Adam Fleetwood reset the outright hill record at Gurston Down in the second of the two Tran-X British Championship Top 12 run-offs

The 23-year-old Shropshire driver gunned his amazing 3.3 litre V8 powered Gould GR55 single seat racecar to a new best time of 26.61 secs on a day when the unpredictable weather was a key factor.

A heavy shower during the morning class slowed the later runners in the entry, so few of the main protagonists qualified for the first of the two run-offs.

A swift charge by Jonathan Goodyear in the 2.3 litre turbocharged Pilbeam MP87 netted not just the first win for the young pilot but also his first championship points of the season.

Local drivers Ian Chard (New Milton) and Mike Gregory (Stockbridge) were among the beneficiaries of the rain, both qualifying for the first run-off, with Chard finishing seventh and Gregory ninth to bag some British Championship points on their home hill.

There were no further interventions by the weather so the second Top 12 run-off saw the expected gathering of the country's fastest car/driver combinations line up for their one-shot charges

And it was second fastest qualifier Fleetwood who set the hill alight with a 140 mph finish-line blast and a stunning 26.61 secs run time to lay down the gauntlet to reigning champion, current series leader and fastest qualifier Graeme Wight Junior.

But as Wight left the start his engine stuttered as fuel pressure gremlins struck and the much-anticipated fightback was cruelly terminated. Wight's 1,600 mile round-trip from Aberdeenshire had yielded no points whatsoever, although the day's mixed results meant that at least he remained top of the British Championship table.

Alresford's Andrew Russell won the up-to-1400c modprod sports car class by over two seconds in his 1.1 Ginetta and Bournemouth's Andrew Crump, who has never won at Gurston Down, changed all that by taking the up-to-2000cc modprod saloon class in his 2.0 Ford Escort.

The unlimited capacity modprod classes saw Richard Hillyar (New Milton) take the victory laurels in the saloon division with his 2.0 Renault 21 turbo.

Ian Chard triumphed in the up-to-1600cc racing car class despite his 1.6 DJ Firehawk being under-geared on the day.

Peter Sexton (Lymington) was third in the same class, just three quarters of a second behind Chard in his 1.4 OMS. Next events at Gurston Down are on June 14 and 15.