Ben Green says “it was a bitter pill to swallow” having agonisingly missed out on the British GT4 title at Donington Park.

In an action packed final round, which saw the championship lead change hands on numerous occasions, the Waltham Abbey racer fell just one point short of claiming the title, as an eighth place finish for rival Jack Mitchell was enough for him to be crowned champion.

A 10 second stop/go penalty for Green and his team mate Ben Tuck proved to be costly in the end, after the Waltham Abbey racer was adjudged to have overtaken a backmarker under the safety car.

Green had handed the car over to Tuck in second place, but that penalty dropped the duo down the order and they eventually crossed the line in fifth.

Despite losing out on the title, it has still been a successful year for Green in GT4 with Century Motorsport and the 20-year-old was pleased with the achievement of finishing in second in his first season in the series.

He said: “It was a very emotional race. The race was very difficult but at the end of the day, I could only do my best and see how it all unfolded. I think at one point, after we were given the penalty that we shouldn’t have really got as we didn’t do anything wrong, I think we were fourth or fifth in the championship so we recovered well to get second.

“But at one point after the penalty we were leading the championship so it was crazy. It’s a great series and you can see that the championship is so close. The top three were covered by two points at the end of the season so it’s a really close championship. I’ve really enjoyed it this year but it was a bitter pill to swallow at the last round.

“The BMW M4 was a brand new car this year so no one had any experience running it. We had no testing so we literally rocked up to the media day and then rocked up for round one. A lot of teams do an extensive testing programme which is at least a day or two before each race weekend but we did none of that. To get a good result on that basis was very good as well.

“Also it was my first year as you said. I came in wanting to do well as that’s always the expectation because I’ve got a bit of racing behind me now. I wanted to do well and to do it in my first year was a good achievement when you look at it that way. I’m quite happy with it.”

Following a successful debut season in GT4, Green is now ready to embark on a new challenge next year.

He said: “Every year I’m racing I feel like I’m improving quite a lot. I can’t wait for the next best thing. So, the idea next year is to step up another level and maybe go to a faster car and go that way. But it’s all about funding and getting a good deal.

“I think doing the same thing again isn’t the best idea because it’s a bit of a plateau. If you come second by one point one year, you should easily win it the year after because of all the things you’ve learnt. You also lose the great effect of winning it because you’ve already had a year in it as well.”