The cadet section opened Playscape Academy round two racing at Streatham Kart Raceway with some determined performances from the leading lights, writes Enver Myer.

Robert Staines, Fenton Robathan and Reece Yusuf were each beaten only once in qualifying races to lock out the top three positions on the grid for the all-important main final.

Further down the pecking order, Jack Bartholomew, Red Carter and Jonas Moore showed flashes of great form to ensure an absorbing race to finish proceedings.

From the start, pole-sitter Staines was outgunned into the first corner by Robathan, and had to defend his position against the usual hard-charging Yusuf.

These three began to draw away from the rest of the pack as the early laps ticked away.

Back down the field, drivers were impatient as they jostled for position, and Krystan Hacker Hurnn was forced into retirement by an unfortunate crash at the second hairpin.

Robathan at the front maintained a murderous pace and Staines fell back into the chasing pack, with Bartholomew now approaching the back bumper of the leader.

Eventually, he was to find a way past Staines and moved to a safe position in second place as the last lap started with Robathan now well clear at the front.

The last lap was all about the battle for third place, with Staines now being hounded by Yusuf and James Beumee but, in truth, they only succeeded in impeding each other and Robert held on for third.

As he secured his maiden victory, Robathan punched the air in delight and was well applauded for a popular win from one of the smallest drivers in the field.

Cadet A final results1 Fenton Robathan 4:13.448, 2 Jack Bartholomew 4:15.562, 3 Robert Staines 4:19.248, 4 Reece Yusuf 4:20.318, 5 James Beumee 4.20.423, 6 Andre Aguirre Conde 4.23.365, 7 Jonas Moore 4:24.017, 8 Red Carter 4:24.249, 9 Krystan Hacker Hurnn DNF.With an increased entry for the junior section, the competition remained as fierce as ever at the front of the field, with any of the top 10 drivers seemingly capable of winning races at ease.

However, old hand Nickolas Walker showed all his experience in clinching pole position for the final.

Daniel Wright had hit a purple patch of form, winning his past three qualifying races, while Conor Jux Chandler had been consistently the fastest driver on show, together with defending champion Matt Ellis, who appeared strangely subdued and had to qualify for the main final from the B final.

Again, spectators expected 10 laps of controlled aggression and kart control from the bigger drivers in the section and, as the lights flicked to green at the start, Walker led the inside row into the first corner.

Wright had missed the start and Jux-Chandler and Andy Rrapo followed Walker into second and third, with George Skitini and Wright desperately trying to get back into the race.

Through the early laps, the top two were comfortable, but Rrapo was under pressure for third place and his battle saw the gap between the top two and the rest open up significantly.

Meanwhile, Walker learned all about the pace of Jux-Chandler as they swapped positions several times mid race, and again tactics began to form in the minds of the crowd.

Walker was determined to control the race from the front and, every time Jux-Chandler passed him, he simply took the place back again on the next corner.

He was attempting to back Jux-Chandler into the chasing pack to allow himself the opportunity to move away at the front.

With three laps to go, Jux-Chandler clipped the tyre wall and Walker sensed the chance to get away and produced his fastest laps for the next two laps, but his rival was more than a match and, as they started their last lap, he was right back on to the rear bumper of the long-time race leader.

There then followed 27 seconds of pure cat and mouse as Jux-Chandler jinxed from side to side in an effort to pull Walker into a mistake.

As they approached Buswash corner, Walker found himself out of position nailed to the inside as Jux-Chandler took to the faster outside line.

Coming out of the corner, Walker had no option but to drive mid-track to defend either an outside swoop or an inside switch from Jux-Chandlerr, and it was the switch that the latter employed.

As the two drivers powered towards the final corner, their body language portrayed that they were taking very large gulps of air and did not expect to exhale for quite some time!

As the final corner loomed, they got closer and closer and were racing dead level, Walker on the outside, Jux-Chandler on the inside.

Both were aiming at the same bit of track and, inevitably, they clashed for what seemed like an eternity to the watching crowd, gasping as one as Walker frantically tried to control both the race and his jawing steering wheel.

They exited the corner still dead level and now it depended on the final dash to the finish line, a distance of no more than about 20m.

Walker was undoubtedly going faster but had further to go in distance to reach the finish line.

Jux-Chandler had scrubbed off his speed as the drivers had battled towards the final corner, rubbing sidepods as they went, but could make a dive for the line by staying tight to the tyre wall.

So this most pulsating of finals was won by ...Jux-Chandler by the merest of margins over a 10-lap race, about a nose cone and a bit, or in terms of time just seven one-hundredths of a second.

Now they could exhale and the crowd could applaud the efforts of these feisty gladiators.

Jux-Chandler could celebrate proudly a hard-fought maiden victory.

Walker was left to rue his tactics and glare challengingly at anyone who told him it was bad luck.

And, by the way, Wright regained third place while that was all going on!

Junior A final results1 Conor Jux Chandler 4:17.998, 2 Nickolas Walker 4:18.390, 3 Daniel Wright 4:21.030, 4 George Skitini 4:21.320, 5 Andy Rrapo 4:22.628, 6 Matt Ellis 4:23.171, 7 Luke Babiali 4:23.536, 8 Tommy Moore 4:27.310, 9 Martin Meyer 4:28.260, 10 Prajesh Shah 4:28.5.