Melton racer Antony Hart hampered by slippery conditions at Snetterton

Hart has picked up seven national classic titles in the last two seasons EMN-180516-083809002

Track conditions were greasy with more than 70 crashes recorded at round two of the CRMC Championships, taking some of the sting out of the racing.

The Melton racer began on board the David King Honda 125 RS, but crashed out of race one while leading after a great scrap to get to the front before a glitch in the new timing system put him at the back of the grid for race two instead of at the front.

The weather worsened as the race began, but with a great ride Hart caught the leaders and set the fastest lap only for more poor luck to strike and another DNF.

The leader crashed out on the last corner of the final lap, and with nowhere to go, Hart had to lay the bike down to avoid the fallen rider.

More work to rebuild the bike once again and a late finish forced Hart to start the third race from the pit lane when all the other competitors had started.

With a steady, confidence-boosting ride he pulled through to sixth place after another fastest lap.

Another good ride in race four brought the Leicestershire rider home in second with another fastest lap to stay in touch with the championship leader and salvage some positives from the weekend.

The story was very similar on the Hart team’s own bike.

Another non-finish followed a huge slide at a very fast corner which put him in the gravel trap with a stalled engine before the timing glitch put him again at the back of the grid for the second.

In the remaining three races he managed a pair of fourth places and a third.

“I’m really struggling to explain how bad the conditions were,” said dad and mechanic Ron.

“When it takes all your skill and courage just to stay upright, it wasn’t the weekend to win a championship. But it would have been very easy to lose one.”

But there was an upside to the weekend, in round two of the ACU championship when Hart crossed the line second after qualifying sixth, a great result.

Hart also raced the Manchester Yamaha for the weekend, which ran faultlessly, allowing him to seal three runners-up spots.

The next round takes place at Oulton Park.