Geri Nicosia enjoyed his best weekend of the 2016 Ginetta Junior Championship Season as he secured fifth and sixth place finishes at Oulton Park.

Nicosia, who is from Princes Risborough, has climbed two places in the overall drivers’ standings to joint fifth by virtue of the results.

His performance was made all the more impressive by the fact he struggled in qualifying and the 16-year-old, who turns 17 on Saturday, was left with a bitter-sweet taste after the race.

He said: “Once again poor qualifying is hurting us [and] we spend the rest of the weekend recovering, but we take confidence from our best weekend so far to the next round in two weeks.”

Starting 10th on the grid, Nicosia made his intentions to attack clear from the outset of race one as he moved up to sixth inside three laps.

He was now hot on the heels of fifth place and the pressure eventually told as a mistake on a chicane allowed the pursuing Nicosia to glide past his rival.

With two laps remaining Nicosia made inroads on the front pack, but was unable to bridge the gap to fourth and had to settle for fifth at the chequered flag.

Saturday’s success left Nicosia brimming with confidence for Sunday’s televised race and the JHR Developments driver’s over exuberance would dent his chances.

Fifth on the grid soon became ninth as a wheel spin allowed a steady stream of cars to breeze past him before even reaching the first corner.

Nicosia’s response was excellent, however, and some impressive passing moves saw him climb three places to sixth position by the end of the third lap.

He may have prospered further, but an incident further back in the field led to the final three laps of the race being played out under safety car conditions with no overtaking.

Nicosia can still be content with his 38 point haul from a productive weekend and will look to continue his form when the championship moves to Croft Circuit on Saturday, June 18.