SWINDON youngster Elliot Pinson started the defence of his Cool-FAB British Championship title with two race wins at the opening round at Llandlow.

Pinson, on board his Metrakit MiniGP70 bike, got off a dream start by taking pole for race one by more than a second from Franco Bourne.

However, once the racing began, Pinson was caught by Joshua Whatley, who managed to stay in front for a couple of laps before Pinson retook the lead into the first chicane and broke away to take the victory.

A looming black cloud made life difficult in race two and after a crash, the action was red-flagged before being restarted as an-eight lap sprint, which saw Whatley get to the front. The two duelled for a while before Pinson retook the lead and, after the heavens opened, his wet tyres proved crucial as he raced to a second win.

However, things did not go smoothly in the final race of the day as, after building up a 14-second lead, Pinson suffered a back wheel lock-up that spat him off his bike.

He bravely got back on and despite riding with a broken throttle, brake, handlebar and gear lever, he was still able to finish sixth, picking up 10 more championship points to keep him eight in front of Blake Ansell.

Pinson said: “It was a fantastic weekend. I brought home two gold medals, a giant trophy for first overall, and another one for being first on the Benidorm trip standings.”