TOMMI Meadows continued his promising campaign in the Junior 1000 Championship in a dramatic outing at the Solway Coast Stages.

The 15-year-old Grindleton youngster was forced to stop halfway through the second stage when he came across the Citroen C1 of rival Michael McGarrity on fire.

As first crew on the scene, Meadows and co-driver Ian Oakey leapt to the aid of McGarrity and navigator Ashley Boulton, helping them to safety and joining in to extinguish the flames.

“Because we were the next crew following, we stopped to offer help,’ said Meadows, who is a pupil at Bowland High School.

“Luckily, the crew were OK, which is more than could be said for the car.

“Obviously the incident stopped the stage and the organisers scrubbed all the times so we weren’t penalised.”

The afternoon’s stages saw a rise in pace from the pair, which resulted in some very promising times and burgeoning optimism.

Of the 35 one-litre cars entered in Junior category, Meadows consistently set stage times faster than the other 16 Nissan Micra drivers.

And with no more dramas and a clean run to the finish, Meadows and Oakey finished eighth overall, and fourth in Kick Energy category.

They picked up valuable points in the race for the championship in the process.

‘I’m really pleased with how the weekend has gone, “ said Meadows at the finish.

“The car felt great with the freshly rebuilt Proflex Suspension, and everything went as planned.

“This result leaves us third in the championship, one point behind second place and 15 points behind first, so it’s all to play for.”

n Tommi Meadows would like to thank Proflex Suspension, A-Frame Engineering, TAROX Brakes, Cybox Exhausts and Sagar Insurances for all their valuable support.