KIDDERMINSTER motor racing champion Nathan Freke tasted the highs and lows of motorsport during the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.

In his first qualifying heat he achieved sixth fastest overall in his Jamun T25 among the 50-plus drivers, but sadly his fortunes were about to change for the worse

In his next race, lining up on the front row, he needed a good start to stand a chance of winning and getting a good grid position for the semi-final.

He took the lead into the first corner, but then his engine started to misfire. He managed to hold on to eighth place until the last two laps when he dropped to 12th as the power loss became worse.

This meant that with 30 cars in each semi-final he started on grid 18 with a big challenge to get into the top four place he needed to stand any chance in the final.

He battled his way up to fifth when on the last lap his car's engine started smoking and stopped on the final corner.

It ended his festival exploits which he summed up by saying: "Having watched the final with the two favourites falling off, it was one that we could have won. However, you need luck and we had plenty - all bad."