“Overall, this weekend was positive but frustrating. The track conditions were a bit more difficult than the last time we raced at Donington making it harder to achieve the same times. Practice was good however, and I felt comfortable and in a good place on the bike. In qualifying, I put in a really strong time of 1:27:8 that put me inside the top 10 but then I got pushed back a row at the last minute by a few riders grabbing the tiniest of margins off me. I qualified in 13^th place but it could have so easily been a top 10.

In race 1 on Saturday I made a great start and held my position which was my aim for this weekend so that worked really well. The bike was good but we needed to make some tiny changes to reach the group in front where I want to be as I was just a bit off the pace of that group making it hard to catch them and get into the mix for the top 10. I rode a good race and finished in 14^th place, so in the points again.

Sunday, we had 3 races. This is a first for me on a superbike. In race 2 I had a great fight with Storm Stacey finishing 15^th, in the points again, but I still felt I could be doing more with some tiny improvements. Before race 3 it rained so the white lines were wet. Again, I got a good start, got a tow from Leon Haslam and was going really well in the opening laps, but around Schwantz I had a BIG slide that drifted me wide, and I touched the wet white line. I high-sided but JUST saved it and re-joined 10 secs behind last place with an inflated airbag (again). With the race gone, I pushed super-hard to try to get a good lap time in to improve my grid position for race 4, but I crashed on another wet white line so sadly ended up on the back of the grid for the next race.

I was totally pumped for the final race 4. I had a strong pace, and I made some big moves and fought hard from the very back of the grid to get up to 13^th. The pace car then closed all the gaps so once we re-started, I then battled super-hard with Fraser Rogers and John McPhee but lost out to them on the final lap to finish 15^th. That dice was great fun and again, I learned a lot from being in a close battle on a superbike at such a pace.

Overall, my lap times are strong, and I have the pace to be in the group for a top 10, I just need to piece it all together. I’m frustrated but happy in general and this time, in particular, I learned a lot about the bike. I’m really pleased I’ve improved my opening laps in all races; that’s a really important step and was one of my primary aims this weekend.

I now need to dig in for the last few rounds to show my full potential. I know I can be into the top 8-10 places, but it requires everything to fall into place and we’ve not quite managed that, so far. Assen is next and I’ve raced there before so whilst I’ve yet to ride a superbike there, it’s not totally new. Thank you again to everyone involved in supporting me, and to Ian at IWR for giving me this opportunity in BSB. The support track-side is also fantastic and it’s so nice to have so many people cheering me on. Thank you!”