Local karter Hughes just misses out on a first place (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Local karter Hughes just misses out on a first place

AFTER a nail-biting affair at Whilton Mill on August 24, Richard Hughes secured second place - but he just missed out on a victory by the small margin of 900ths of a second.

Following the qualifying heats, a full grid of 30 drivers lined up in the Rotax Max 125 class with current Championship leader Glen Denny and defending champion Hughes, from Castle Eaton, near Swindon, on the front row.

And so the stage was set for another epic battle between the two rivals. From the rolling start, Hughes, who is supported by Total Butler fuels, tucked in behind Denny and stayed on his bumper for the first three laps.

Hughes then pulled off a move in the Boot complex to take the lead, but on the next lap Denny used the slipstream on the straight to take it back again.

The pair of them were nip and tuck for the remainder of the race and frequently alongside each other, bringing loud cheers from the crowd.

On the final corner, Richard tried one last time and the pair crossed the line together.

The electronic timing system declared Glen as the winner by 0.09 seconds!

"It was a bit frustrating," said Richard afterwards.

"My Arrow chassis was quicker than Glen's Tonykart through the tighter parts of the circuit, but he was just faster on the straight.

"He knew, therefore, where to defend and had most of the overtaking places covered.

"I had to leave my main attempt until the last lap, but of course he was expecting it and made it just too tight for me to achieve.

"It was a good race, though, and I am now looking forward to the Midland Championships at Rissington in two weeks' time."