MOTORSPORT: Brake trouble put Wyre Forest kart racer Nathan Freke out of the British Long Circuit 125 Superkart Championship's final race at the weekend.

After a disastrous last championship meeting four weeks earlier, Freke was hoping for better at the Knockhill circuit, north of Edinburgh.

He produced some competitive times on the track in Saturday's test sessions though they were ended prematurely by brake failure.

Apprehensive in his first visit to the track, the Kidderminster teenager was third fastest in practice to take a front-row start for the opening race.

The start was greeted by rain and left drivers virtually blinded by spray as Freke moved up to second from fourth.

He was denied the chance to overtake the lead when two back-markers crashed, causing the yellow no over-taking flags to appear.

And the end result was the chance for two chasing karts to close in and pass Freke, leaving him in fourth place.

On grid four for the second race in deteriorating conditions, he drove well for second place and the fastest lap of the day.

Freke took up a front-grid start for the final race and it was run despite plenty of water on the track with karts displaying high intensity fog lights.

However, the racer admitted: "You could not see the lights on the kart in front until you were about to hit it."

Freke's good start in second place soured when he sailed off the circuit into the gravel trap after three laps while trying to pass the leader at the end of a 115mph straight.

A victim of front-brake failure, he was disappointed but pleased with his pace during the day and now prepares for Brands Hatch in two weeks.