Riki Christodoulou (Sutton Coldfield) took the lead of the Renault-backed Super One Formula A championship at Rowrah yesterday, despite struggling with a shoulder injury, while Gary Catt (Andover) won both hard-fought finals.

2003 JICA champion Christodoulou arrived at the Cumbria kart circuit tied for points with early season leader Jason Parrott (Crowland, Peterbrorough) and recovering from an injury picked up while racing overseas.

Despite showing good pace in practice and leading both finals Christodoulou finished third in each race, finding the full race distance tiring. It was enough to build a 12-point lead in the championship however, with his rival Jason Parrott having a frustrating weekend, finishing fifth in the first final and retiring from the second race.

Starting from pole position in final one, Christodoulou was overhauled by reigning champion Mark Litchfield (Rocester, Staffordshire) in the first hairpin, but dived back into the lead at the Esses five laps later. Gary Catt  launched his attack shortly after, passing Litchfield at McRae’s hairpin on lap seven. A lap later, Christodoulou slipped back to third, with Catt heading Litchfield all the way to the flag.

Catt started the second final around the quarry circuit in pole position, but was challenged by Litchfield on lap four and slipped to fourth. Christodoulou briefly grabbed the lead, but Catt managed to regain first place on lap seven and held it to the flag.

Chris Rogers (Waltham Cross) meanwhile climbed from sixth on the grid to second by the end of the 20 lap final, with Christodoulou finishing 2.3 seconds behind him. Mark Litchfield fell behind David Gregory (Sheffield), to finish fourth but gained enough points from the two finals to overtake Parrott and take second in the championship.

The final meeting in the six-event Renault Formula A championship is at Shenington, near Banbury on 10th/11th September