HALESOWEN race ace Brad Hughes suffered a frustrating weekend at Snetterton.

The 15-year-old could only manage 15th in round four of the British Championship after a weekend which fell away after a promising start.

Hughes recorded the fourth fastest time in the first free practice session but failed to translate his form to qualifying, where a crash in the first session left him 11th on the grid.

His race was then hampered by clutch problems.

Hughes struggled to get the bike off the line and dropped down the order to finish the first lap in 20th position.

A fightback through the back markers saw him claim 10th position within the space of five laps. But as the race progressed so did his troubles and eventually the clutch burnt out leaving Hughes to limp home down in 15th place, salvaging a solitary championship point from the race.

It was not all bad news as he scored five championship points in the cup section as the 11th cup competitor to cross the finish line.

The next round is at Knockhill in Scotland on June 24.