• Two thrilling finishes in MSA British Cadet Championship.• Ahmed and Macdonald stand tall against intense competition.

The 2012 Formula Kart Stars MSA British Cadet Championship exploded into life at a revamped and improved Kimbolton circuit on Easter weekend with 35 drivers beginning their bid for season-long glory in rounds one and two of the Formula One Management backed Championship.

Looking to follow in the footsteps of former FKS Cadet Champions and current Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Paul Di Resta, the existing crop of young talent were left chilled and slightly damp after a weekend of decidedly mixed weather but were warmed by the welcome they received by the host club, who had completely re-laid the paddock since the last FKS event at Kimbolton and even provided a free Hog Roast for everyone on Saturday evening.

MSA British Cadet Championship

Living up to its reputation as one of the most competitive championships in the world the combined winning margins of the two finals was three hundredths of a second as both races left everyone in the paddock guessing right up until the final  metres.

Round one saw a maiden FKS victory for Enaam Ahmed, who enjoyed a perfect day as he set overall pole position in timed qualifying, won both his heat races and then held off a determined challenge from Lewis Taylor to win the final by one hundredth of a second.

Josh Smith completed the podium, having fought back from 19th on the opening lap following a first corner crash. B Final winner Zak Fulk forged his way through the field from 27th on the grid to 5th while the only other driver to win a race all day, heat two winner Alex McRoberts, was 20th.

Sunday’s final was run on a damp but drying track but the tricky conditions didn’t stop Dean Macdonald from making an inspired last corner move to snatch the win away from Smith by two hundredths of a second.

Macdonald’s win was especially sweet following a controversial black flag in Saturday’s race that left him 25th while for Smith; the best result of his career was tempered by the fact that he had been so close to a first win. Earlier Smith had won both his heats and led the 15-lap final virtually from the start until Macdonald made his decisive move.

Round one winner Ahmed was fastest in qualifying and won the third heat but fell back to 11th in the final as Fulk completed a career best weekend in third spot. After problems in the heats McRoberts won the B Final and rose to 9th in the main event.

Results

MSA British Cadet Championship Round 11.   Enaam Ahmed 2.   Lewis Taylor3.   Josh Smith4.   Oliver York5.   Zak Fulk

MSA British Cadet Championship Round 21.   Dean Macdonald 2.   Josh Smith3.   Zak Fulk4.   Oliver York5.   Ross Martin