THE British Automobile Racing Club meeting at Croft Circuit last weekend saw some stars of the future in action in the Junior Saloon Car Championship, headed by a number of drivers from the region, all in similar Citroen Saxos.

Leading the way with a double victory was 16-year-old Katie Milner, from York, who showed she was a chip off the old block by demonstrating the talent of her father, Jonny, who was a regular in rallycross at Croft before going on to become British rally champion.

Northallerton’s Ethan Hammerton was in good form in his Walter Thompson-backed non-VTR version. He claimed sixth place in race one before taking fifth in race two. Tockwith driver Ed Moore took fourth in the opening race, but could only manage eighth next time out, while York’s Will Dyrdal took a best result of eighth. Harrogate driver Finlay Robinson posted a best result of 14th as York’s Matty Greenwood retired in race two after claiming 20th in the opening outing.

There was also plenty of action in rounds nine and 10 of the Darlington and District Motor Club-organised Northern Sports and Saloon Car Championship. Eaglescliffe contractor Bill Addison was again in top form when he took a brace of victories in the open classes (A and E) in his Addison Plant Hire-sponsored Caterham Superlight R400.

Another former NSSCC champion, York’s Mike Cutt, finished seventh in race one before retiring his BMW M3 in race two, while Darlington driver Mark Laybourne took his Westfield FW999 to a pair of top 10 finishes, claiming a class win in the process. Simon Mayne, from Northallerton, chased him home in race one before finishing seventh in race two, taking the Arion S2 999 to a superb class victory.

Yarm’s Neil Finnighan took 13th overall and a class win in the opening race before retiring his Caterham in race two, while Consett driver Alan McPherson endured a troubled weekend in his Peugeot 206 to retire from both races. Teesside’s Jack Harper took the erstwhile Triumph Spitfire to 16th overall and second in class before Croft legend Ron took over on Sunday to claim a top 10 place.

In the clubman classes (B, C, D and H), the top five were the same in both races. Boroughbridge driver Kirk Armitage took the wins in his BMW M3, closely followed on each occasion by Darlington’s Martin Whitehouse (BMW 328), who won his class as a result. David Botterill, from Stockton, claimed a pair of third places in his Porsche 944 Turbo, just ahead of Class B winner David Cox, from Darlington, in his Walkers Tyres-backed Peugeot 205. Fifth went the way of Darlington driver Stephen Craggs, who took second in class in his Ford Fiesta for good measure.

Other local drivers included Ripon’s Louise Claxton, who took her Peugeot 106 to a best result of 12th in class D, with Darlington driver David Hewitson also taking a best result of 12th and third in class B1 in his Toyota Supra. Ingleby Barwick’s Stephen Kell retired his Sierra XR4x4 in both races.

THRUXTON, in Hampshire, was the destination for the latest round of the MCE British Superbike Championship, with a number of the region’s road racers making the long trip south.

Saltburn’s Davey Todd was back in the points on his Morello Kawasaki when he took 12th place in the Pirelli National 600 Championship race, while in the Ducati TriOptions Cup, Middlesbrough rider Rik Rooney followed up his 28th place on Saturday with 23rd in the cooler conditions of Sunday.

In the Pirelli Superstock 1000 race, County Durham’s Chrissy Rouse took his CECS Mission Racing BMW to ninth place, scoring points in the process, while Newcastle rider Barry Teasdale just missed out when he finished 17th on his GreenChem/BNR BMW. Neil Bainbridge, from Hutton Rudby, qualified his KLM/Hare Kawasaki in 32nd place before finishing 28th out of the 39 competitors, upping his pace to lap nearly a second faster than during qualifying.

Meanwhile, Northallerton plumber Phil Stead was again in good form at Oliver's Mount, where he took his Yamaha TZ250 to a pair of victories and a brilliant fifth place in the Bob Smith Memorial feature race at the Scarborough parkland track.

THE Redcar SG Petch Bears speedway team held their annual Julie Lewis Memorial Trophy meeting last week in memory of their late office manager.

The final line-up was Bears' Lee Payne, Max Clegg (Edinburgh), Dan Bewley (Edinburgh) and Rob Shuttleworth (Belle Vue).

Shuttleworth led the race for three laps and looked set to win, but Bewley in second as Clegg pushed really hard but could not stay with the leading pair. Bewley made a brave move around the outside of Shuttleworth on the last lap to take the chequered flag and the trophy.

The following night, the Bears were racing in Plymouth and were narrowly beaten 48-42 by the Devils. The close result earned the Bears one league point.

The Bears followed up with a trip to Peterborough the next day for the Premier League Fours competition, where all teams compete. But the Bears were unlucky not to qualify in their group and didn’t make the final.