An eventful weekend of racing at Thruxton saw Princes Risborough’s Geri Nicosia gain on his closest rivals in the Ginetta Junior Championships.

A crash on his final lap of qualifying meant Nicosia had to battle for a ninth place finish in race one before coming sixth in the second race of the weekend.

The results leave him seventh in the overall championships and have moved him to within six points of sixth place, but the 17-year-old was still not satisfied with his performance.

He said: “We need a bit more luck in qualifying so we can be free of the pack at the start.

“I made a couple of mistakes early in race one and these cost me the Chance of the podium result we should be getting.”

High temperatures meant the cars were running at slightly below their top speed to prevent engines from overheating, but Thruxton is still a famously fast circuit.

This heat did not stop Nicosia from finding his best form as he set an average lap speed of 92mph in qualifying.

His pace may well have been enough to secure a first pole before a collision with another car on the final chicane scuppered his bets lap.

As it was the JHR developments driver had to settle for a eighth placed start on the gird which meant he was involved in a scrap for positions throughout the race and ultimately finished ninth.

Sunday would prove to be a more fruitful for Nicosia as he climbed from his initial starting position of ninth to sixth.

He got off to his typically pacey start and gained two places within the first half a lap while also putting a gap between himself and the drivers behind him.

The front of the track saw cars fighting for places on almost every corner as they often ran three a breast, and after both gaining and losing some positions Nicosia positioned himself in fifth.

Some smart slipstreaming from the field behind him meant he fell one more position to sixth where he would finish the race.

The championship will recommence at Oulton Park on Saturday, June 4.