Guisborough superbike racer Dennis Hobbs overcame the pain of a broken ankle to score an impressive pair of podium finishes at a warm and sunny Mondello Park in Ireland last weekend.

The 21-year-old passed a fitness test, following a high-speed tumble the previous weekend in Italy, to enable him to race in round five of the British Superbike Cup aboard the Scott Leathers-supported Hobbs Racing 1000cc Suzuki.

He was immediately on the pace as he qualified in an impressive 12th place around the tight and twisty County Kildare track.

Hobbs made the most of the inside line into the tight first hairpin to run with the leaders for the opening laps in the first of the day's two races until a combination of the more powerful works bikes and the pain from his smashed right ankle saw him relegated down the leaderboard.

But he battled on to salvage third in the Superbike Cup, one place ahead of main rival James Ellison.

The second race saw Hobbs lose time in a first corner shunt, but he again soldiered on and clawed his way up the field, eventually crossing the line in second position to claim his eighth rostrum finish of the season.

Hobbs' considerable pain was somewhat eased when Ellison failed to finish in the second race, meaning the Guisborough racer left Mondello Park just eight points adrift of his rival with seven rounds still remaining.

In order to rest the injury, a planned outing in the European Superstock Championship at Oschersleben in Germany this weekend has been cancelled as the team prepare for the next round of the THINK! British Superbike Championship which takes place at Thruxton in Hampshire next weekend.

Also in action at Mondello was Middlesbrough's Paul Veazey, who was hoping for a good run aboard his JR Motosport Yamaha R6.

The 17-year-old had spent a couple of weeks training and preparing for the race with teammate Jamie Robinson and things were looking promising as Veazey gradually improved during practice, eventually qualifying on row eight of the grid for the British Supersport race.

Sadly for Veazey, he was a victim of a crash on the first corner and, despite not falling himself, had to rejoin the race dead last.

With a spirited ride as he adapts from his 125cc style to the more technical approach of 600cc racing, Veazey battled his way to 27th at the flag and incredibly, despite his early misfortune, he remained on the same lap as the race winner.

Stockton-born Michael Hill secured his first finish of the season at Mondello after a traumatic start to the season which has seen the London-based 25-year-old suffer a host of setbacks.

Riding the Taboo Motorsports 125cc Honda, Hill battled on to claim 25th place at the end of the televised 125cc race and restore some much needed confidence to the team.

While in Ireland, Hill also tested the factory Aprilia of the TJW Racing Team and was subsequently offered a two-year contract with the team subject to being able to raise the required £35,000.

The opening round of the Eastern Airways Sidecar Championship eventually kicked off at Mondello with a couple of local crews well in contention.

Nine-times world champion Steve Webster, from Easingwold, took his 32nd consecutive pole position before romping to victory with passenger Paul Woodhead in Saturday's first race aboard their 1000cc Castrol Suzuki.

However, a recurrence of an old injury saw Woodhead struggling and Webster dropped back while challenging for the lead in Sunday's second race to finish runner-up to the southern pairing of Tim and Tristan Reeves.

Scotton's Greg Lambert, along with passenger James Sirrell, claimed a pair of fourth places on the Dalepak Suzuki to lie fourth in the championship going into the next round at Silverstone next month.

* Ten-year-old Max Coates, from Scorton, is setting the world of kart racing alight. Following recent successes, he is now lying seventh in the National WTP Little Green Man Cadet Karting Championship.

Max is taking part in this series for the first time and is proving very competitive, taking a 16th position in the first round at Fulbeck in Lincolnshire, followed by a 12th at Shenington in Oxfordshire on his first visit to the circuit.

He then took a brilliant ninth place at the Three Sisters circuit, near Wigan, again on his first visit to this very fast track. Having qualified in sixth, the result could have been even better if his last corner move had worked out. He went for the inside line while in sixth place, but lost out on the run to the finish line.

Competition is fierce as there are more than 60 competitors aged between eight and 12 registered for the championship and racing on karts at speeds of more than 60mph at circuits nationwide.

Max has impressed at each track and was awarded the top performance trophy for the day at Three Sisters. This included a drive which saw him start in 25th position in one of the heats and finish an amazing sixth.

In addition to the national championships, Max is also competing at club level at Warden Law and Rowrah, in Cumbria. Rowrah, a favourite circuit of the Coates Garage team, sees the next round of the WTP Challenge.

l Yarm car racer Bill Addison suffered a catalogue of problems when the Caterham Roadsports Championship visited Knockhill in Fife last weekend.

After encountering problems in the last round at Castle Combe, Addison had the engine checked out, which revealed it was about 20pc down on power. With the situation rectified for the trip to Scotland, Addison was hopeful of a good result.

Having qualified in 13th place, he was holding seventh in the opening race when a spin late on relegated him to tenth at the flag. That was about as good as it got for Addison as a crash on the first corner of race two meant he could only manage 18th position and trying too hard to make up ground when 12th in the final outing saw him spin again and end up in 14th.

Despite his weekend of trauma, Addison remained seventh in the championship going into a summer break, with the action recommencing at Silverstone in early August.

l Three local rally drivers will be in action in the Caribbean this weekend when the 2004 Barbados Rally Carnival gets under way.

With unseasonably bad weather causing the postponement of the scheduled Rallysprint last week, the drivers and their support crews will be hoping for some tropical sunshine as the rally gets under way in St Thomas tomorrow.

Leading the way will be Leeming coach magnate Kevin Procter, who impressed on his debut last year and is one of the favourites for outright victory in his Ford Escort Cosworth.

Aiskew car dealer Bryan Gill will be at the wheel of his father John's Opel Kadett in the Historic class. while Easingwold builder Fred Davison will be going for a class victory in his venerable Peugeot 205.

l A capacity field will take to the start for the opening round of the British Autograss Series and the North of England Championships, which gets under way at the Green Hammerton track near York this weekend.

The two-day extravaganza will see a host of local stars in action on both Sunday and bank holiday Monday as they bid to take advantage of their home round before the remainder of the five-round series over the summer.

One of the favourites for honours will be Catterick Village driver Martyn Tinker in his MAN Transmissions Millington-engined Renault Clio in class seven, while Norton driver Martyn Janes will be a danger man in his class six Vauxhall Astra, in which he has already won this year.

The action gets under way at 9am on both days.