Saturday - 2WD
Saturday's 2WD action produced close racing throughout the field, with competitive battles from the L Final all the way through to a thrilling three-leg A Final. Consistency proved to be just as important as outright pace, with drivers needing to keep mistakes to a minimum over the demanding layout at Sunny Southport Club.
The lower finals got the afternoon underway, with Philip Hitchman taking victory in the L Final before Jack Flynn claimed the K Final with an impressive 11-lap run. Roger Mills headed the J Final, while Andrew Shillito produced a controlled drive to win the I Final ahead of Emily Heward.
The H Final saw Euan McLeod come out on top after a closely fought race, with Peter Craig and James Gibbs completing the podium. In the G Final, Hudson Knight was the only driver to complete 12 laps, comfortably taking victory ahead of Ben Elliot and David Burton.
As the pace increased through the finals, Calum Trewartha delivered one of the standout drives of the afternoon in the F Final, reaching 12 laps while the rest of the field remained on 11. The E Final was another close affair, with Chris Foster edging Isaac McFadyean by less than half a second after five minutes of racing.
The D Final featured one of the closest contests of the day, with Colin May taking the win from William Fisher and James Helliwell. Oliver Nattress then led the C Final from start to finish, producing a clean and consistent drive to finish ahead of Adam Perei, while Stuart Mahon claimed the B Final with a composed performance over Archie Bowman.
Attention then turned to the three-leg A Final, where the country's leading 2WD drivers put on an entertaining show. Tommy Hall laid down an early marker by taking Leg 1 ahead of Ben Smith, before Luke Holdsworth hit back in Leg 2 to keep the overall result alive heading into the deciding race.
With everything to play for in Leg 3, Hall delivered when it mattered most, taking his second leg victory of the evening to secure the overall win with a 1-2-1 scoreline. Luke Holdsworth's victory in the second leg, combined with a strong third-place finish in the decider, earned him second overall, while Ben Smith's consistent performances secured the final podium position.
Just behind the podium, Josh Holdsworth recovered strongly to finish fourth overall after taking second place in the final leg, with Jamie Hall completing the top five. Former multiple National Champion Lee Martin worked his way to sixth overall after improving across the three finals, while Lewis Hopkins, Jonathan Skidmore, Charlie Saunders and Thomas Phipps rounded out the A Final order.
The 2WD class showcased excellent racing across every final, with close battles, impressive consistency and plenty of overtaking providing an entertaining conclusion to Saturday's action before attention switched to the 4WD category.
Sunday - 4WD
Following the conclusion of the 2WD action, attention switched to the high-speed 4WD class, where grip levels and outright pace stepped up another level. As with the earlier class, every final produced close racing, with drivers rewarded for consistency over the demanding five-minute encounters.
The L Final saw Simon Preston take victory ahead of Christopher Cherry, before Lee Stokes headed the K Final after a measured drive over Jessie Russell and Daniel Hall. Jack Mills-White was another driver to produce a dominant performance, taking the J Final with 13 laps, while Andrew Luxford led home the I Final after a consistent run.
James Gibbs claimed the H Final ahead of Emily Heward, while Roger Tugwood emerged victorious in the G Final after holding off Evie Tames in one of the closest finishes of the afternoon. The F Final was equally competitive, with Euan McLeod taking the win from Chris Pattinson and Chris Foster after all three completed 13 laps.
Hattie Tames continued her impressive form by leading the E Final from start to finish, with Tristram Neal and Stephen Brown completing the podium. The D Final proved to be one of the closest races of the day, with less than a second separating the top three as Alex Pyatt narrowly edged James Pritchard and Jacob Thomlinson.
Ryan Clarke produced a strong drive to win the C Final ahead of Matt Drewett, while Thomas Phipps controlled the B Final with a 14-lap run. Mark Anthony Jones and Matthew Thompson completed the podium in another closely contested race.
The three-leg A Final delivered a fitting conclusion to Sunday's racing. Ben Smith struck first by taking Leg 1, but Josh Holdsworth responded immediately with victory in Leg 2 to set up a winner-takes-all final encounter.
When it mattered most, Josh Holdsworth produced another faultless drive to take Leg 3 and with it the overall 4WD victory, finishing with an impressive 2-1-1 scoreline. Ben Smith's opening leg win ensured he secured second overall, while Luke Holdsworth climbed onto the podium with a superb second place in the final leg to claim third overall.
Daniel Pole showed excellent pace throughout the finals to finish fourth overall, narrowly ahead of Tommy Hall, who remained in contention across all three legs despite dropping to 14 laps in the deciding race. Charlie Saunders recovered well to take sixth overall after a third-place finish in the final leg, with multiple National Champion Lee Martin ending the day seventh. Hudson Knight, Jamie Hall and Archie Bowman completed the top ten after three hard-fought finals.
Sunday's racing provided an excellent spectacle for the 4WD class, with close competition throughout the field and no shortage of dramatic battles. Tommy Hall and Josh Holdsworth ended the weekend with the premier class victories in 2WD and 4WD respectively, setting the stage perfectly for another competitive weekend as we head into the 5th round of the series at Bury club in August.

