Strood based MBM Motorsport impressed at the latest round of the MSA Formula Championship last weekend at Donington Park.

The team showed their speed and talent with some thrilling driving to come through the pack in what was difficult conditions.

While tough qualifying sessions and collisions meant results were not as the Kent-based team had hoped for, drivers Harry Hayek and Jamie Caroline could not be faulted for effort or determination.

Australian Harry got among the points once more in the final race, while Warlingham racer Jamie finished just outside the podiums in the second race and was unlucky after some particularly outstanding overtaking in another.

Team manager James Mundy was disappointed with the final outcome but delighted at how both drivers reacted to the setbacks along the way.

He said: “It was a difficult weekend, but both drivers were solid, drove really well and staged good comebacks.

“There were a lot of collisions across the whole grid which, added to the bad weather, made it hard to get any momentum.Harry did a great job in testing, but was unlucky with some of the incidents in the races.Jamie didn’t have the best testing session, but raced really well. We didn’t get it right in qualifying which unfortunately set the tone for the weekend.

“But there were plenty of positives and now we have to work hard to put things right for Thruxton.”

Harry, 18, was fast in testing, finishing in the Top 6 in the dry. However, qualifying didn’t go to plan, with 12^th and 11th place finishes.”

Hail and bad weather affected the first race and although he got off to a good start, a collision on the first lap saw him drop back. He made an excellent recovery to finish strongly in 11^th.

Another good start in the second race had Harry running in eighth until the introduction of the safety car. A knock with another driver soon after the restart lost him several positions and after pulling himself back into the race, he was involved in another, this time leaving him spinning and undeservedly in 12^th place at the end.

Harry finished the weekend in the points, despite another collision halting his good start in the final race. He came back strongly again to finish tenth for his second point of the Championship.

Jamie, 17, got off to a stuttering start at Donington. With the tyres taking some time to get to the right temperature, the best times were being posted near the end of the qualifying session.

Unfortunately, after spinning in some mud, Jamie’s tyres were still cold at the end of the session leaving him qualifying in 15^th.

But the determined racer then amazed spectators with some brilliant overtaking in the first race, getting to sixth place within the first lap.

But just when a most unlikely podium was on the cards, he lost some ground through braking late. Nevertheless, he could be delighted with an eighth place finish at the end.

Last season’s Ginetta Junior champion started eighth in the second race, driving well to finish 5^th, despite a collision after the restart following the intervention of the safety car.

He put in another strong, pacey performance in the final race to come home in seventh, despite starting again in 15^th.

James added: “It didn’t go our way this weekend, but I thought the lads did a great job in difficult circumstances. It was always going to be tough after qualifying. We now need to go away and work hard and find the pace again for Thruxton. Hopefully, we can get back to where we want to be in the next rounds.”

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