The seventh round of the Buckmore Park club summer championships took place on Sunday; the English summer weather however was a distant memory.

The day began gloomy and continued overcast with occasional drizzle which kept the track surface very slick for the competitors. For this event the young Honda Cadet drivers were racing for the chance to win one of the prestigious ‘H’ trophies for finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd, especially commissioned in honour of Henry Surtees who lost his life five years ago.

The first final of the day was contested by the Junior Max drivers; this was won by Jack McCarthy who was racing for the crack Strawberry team. McCarthy had worked his way into the lead by the third lap where he then stamped his authority over the rest of the field. He eventually stretched his lead out to three seconds over his immediate chasers Max Bird and Jordan Brown-Nutley. They had a huge battle of their own competing for second with Bird consolidating second place on lap 11, taking the race’s fastest lap as he did so.

The Final for the Honda cadets saw the diminutive Harry Thompson starting from pole and leading the early laps all the while looking favourite to collect the largest H trophy. Further back, Luke Whitehead was making amends for a poor Pre-Final (which had seen him hit engine woes) as he was flying up through the field.

Young Luke was gaining one position per lap and eventually grabbed the lead on the eighth of twelve laps, this he held until the end. Meanwhile behind, Thompson had a titanic battle with Nicholas Reeve for the second spot on the podium. Reeve set the fastest lap of the race during their scrap, showing just how hard he had tried. Oliver Marsh picked up a trophy for fourth but unfortunately not one of the coveted H editions.

Tom Prior led from start to finish in the Senior Rotax class, his domination included setting the fastest lap along the way. Kit Brough had held second for the majority of the race, until he was overtaken on lap eight by the eventual runner up Elliot Rice. Brough managed to hold onto third with a decent gap over fourth placed Ashlee Whiteman in fourth.

The Honda Clubman class proved to be an exciting battle between George Leeves and Oliver Bennett. This pair had shared each other’s company in the qualifying heat and Pre-Final and once again they could not be separated in the main final. Oliver had slipped past into the lead at two thirds distance only for George to snatch it back over the last couple of laps. The intensity of their battle had pulled them clear of the rest; this was led by Ambition racing’s Owen Tolley who took the final podium position from Rhys Anthony.

A win from pole saw Kiern Jewiss win his first Mini-Max Final, after making the step up from the Honda Cadet class last month. Charlie Bennett who finished second, had troubled preliminary races but come the final was driving superbly, setting the fastest lap of the race in his chase of Jewiss – Kiern however had built up a large lead over the previous five laps and settled back making sure he didn’t make any mistakes in the tricky conditions to take the chequered flag. Connor McCarthy finished an excellent third.

The last race of the day which took place under the now floodlight circuit saw Joseph Taylor win his IAME Final by a massive eight seconds over second place Reggie Duhy . Third place went to Samuel Shaw who had been involved in a hectic squabble involving four young chargers that kept the race alive.

The next event at Buckmore Park on the 21st December is the final round of the summer championships with double points on offer expect an action packed day ahead. Practice is from 10am with racing soon after, admission is free.