Barry Burrell and Nikki Coates have celebrated victories in this afternoon’s two F 900 R Cup Heat races as racing began at Thruxton.
Burrell, who led all practice and qualifying sessions, hit the front at the start and although he had Kieran Smith breathing down his neck for the whole race, the former points leader was never quite able to make a move which stuck.
Smith had hit the front briefly on the fifth lap but the defending champion was quickly back ahead and from there he managed to hold off his rival to win by just 0.104secs.
Behind, Dale Thomas enjoyed a bit of an early battle with Kenny Macleod for third and while Macleod did get ahead on Lap Four, Thomas soon stole it back and ended up beating him to the line by a couple of seconds as Bobby Varey rounded out the top five.
Heat Two brought a much more dramatic battle. From pole, Josh Corner hit the front at the green light but could only manage to stay ahead for a lap and a half, as Christian Smith – who arrived as points leader – stormed past on Lap Two.
Nikki Coates was also in the mix and it quickly became a three-way scrap which lasted all the way to the flag.
Smith led for the next couple of laps before Coates came past on Lap Four and the pair swapped positions a few more times over the next few laps, with Corner also well in the mix.
It came down to a last lap showdown as all three made a bid for the lead, running together all the way to the flag. Coates managed to just get ahead at the right time to get enough of a lead to win by almost half a second over Corner as Smith had to settle for third, with Jack Tynan and Simon Bastable rounding out the top five.
Following the ball draw, Smith twins Christian and Kieran will start tomorrow’s Main Race from pole and second position respectively, with Dale Thomas third, Corner fourth, Coates fifth and Burrell sixth.
Heat One result:
1. Barry Burrell (Halliwell Jones)
2. Kieran Smith (GP Titan Tech by Bathams) +0.104s
3. Dale Thomas (DT Racing) +0.921s
4. Kenny Macleod (True Heroes Racing) +3.482s
5. Bobby Varey (Bobby Varey Racing) +12.381
Heat Two result:
1. Nikki Coates (LDC BMW by Frimley Pits Racing)
2. Josh Corner (Chasin the Racing Podcast) +0.429s
3. Christian Smith (SCH Motoprep by Bathams) +0.715s
4. Jack Tynan (ROKiT Rookies) +7.713s
5. Simon Bastable (WSC Performance BMW) +14.903s