Joshua Hiatt battles rain to stay on right track

The youngster, from Heath Hayes, near Cannock, enjoyed bright sunshine on Good Friday at the Llandow circuit only to see rain swoop in for the rest of the three race opener.

But Josh, aged 13, kept his cool, despite racing in the Metrakit 70 class on a 70cc bike for the first time, to secure two seventh-placed finishes and a fourth.

The series has seen some of the world's greatest racers come through its ranks, including current world Moto Three champion, Danny Kent, who was track side for the races.

Josh's father, Nigel, said: "It was a great day out and even better to see Danny Kent and a few other British Superbike riders there.

"His lap times also kept coming down throughout despite the weather, falling from one minute and six seconds in the first race down to 55 seconds in the third.

"It was the first time he had raced competitively on the Metrakit bikes and he absolutely loved it. You could see the enjoyment on his face."

Josh, who sits sixth in the championship following the opening round, is also following the same early career paths as Scott Redding and Bradley Smith.

They are both now racing in Moto GP, the world's premier motorbike class, and started their careers in FAB-Racing before working their way through the ranks.

FAB-Racing has also produced five British champions in various class, which all support the British Superbike series.

Josh is also campaigning in the Junior Production Mini Moto series on water-cooled bikes, which can still reach 60mph.

Despite dominating on the smaller bikes in recent years, technical issues scuppered his plans during the opening weekend.

Nigel said: "We had some real issues with the mini bikes, including clutch and carburettor problems.

"He qualified in 11th position and managed to fight his way back to eighth but we had to sit out the other two races.

"He still wants to be competitive on the smaller bikes but his focus now has to the Metrakit series.

"It was a shame the weather turned because he really getting to grips with the bigger bikes.

"Everyone is always more nervous in the rain but the most important thing was he managed to stay on, which a lot of others failed to do.

"One problem with the bigger bike was the front sprocket was sheared off but I managed to fix that.

"There were a few other teething problems but we'll have to try and work out what went wrong with the mini bike."

The Metrakit and production junior series includes eight different rounds. The next meeting will be at the Red Lodge circuit in Suffolk on April 15-17.