Bobby Varey held off points leader Barry Burrell to become just the third different winner of the year in this evening’s F 900 R Cup Main Race.
The Bobby Varey Racing machine lined up on pole with Kieran Smith second on the grid and points leader Burrell third – and at the start, it was Smith and Burrell who got away the quickest.
Smith led into Turn One but Burrell scythed through and into the lead moments later, as Varey slotted into third ahead of Nikki Coates as Josh Corner moved past Kenny Macleod in the opening lap into fifth position.
The top five stayed the same over the next half a dozen laps, Burrell stretching his lead to almost a second until Varey started to close in on Lap Six.
A lap later, the gap was down to less than half a second and before the end of the seventh lap Varey had made a move, passing Burrell to take the lead.
By Lap Nine, Varey had almost half a second in hand but as backmarkers came into play, Burrell was able to close in. Behind, Coates was looking quick and managed to pass Smith for third on the penultimate lap.
As the pack began the final lap, Varey’s lead was down to 0.210s as they once again came up against slower machines. But the leader was able to hold it together just long enough to cross the line first, albeit just 0.060secs clear of Burrell.
Behind, Smith and Coates were scrapping for the final podium spot, the pair swapping places in the final part of the track but eventually it went the way of Smith, with Coates forced to settle for fourth as Corner crossed the line in fifth place.
As a result of his second place, Burrell has extended his championship lead to 26 points over Kieran Smith.
ROKiT OFF BMW F 900 R Cup, Main Race result:
1. Bobby Varey (Bobby Varey Racing)
2. Barry Burrell (Halliwell Jones) +0.060secs
3. Kieran Smith (GP Titan Tech by Bathams) +2.981s
4. Nikki Coates (LDC BMW by Frimley Pits Racing) +3.258s
5. Josh Corner (Chasin the Racin Podcast) +3.444s
Championship positions after Round Seven:
1. Barry Burrell 209
2. Kieran Smith 183
3. Nikki Coates 174
4. Bobby Varey 174
5. Josh Corner 167