Kieran Smith took victory in the opening Heat race this morning, while Bobby Varey scuppered hopes of a Smith twins double as he won Heat Two.
The opening BMW scrap turned out to be a dramatic one, as the main championship big hitters all lined up on the same grid.
Smith passed polesitter Barry Burrell at the start and it was the beginning of eight hectic laps, as the lead changed between Smith, points leader Nikki Coates and Josh Corner over the course of the race, as Burrell spent much of the race in second or third place.
It all came down to a final lap battle which unfortunately didn’t end well for some of the riders. Corner had led into the lap with Coates trying to pass at Old Hall before trying again into Island.
Burrell was now in the mix and it looked to be a three-rider scrap – but then Corner clipped Coates forcing them both off. Burrell had nowhere to go and also ran off.
Smith now had Dale Thomas to fend off and the pair raced to the line, Smith taking the win by 0.028secs as Burrell, who had been able to keep going, was able to salvage third, with Jack Tynan fourth and Rob McNealey fifth.
Heat Two turned out to be much less frantic. James Ellison flew off the line from the second row and led into Turn One but Christian Smith was close behind and soon made a move into the lead.
Behind, Varey settled into second and despite a bit of pressure from Ellison in the early laps, was able to shake him off to keep himself close to Smith.
Bjorn Estment, meanwhile, took a few laps to get dialled in but made a move into third position on the fifth lap but by now was too far off the leaders to be able to catch.
Varey took the lead on Lap Five and despite a lot of pressure from Smith, was able to keep him behind to cross the line 0.053secs ahead for victory. Smith was second with Estment third, Kenny Macleod fourth and Ellison fifth.
Heat One result:
1. Kieran Smith (GP Titan Tech by Bathams)
2. Dale Thomas (DT Racing) +0.028s
3. Barry Burrell (Halliwell Jones) +6.409s
4. Jack Tynan (ROKiT Rookies) +1.225s
5. Rob McNealey (McNealey Brown) +9.455s
Heat Two result:
1. Bobby Varey (Bobby Varey Racing)
2. Christian Smith (SCH Motoprep by Bathams) +0.053s
3. Bjorn Estment (Bru Squad Moto) +3.709s
4. Kenny McLeod (True Heroes Racing) +7.007s
5. James Ellison (Team HSO) +8.225s