A Bradford on Avon schoolboy became one of the stars of the show at last weekend's Dunlop Great and British Motorsport Festival at the Castle Combe Circuit.

Max Cornelius, a 16-year-old St Laurence School pupil, impressed the crowd with three mature drives, netting two victories and a third place in the Autosport Young Guns races.

"It's been another fantastic weekend and I'm really pleased with the result," he said.

"It would have been incredible to win all three races again but we can't be greedy. Five wins from six races is a fantastic total and I can't wait for the next rounds at Brands Hatch."

The new championship is designed to give drivers aged between 16 and 19 experience of relatively sophisticated single-seater race cars, the high revving motorcycle engines, slick tyres and wings providing a real challenge for the youngsters.

Castle Combe was only the third race weekend for Cornelius. Qualifying third fastest behind Russian driver Patryk Szcerbinski and Finn Leopold Ringbom, Cornelius began swapping places with Ringbom despite his car handling as if it was "on ice".

Exiting Camp corner, the 750cc machine executed a spectacular 360 degree spin but Cornelius showed impressive car control to lose little time, continuing as if nothing had happened to come home in third.

Race two on Sunday in tricky damp conditions saw Cornelius engage with Ringbom again, the pair circulating at the front for five laps.

Under pressure and with the track still treacherous, the Finn made a mistake, allowing Cornelius to come home 14 seconds clear of Jake Rattenbury.

The former Paragon School pupil showed the win was not a fluke as he led from start to finish in the third race, finishing three seconds clear of Szcerbinski.

Cornelius is looking for more sponsorship and anyone who can provide financial backing is asked to call Jonathan Davis on 07876 566182 or email lesters2@btconnect.com.

Meanwhile, three wins from the last three meetings have propelled Trowbridge's Andrew Shanley to the top of his class in the circuit's Sports and GT Championship.

Bradford on Avon's Guy Woodward, in a one-off race in a borrowed Radical SR3, recovered well from a disastrous first lap to go from 11th to fourth overall.

Trowbridge's Mark Funnell had a very mixed day, qualifying his class B Lotus Exige an incredible third overall in the damp morning session, only to have to start from the back of the grid as he arrived too late for the race.

He produced a tremendous drive to move up to fifth, leading his class, but his efforts came to nothing when another back marker incident took him out at Camp corner.

The circuit's Formula Ford 1600 race on Saturday saw a dramatic crash on lap seven which may determine the outcome of the closely- fought championship.

Front row qualifiers Ben Norton, from Bratton, and Bridgwater's Felix Fisher had established a narrow but useful lead from points leader Marcus Allen, only for their intense dice to become a little too close. The pair came together and ended their race at Tower corner, allowing Allen to come through for a dominant victory.

Castle Combe's Andrew Jones, in the Ray GRS07, had dropped back after running at the front earlier in the race but took advantage of the collision on Tower to finish as runner- up.

Four cars made up the gaggle trying to find a way past third- placed Adam Higgins, including Saltford's Steven Jensen and Bradford on Avon's David Vivian who finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Maintaining his 100 per cent record of poles, fastest laps and class wins was Kyle Tilley, who dominated the Pre 90 cars with his Van Diemen RF87.

The final race of the weekend for the circuit's Saloon Car Championship was well worth waiting for. Once again, under-1.8 litre class C cars filled the front row, with Will Di Claudio in a class of his own in the changeable qualifying conditions to take pole with his Peugeot 106.

Alongside him was his nemesis, reigning champion Jason Cooper from Yatton Keynell, but their race battle came to a swift end at the Esses when the pair came together.

Di Claudio's boot lid popped open and required a pit stop but Cooper recovered and still led his class, then moved up to third overall when Mark Wyatt overcooked it on lap ten in the Astra.

The powerful SEAT Leon of Ditcheat's Kevin Bird took a clear victory, with Calne's Tony Hutchings second in the unique Audi TT. Nick Charles, in his 106 GTi, took second in class C and fourth overall.