KIDDERMINSTER racing driver Nathan Freke has triumphed in the face of adversity by being crowned 2006 UK Formula Ford champion after clinching twin wins at Silverstone.

The 23-year-old put his money worries to one side to storm to victories in rounds 15 and 16 of the series and surge into an unassailable lead.

It is a dream come true for Freke who feared his motor-racing ambitions had reached the end of the track after the withdrawal of a major sponsor.

His mum Christine stepped in at the eleventh hour by cashing in her pension to ensure Freke has the £13,000 needed to complete all 20 rounds.

And the newly-crowned champion has already been inundated with offers to race for several Formula 3 teams, although his future could lie in Formula Atlantic in America.

Freke, who drives a Newnet-backed, Jamun Racing-prepared Mygale, took his win tally to nine last weekend with four rounds of the championship remaining.

"It's a fantastic way to win the championship and I couldn't have hoped for a better finish," said Freke, who overcame early domination from Irish driver Peter Dempsey to help the Jamun and Mygale to their second successive title.

"There was massive pressure on me after Peter won the first four rounds. I knew I could beat him, but perhaps a lack of experience counted against me. Then came Snetterton and my first ever win in a racing car, and the tables were turned.

"They say the first win is the most elusive, and it was certainly a huge boost to my confidence."

Wins at Brands Hatch, Rockingham, Knockhill and Silverstone followed in quick succession for Freke who paid tribute to his team, his remaining sponsors and parents Clive and Christine.

"The Jamun crew are here to win," he said. "That's what drives them and they never rest on their laurels. They are the best team out there. I'm so glad they took a chance on me, and I'm completely indebted to my sponsors and my parents, who have dug deep to get me to this point."

Freke's twin wins last weekend were far from easy. Saturday's race saw him put under intense pressure by Australian hot shot John Martin, and on Sunday he had to overcome a first-lap error and charge back to victory from fourth spot.

The 15th round of the championship was spoilt by first-lap incidents which ended the races of six drivers and resulted in a lengthy safety car period which reduced the event to just seven racing laps.

Freke started from pole position on the 30-car grid - the biggest field of the season so far - and led the opening lap just ahead of Martin, with South Africa's Sean Petterson third and Nick Tandy close behind for fourth.

Four slow laps behind the safety car later, Freke had it all to again at the restart. He kept ahead for a lap, but Martin was in determined form and slipped past for the lead next time around.

Freke regained his composure - and the lead - with three laps to go, and his Mygale seized the fastest lap of the race on the final tour to beat Martin's Spectrum to the chequered flag by nine-tenths of a second.

Freke made another good getaway from the pole on Sunday but his lead lasted only as far as Maggotts, where he ran wide and slipped to fourth behind James Nash, Christian Ebbesvik and John Martin.

As Nash sped away to build a five-second lead, Freke set about clawing his way past Ebbesvik and Martin, and then into second spot after disposing of Dempsey on the fourth lap.

Second place would have done him in championship terms, but he wasn't going to settle for that and overcame his rival on the penultimate tour.

There's no rest in sight just yet for Freke and co with rounds 17 and 18 at Thruxton this Saturday and Sunday and the final rounds the following weekend at the Castle Combe circuit in Wiltshire.

Championship placings: 1 Nathan Freke 439 points, 2 James Nash 297, 3 Peter Dempsey 294, 4 Christian Ebbesvik 274, 5 Nick Tandy 248, 6 Richard Tannahill 245.

Meanwhile, Kidderminster's Chris Woodhouse seized the lead in the Monoposto 1200cc Championship with victory at Croft circuit last weekend.

In Saturday's race, Woodhouse won by 42 seconds with his best lap four seconds quicker than all of his rivals.

He overcame a bad start to win Sunday's race in wet conditions to take his tally to eight wins in 13 races.