Simon Belcher is hoping for a grand conclusion to his first season in the UK’s biggest and best motorsport category, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, when the 2014 season reaches its climax next weekend, 11th/12th October, at Brands Hatch in Kent.Having begun his maiden season in the BTCC at the South East venue back at the end of March on the short Indy Circuit layout, the Handy Motorsport driver is relishing the return visit to Brands on the full Grand Prix configuration – especially as it’s his favourite track on the calendar.“I really can’t believe the season is almost over, it doesn’t seem five minutes since we were planning our graduation into touring cars last year and now we’re preparing for the final round”, commented Belcher, “I’m really pleased Brands Hatch GP is hosting the championship finale, I always love driving that circuit and getting my teeth into its challenges. Hopefully we can have a strong end to 2014.”It’s been a rollercoaster first year in the hugely competitive BTCC for 40-year-old Belcher, with good flashes of pace and clear progression tempered by some unfortunate incidents which have stymied the flow of the season – not least his car-wrecking accident at Thruxton in May when he left the circuit at 140mph at the fastest part of the track.Bouncing back strongly, the double Renault UK Clio Cup Masters Cup Champion has continually plugged away and after the mid-season break in the summer significant gains were made with the set-up on his KÄRCHER-liveried Toyota Avensis.Delivering his most competitive performance of the year in practice for the races at Knockhill in Scotland in August, everything looked on course for a season-best series of results but driveshaft failure at the start of qualifying spoiled those chances – typical of the misfortune Belcher has had to deal with in his debut season.The last couple of events, at Rockingham and Silverstone, have both been blighted by contact so one of the chief aims for the Brands Hatch finale is to avoid the scuffles in the pack and forge forward for three consistently strong finishes, and hopefully more Independents Trophy points.“We have had far more than our share of bad luck this season, maybe the final weekend can bring an end to that and give us a big boost going into the winter”, said Belcher, “Everyone will be trying harder than ever to make a big impression, but that could also lead to some mistakes from a few people so we need to be in a position to capitalise on anything like that.“The car has definitely been working well the last few rounds, the team has done a great job and it’d be fantastic to repay everyone for their efforts this year with our best weekend yet. It’s been a dream come true racing in the BTCC this season, everything we expected and much more besides.”Following free practice at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit next Saturday, 11th October, qualifying will take place at 15.35. Round 28 is scheduled to start at 11.30 on Sunday, 12th October, with round 29 beginning at 14.20 and round 30 following at 17.10 – all three encounters will be screened live, as ever, on ITV4 and ITV4 HD with streaming online at www.itv.com/btccProvisional 2014 Dunlop MSA BTCC ‘Independents Trophy’ standings (after Rd27):=24th Simon Belcher, 4ptsProvisional 2014 Dunlop MSA BTCC ‘Independents Team Trophy’ standings (after Rd27):16th Handy Motorsport, 65pts