A wet and cold day at Buckmore Park saw a good turnout from drivers who hope to put in some good practise for the up-and-coming Super One Championship meeting on the 17^th/18th of May.

The first final of the day was the Junior Max class, which provided some great driving from both the eventual winner of the race, Will Heasman (51); and second place driver, Jonathan Wilkes (55).

Both drove comfortably, with Heasman leading from start to finish. A slight hiccup from Wilkes at the start saw him slip to third, being overtaken by the subsequent third place finisher, Sam Baker (26). Wilkes managed to regain the place within a lap, pulling ahead of the pack alongside Heasman as the race progressed.

The Honda Cadet final was won by Harry Thompson (17). After starting second, he managed to overtake pole sitter Tom Canning (7) who eventually finished 5^th.

He led the race from then on in; increasing his lead with every passing lap. Second place went to Christopher Lulham. After qualifying 4^th, he managed to overtake Canning at the midpoint of the race, and take second from 4^th place finisher, Nicholas Reeve (32) as the race was nearing its end on lap 9. Jenson Butterfield (11) concluded the podium with a well-deserved 3^rd place, after climbing positions from a good start.

James Freeman (99) qualified on pole, led throughout and won the Junior Subaru class final. A pattern started to emerge in these finals where the leader extended their lead as the race got closer to the chequered flag.

Second place was also maintained from the starting grid as Andy Spencer (88) was able to fend off his position from Christopher Bridle (20) who was placed 3^rd up until lap 10, when Chandler Horsefield (12) managed to take the place. He also challenged Spencer, but had to settle for 3^rd after gaining 3 positions from his grid place.

As the sun disappeared in the sky, the Buckmore Park floodlights were turned on for the final of the Mini-Max class which, again, saw the leader start in the lead and build a gap between him and second place as the race grew older. Charlie Bennett (42) stormed his class with a pole, win, and fastest lap, as well as winning his other heats.

Competition was fierce early on as Morgan Porter (79) put pressure on Bennett, but couldn’t cope with the pace of the leader as laps went by. All podium finishers, Bennett, Porter, and Patrick Kibble (22); finished in their starting positions, all of which being well-earned results.

In the Honda Clubman and IAME classes, today’s pattern was replicated. This time, in the Clubman class, from 2^nd place starter, Oliver Bennett. He successfully overtook Alexander Moody (99) who finished 2^nd, on the second lap of the race.

Leading from there, Bennett cruised to victory. Both Bennett and Moody made a sizable gap between themselves and the rest of the pack, before securing their final positions. The IAME class, raced in the same race, was won by Samuel Shaw (16). It was a small group of only 5 drivers, but a good win for Shaw nonetheless.

The biggest win of the day came in the Rotax Max Final and Rotax 177 class, where Kit Brough (66) won by an astonishing 10 seconds, with Tom Prior (71) coming 2^nd, and Elliot Rice (74) concluding the podium.

Credit is due to Prior after a brilliant start saw him jump 5 places within the space of one lap. We cannot be distracted, though, from Brough’s win. He was able to clock the fastest lap of the day, at 51.11 seconds; and was already in the pits when his closest competitor, Prior, finished!

Report by George Livett

Pictures supplied by Paul Babington Photography.