Perfect Palmer too hot for Herbert in Mazda races

Aldingbourne’s Luke Herbert tried to catch the 21-year-old, but was not able to do it.

Herbert, meanwhile, needed luck on his side for the latest round of the Mazda MX5 Cup as he made the trip to North Wales looking to continue the success he had at Snetterton.

Gearbox and set-up issues hindered testing on Friday so Herbert was hoping for better heading into qualifying.

He was immediately on the pace but an incident that saw him take to the grass meant he had that lap time disallowed - his quickest of the session - meaning he would start the first race from the second row.

Herbert made a good start in the first race, holding fourth place. He took advantage of a rival’s mistake and ended third.

For race two, Herbert started third and moved second before slipping to fourth. But he made his way back to third by the flag.

Herbert started sixth in the last race but surged to second by the end of lap one. He got leader Palmer in his sights and on the last lap he made a late lunge into the hairpin to take the lead.

As they crossed the line, there was only 0.006 of a second in it with Herbert narrowly missing out.

Herbert has moved second in the championship and will be hoping for even better results when he heads to Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire in three weeks.