IT was left to the local youngsters to put on an excellent show in front of more than 35,000 fans when the British Superbike Championship visited Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire on Monday.

Leading the way with a resounding sixth place in the 125cc race was Hutton Rudby rider Russ Hodgson, who battled against the pain of a recently broken wrist to grab another ten championship points aboard the Tillston's Honda.

The 20-year-old electrical retailer sought specialist attention at the Friarage hospital in Northallerton after crashing out at Knockhill two weeks ago. The injury was diagnosed as not as serious as first thought, which enabled him to race.

Hodgson set tenth fastest time in qualifying, but problems in morning warm-up saw him only achieve four laps. Undeterred, he got a good start in the race to run with the leading pack as he gradually climbed the leaderboard.

At the end of the 15-lap race, run in scorching heat, Hodgson had fought his way up to sixth and has climbed to 11th place in the championship with four races left.

Also impressing in the 125cc race was Middlesbrough's Paul Veazey, who was having his first ride at British Championship level aboard the Team MARC Honda.

Under the guidance of former Grand Prix star Robin Appleyard, the 15-year-old finished in a brilliant 12th place, scoring four points after riding a calculated and mature race.

The leader of the RS125cc Aprilia Challenge was only 23rd fastest in qualifying and made a poor start in the race, but he soon upped the pace to reel in the riders in front of him with some consistently fast laps.

By half distance, Veazey - watched by Superbike team bosses Ben Atkins and Paul Bird - was into a points scoring position, but continued his charge through the field to finish 12th.

Leyburn rider James Brackenbury scored his first ever British Championship points with 15th place in the Junior Superstock race aboard the Auto Moto Scott Leathers Yamaha.

In only his second season of road racing, the 17-year-old car mechanic struggled in qualifying to leave himself on row eight of the grid, but battled up to the points scoring position at the end of the race, which was stopped twice due to accidents.

One of the stoppages was caused when Guisborough's Dennis Hobbs crashed his SMR Honda at the Hall Bends section of the track on only the second lap.

The 18-year-old had qualified in fifth place and was hoping for a good result when he lost control and slammed into the barriers, leaving him with shoulder and neck injuries. Luckily, Hobbs was not detained in hospital but is doubtful for this weekend's round at Brands Hatch.

Darlington's Mark Burr had a difficult weekend aboard the Hawk Racing Kawasaki, but still managed to post two strong finishes in his quest for British Superbike Privateer Championship points.

The 20-year-old set 18th fastest time in qualifying after completing just four laps, but came through well in race one to finish in a creditable 12th place overall and fifth privateer.

Race two saw the youngster finish 13th overall and fourth privateer to leave him eighth in the privateers' standings and 17th overall.

Following on from his superb ride in the last round at Knockhill, Ingleby Barwick rider David Gatenby was hoping to continue his good form aboard the 250cc Joe Joe's Honda.

The 20-year-old had qualified in 21st place, but was involved in a high speed first corner accident which saw the race red-flagged.

Gatenby was lucky to limp away with a suspected broken foot, but the race was abandoned after one of the riders involved suffered fatal injuries.

l Just a week after a high-speed roll wrecked his Ford Escort WRC, Scorton driver Steve Petch was back in action at the third round of the Loctite Rallysprint at Silverstone last weekend.

Joint leader on points going into the race, Petch was forced to hire a Hyundai Accent WRC for the event in place of the NSG-backed Escort, but with very little time to test and adjust to the car, it was a case of damage limitation.

A clear run through the heats saw Petch qualify for the finals, but he had to give second best to reigning champion Steve Hill's Mitsubishi in the semi-final, which resulted in him claiming fourth place overall.

A number of other local drivers were also in action at Silverstone, including Northallerton garage owner Steve Smith, who managed to get his Walkers Garage Lancia as far as the quarter-finals before being beaten by eventual winner Roger Duckworth (Subaru).

Castleton's Ryan Champion claimed a magnificent runner-up spot in the Group N class in his Subaru.

Northallerton driver Charlie Taylor managed to finish third in the Escort Challenge class driving his Mark 2 version, while Terry Maynard from Middlesbrough reached the semi-finals of the Historic section driving his RS200.

l Battle resumes in the hotly-contested Formula Rally Championship this weekend when local drivers David Henderson of Durham and Darlington's Guy Wilks go head to head for glory on the Speyside Stages in Scotland.

The Ford Puma 1400 Championship is evenly poised with both drivers having identical scores after four rounds, but Henderson and his Northallerton co-driver Ian Windress hold the advantage over Wilks and Welshman Clive Jenkins by virtue of two maximum scores to their rivals' one.

Also in action will be Steve Petch, who takes the hired Hyundai Accent WRC to the Elgin-based event. His son Stephen will also be competing in the SGP Motorsport Ford Ka as he challenges for that one-make championship.

Ford works driver Colin McRae will also be out on the event driving one of the course cars, which will guarantee a bumper crowd in the Scottish forests.

l Around 200 fans turned out on Tuesday night to welcome superbike star Steve Hislop to Elders Bar in Northallerton.

Fresh from a superb double victory the previous day at Cadwell Park, Hizzy spent the evening taking part in a chat show, signing autographs and posing for photos.

The MonsterMob Ducati rider revealed that he has received an offer from a top world superbike championship team to race factory bikes next year and was considering the option.

Following a successful raffle and auction, the organisers - North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club - raised around £1,000 for club funds which will be donated to local racers over the winter.