ANDWELL racing driver Nick Halstead put on his most impressive performance of the year in the Protyre Ginetta GT5 Challenge as the series headed north of the border to the spectacular Knockhill circuit.

With six podium finishes in the Am class already in his rookie season Halstead picked up some more silverware at the Scottish track with a third place in his first race.

After losing ground as the lights went out for the opening race, which began in dry weather.

The Andwell racer was making up time and places when the heavens opened, creating incredibly difficult conditions for the packed field of drivers, who had all started on slick tyres.

Feeling his way through the constantly-changing grip levels on the now wet track, the Fox Motorsport driver made several impressive overtaking moves to climb to third place in his class.

Following that strong result, hopes were high for the second race, but Halstead's hopes were dealt a blow when he was spun out of position by a rival driver at the first corner.

An early number of laps behind the safety car allowed him to close in on the tail of the field and was a precursor to a thrilling 11-lap battle for the final spot on the Am podium.

After taking third place and establishing a healthy margin this was wiped away by another safety-car appearance.

Unfortunately, he was blocked by a rival on the re-start, the subsequent loss of momentum saw him slip to fourth which was where he finished.

The results mean he remains third in the Am drivers in the points table with only the season finale, at Donington Park on the weekend of September 23/24.

Halstead said: “It’s been a really good weekend, especially as it’s my first time racing at Knockhill. I wasn’t happy with my start in race one, but I was pleased with my fightback and I managed to make a couple of pretty good moves.

"Race two should have been another podium because I was comfortably in P3 before the safety car came out, and as we resumed racing another car came across and blocked me. That left a gap and I lost a spot, which I wasn’t able to get back before the end.

"Overall, my pace has been closer to the top guys in the Am class here than anywhere else this year and that shows the progress we’ve made as a team through the season.”