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BURNS AND GOODING ON TOP IN ROCKINGHAM THRILLER

Burns took a pole and a win in his best weekend to date – Photo: James Roberts

If the first two meetings of the season in the Fiesta Junior Championship were any sort of marker for how the rest of the season was set to play out, the recent weekend at Rockingham Motor Speedway certainly confirmed that we’re on course for an almighty battle all the way to the final meeting. The two encounters in Corby produced what was lauded by a number of people as some of the best racing in FJC’s history.

Qualifying quickly produced an unexpected shock as when the field lined up for Race 1, it was Cameron Pugh and Bradley Burns lined up on the front row, much to everyone’s surprise. Burns got the better start of the two as positively began to romp away in the opening laps, leaving the chasing pack of Harry Gooding, James Waite the aforementioned Pugh and Callum Hawkins-Row to give chase.  Sadly, issues forced Pugh down the order, while Waite wouldn’t see the flag due to retiring at the last corner with a couple of laps to go.

At the front, Burns emphatically drove home to complete his first ever FJC victory, becoming the 4th different winner in 5 races with Gooding 2nd and Hawkins-Row 3rd, making it a Jam-Sport lockout on the remainder of the podium. Lochlan Bearman’s consistent results netted him 4th with Sikandar Hussain once again impressing with a strong 5th. Shoutout to the latest addition to the FJC grid Nicholas Reeve too, who managed an incredible 6th place in his first ever race!

For Race 2, Burns was once again on pole however this time Gooding and Hawkins-Row picked up from where they’d left off in the previous race and hassled Burns much more throughout. Eventually, Bradley was forced to capitulate at 2/3rds distance to the Jam-Sport pair who subsequently proceeded to drive away together at the front. Gooding did more than enough to clinch his second win of the season, becoming only the second driver to win more than one race this year along with Elliot Wilson. Burns remained 3rd ahead of a resurgent Carlito Miracco recovering from Race 1 troubles to end up 4th, with Bearman once again reaching the top 5 from Hussain and Danny Harrison.

With dropped scores now coming into play, Harry Gooding now assumes the role of championship leader ahead of Miracco by just 3 points with Wilson still a further point back in 3rd despite seeming off the pace at Rockingham. Burns’ stellar results here see him catapult up the rankings to 4th from Hussain, Bearman and Waite. The Juniors will now make a second trip to Norfolk with another pair of races on the Snetterton 300 circuit in order. Stay tuned for the next incredible chapter of this amazing FJC year!

A more detailed report will be available shortly in the Race Reports section. For a full breakdown of the results, you can find them via TSL Timing HERE.

Ref Scott Woodwiss