MARLBOROUGH speedster Roger Lovelock won’t be putting the brakes on his racing career just yet after clinching national glory in the Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar Championship.

The 48-year-old and passenger Rick Lawrence finished top of the standings at last weekend’s final round at Brands Hatch, handing Lovelock a second British crown after his 2009 success.

Driverwolf Racing’s Lovelock, a retained fireman who also runs a small business as a mechanic, had toyed with the idea of bringing a career spanning more than two decades to an end in recent years. And his latest memorable triumph left him relieved that he chose not to decide to opt for retirement.

“I’m no spring chicken – I’ve been racing against drivers who are in their late 30s and early 40s and two years ago, I did think that it might be time to retire,” said Lovelock, who also won the European Cup in 2006.

“I’ve been doing it for a long time and it’s a way of life but I’m glad that kept at it because I’m over the moon with this season.

“Out of 18 races, we’ve had 12 podium finishes and the worst we’ve finished is in 10th place when we had a collision with another crew.

“Winning the title is massive this time because of the profile of the sport now.

“Last time we weren’t running alongside the British Superbikes but as soon as we heard that they were going to do that, we knew we couldn’t turn down the chance to be a part of it.

“I’m not the best person for throwing parties and things like that but we had a good celebration down at Brands.”

Father-of-two Lovelock is already plotting the defence of his title next season.

He said: “That’s what we’ll be looking to do and I think it’s time to change things around a little bit.

“We’ve been working with a Suzuki engine for a long time now and it’s getting a little bit long in the tooth – we may try and see if we can go with BMW or Kawasaki next year.

“We also may look at doing some of the world championship rounds.”