Sam Robertson Tomlinson’s efforts in round one of the National Lotus Elise Trophy showed plenty of promise despite mechanical issues.

Pre-season testing had proven successful with the Royston racer showing good pace, but the night before his first round at Snetterton on Saturday his normal running car, Herbie, had an issue.

Sam had to adapt his team Track Group’s replacement car working late on Friday to get it ready. He raced into fourth by the time qualifying was stopped for a red flag, but then was hit with a problem.

Sam said: “Unfortunately drivers make mistakes and I was pushing too hard and did too much damage and with little time to turn it around for the race I couldn’t make the grid.

“The next round is the Brands Hatch GP (May 1) and with a test in two weeks I’m sure we can show the same pace.”

Follow @skipukracing or visit www.samtomlinsonracing.co.uk for updates.