Tom Booth-Amos battles through pain

Following a start littered with crashes in the notoriously tricky Moto3 class, the Newport star has continued to battle and managed to secure 14th in Barcelona on another track that was completely new to him.

The CIP-Green Power rider struggled during the practices and was forced to start from 26th position on the grid.

But the 23-year-old showed his burgeoning talent by avoiding many incidents in front of him, improving his lap times – knocking 0.4 seconds off his own fastest lap – and finishing ahead of his team-mate Darryn Binder on his way to claiming his first points.

Booth-Amos said: “Overall, it was a very good weekend and positive.

“I injured my collarbone on Wednesday, so I was not expecting to be in that group. I started off strong in FP1.

“I’ve never been on this track, so I learned a lot, following some guys. The FP2 was good but, with the rain at the end, I missed the last run. In qualifying, I made a mistake and I had to start from P26. During the race, I learned a lot from the others. I’m happy as I was with the lead group.

“But in the last four laps I struggled a lot with my collarbone. Hopefully we can carry this on to Assen. I’ve been there before so we’ll try again.”

CIP-Green Power Team owner Alain Bronec said he was pleased Booth-Amos had been able to show his potential.

“Tom was unable to compete in last year’s round of the Moto3 Junior World Championship in Barcelona because he was injured,” he said.

“So it’s a track he didn’t know. He nevertheless achieved a very good performance by setting fast times.

“The team is doing a great job and giving riders the opportunity to express their potential.”

Round eight of MotoGP takes place in Assen, Holland, on June 30.

Fellow Newport racer Harry Rowlings, 18, was also back in action over the weekend in the British Superbikes, racing in the National Superstock 600 class at Brands Hatch.

But the weather played havoc with his preparation and he crashed out of qualifying.

He said: “Unfortunately I crashed out in qualifying just as I was going out for my second stint so I wasn’t able to improve my time from the first part of the session.

“I ended up 15th but went faster than practice so I was still happy.

“The bike wasn’t too bad either but sadly it wasn’t to be as I high-sided on the first lap of the race.

“After a good start I got away with the leading group but got caught out by the tricky conditions.

“We still had a positive weekend, getting my best qualifying position so far this year and improved a lot of things I’ve been struggling with, so I’m excited for the next round.

“Thank you to Factory Agencies for supplying me with top quality kit and saving me from being seriously injured. We will come back better and faster.”

Michael Russell and his Shrewsbury-based passenger, Tom Bryant, finished 15th in both British Sidecar races.

Bridgnorth’s Michael Rutter took a break from racing at Knockhill following his Isle of Man TT exploits, while Alveley’s Harris Beech was also not in action with the British Junior Supersport class returning for round six at Knockhill in Scotland from June 28 to 30.