BROMYARD'S teenage racing sensation Robert Hall took Castle Combe by storm at round eight of the Melton Concrete Products Formula Ford 1600 championship in his Husqvarna Swift, coming 1st overall, 1st in class, setting fastest lap and being voted driver of the day.

Qualifying was held in the morning with 34 cars out at the same time making it hard for the quicker drivers to find a clear lap but by the end Robert finished 4th overall with the top four drivers covered by just two tenths of a second.

The team felt that both Robert and the car were capable of winning this round outright so that was the target, but to do this he was going to have to make sure he was still in the top four after lap three and then make his move.

Robert made a good start and held on to 4th place staying there until lap three when he started to pick of those in front. By lap five he was up to 2nd by which time 1st place man Steve Jensen had pulled out a four second advantage.

By lap seven Robert was on Jensen's tail trying to force him into a mistake but to no avail, then on the last lap he made his move up the inside of quarry corner and made it stick.

Jensen fought back hard during the remainder of the lap but 17-year-old Robert was not to be denied his first major win since moving from karts to cars pulling out a slight lead by the flag.

Robert said: "It was great to get an outright win and especially satisfying to be voted driver of the day but without the support of both Swift Cooper who build the car and Husqvarna I would not be here.

"Next year I hope to progress on up the ladder but with budget running into tens of thousands it very much depends on sponsorship."

The next race is at Castle Combe on September 15.