Buxton racer Chris Kent back from injury at Brands Hatch

Kent’s 2019 season was beset by mechanical issues and ended with injury in September so he was hoping for a safe return to the track.

He did crash in the last of his four races but fortunately was uninjured and currently sits in fifth place in the British MZ 250cc Championship.

Kent said: “After a break of seven months from racing and taking time to recover from injuries over the Xmas period, I’m happy to come away from the first round with a couple of podiums.

“I’m looking forward to the next meeting at Silverstone on April 4th/5th.”

After qualifying in seventh Kent managed to pick up the pace in the first race and fought off two other riders to claim third place giving him a second row start for race two.

A red flag came out due to an incident on track after three laps and when race two was restarted the Buxton man was able to latch onto the back of the two leaders and actually slotted into second place briefly before ending the race in third place again with his best lap 1.8 seconds faster than the previous race.

Sunday morning provided drama when race three was halted to attend a fallen rider and the race restarted in torrential rain.

The more challenging conditions of a fully wet track meant riders were generally more hesitant and Kent managed only a fourth place finish. Conditions for race four appeared to be wet, with dark clouds overhead and a sprinkling of rain 30 minutes before the start so all riders chose wet weather tyres.

However, the track was actually dry and Kents’ race was a short one as he crashed out when the front tyre tucked under and slid away.