Binch Racing's Max Cook is pipped for victory in classic battle at Brands Hatch

Friday's free practice sessions were less than productive with some mechanical gremlins in the first session and changeable weather hampering the second.

Conditions for Saturday morning's qualifying session were perfect with a bumper crowd around the circuit basking in the glorious sunshine.

Max was quickest in all sectors of the circuit he was hampered by traffic on circuit which meant he didn’t have space to piece them all together on one good lap.

The 25-minute session ended with Max sixth fastest which meant a second row start for Sunday's race. Championship rivals Louis Valleley and Franco Bourne had taken pole position and second place respectively.

Once more the weather was on Max's side for Sunday's race. The team had worked tirelessly on Saturday afternoon to make the necessary adjustments needed to ensure he could be competitive over the 14-lap race.

Max made the perfect start and he had a clear strategy in mind.

By the end of lap three Max had taken the lead, setting a consistently quick pace, closely followed by Valleley and Bourne.

These three riders became the lead riders breaking away from the rest of the field with a three second gap to the fourth place competitor.

Max and Valleley battled exceptionally hard for the top step for the podium, making it a spectacle for the fans trackside and on TV.

On lap 9 of 11 Valleley took the lead with a good move into the Hawthorns section of the circuit and, despite a tremendous last push from Max, Louis crossed the line a mere 0.002 seconds on front.

Both team awnings were very busy after the race with fans and spectators wanting to congratulate both competitors for what was a great, possibly classic, race for the class.

Louis and Max are now separated by seven points in the Championship. The next round is at Thruxton, on 12th-14th August.