Allen Cooper produced a wet weather masterclass to climb from seventh on the grid to first in what was an action-packed opening Pickup Truck Racing Championship contest of the weekend at Brands Hatch.

Taking centre stage at American SpeedFest, Cooper produced a flawless performance to charge to the front of the field and on to tally a second win of the season.

Aaron Thompson had claimed pole position in the day’s earlier qualifying session and broke clear of the chasing pack in the opening exchanges while further back, Dan Fisher and Mark Willis found themselves in strife.

They weren’t the only drivers to encounter trouble either as race leader Thompson would get caught out by the treacherous conditions at Graham Hill Bend, which opened the door for several drivers to move ahead of him.

Having started in seventh after suffering a brake issue in qualifying, Cooper enjoyed a superlative opening two laps to charge into first. Once there, he remained calm and collected to maintain a steady gap to Gent in second.

Gent – who was a winner last time out at Thruxton – remained within touching distance of Cooper but could never get close enough to mount a serious challenge, not least because he had to contend with a recovering Thompson.

After falling to fifth, the Essex racer valiantly fought back to third and then threw everything he had to try take second over the closing laps. Gent’s resolute defence would ensure he finished second, while Thompson completed the podium in third.

Former champion Michael Smith enjoyed a standout drive to finish fourth, ahead of Eric Boulton in fifth. Completing the top ten was the recovering Dan Fisher, Chris Brockhurst, Tom Hutchins, James Goldstraw and Simon Ward.

The Pickup Truck Racing Championship will close out its weekend at Brands Hatch with two more races on Sunday.