in Kent.

However, closest rival Ash Barnes could only finish fourth, leaving 16-year-old Dawson with an unassailable lead of 30 points with one final race remaining on Sunday.

A jubilant Dawson, who won seven races in 2021 on the MSS Performance Kawasaki, becomes the latest Junior Supersport champion from Northern Ireland after Eunan McGlinchey won the title in 2018.

The Killyman rider, who finished fourth overall last year and ninth in 2019, said: “I had the pace to stay at the front but the rain started to come down a bit heavier, but I thought it was just that light mental rain.

“I thought I could push on and the rest might drop back, but I put the throttle on too much and lost the rear.

“I got up and walked away, and came back and realised there was as restart, so I was just hoping for the best.

“To come back in after an accident knowing that I might have to wait until tomorrow, the nerves weren’t great. But now I can go out tomorrow and just enjoy the race,” he added.

“I was always very nervous at the start of this season because it was a big step up with a new team, but each time I went out on the bike it was so comfortable and we started racking up wins and getting pole positions, so we finally came out on top.”