Following on from his second place finish at the last round at Oulton Park, Hydrex Bike Animal Honda rider James Ellison was once again on great form as he secured another podium finish in changeable conditions in round eight of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill in Scotland today.
With bright blue skies coupled with the odd heavy downpour, it was always a problem for the riders but in the opening race, held in dry conditions, the 27 year old from Kendal diced with the leading bunch through the race eventually passing Michael Rutter in the latter stages to claim third position and with it his third podium of the season.
James couldn't quite repeat the feat in race two which was stopped on a couple of occasions due to inclement weather and latterly due to a crash involving championship leader Shane Byrne whereby he had to settle for fifth at the flag.
For team mate Guy Martin, again it was a weekend of mixed emotions whereby the 26 year old from Kirmington suffered a mechanical problem in the opening race but in the first part of the afternoon's second race he stormed through the field to hold a top ten position before the race was halted and in the re-start he couldn't quite manage a similar result but had to settle for 14th at the flag.
The net result is that Ellison lies in sixth position in the championship and Guy Martin in eighteenth going into the next round at Cadwell Park on August bank holiday weekend. Meanwhile Martin will be in action at the Ulster GP this week whereby he hopes to score another victory on the Dundrod circuit.
Kieran Clarke rode well to claim a top ten position in the Metzeler Superstock 1000cc race to add to his points scoring ride on his debut in the Shaun Muir team at Oulton Park and he will be looking to improve at Cadwell Park in the next round aboard the team's 1000cc Fireblade.
James Ellison:
"I'm well happy with the first race but again we maybe could have done better, but we had the pace and we showed that. I did the third fastest lap so we finished where we finished but I feel we could have done a bit more but I tried my hardest and that was all I could do. We ran with an intermediate front and a slick rear which was the right decision but it was a bit difficult off the line with it being wet but once we got into the race we were chipping away. I could see the riders in front getting closer every lap so if we had more laps I could have maybe got higher up. The team has done a mega job this weekend especially with me crashing on Friday, they turned the bike around and I enjoyed riding it and I'm happy to come away in one piece with more points and a trophy."
Guy Martin: "I was disappointed to break down in the first race again, but I am over the moon with a good finish in the second race where I had to start from the back of the grid because my hose clip went and it was a good job the race got red flagged so I could fix it and get out in the restart. I'm looking forward to the Ulster GP in a few days time."
Kieran Clarke: "It went really well, although it was wet and we've not spent any time on the wet Superstock tyres and it's nowhere near the level of grip as I'm used to. I feel that had it been dry I should have had a mid top-ten and I think we just need to keep chipping away and now I'm looking forward to Cadwell Park. The whole team was been fantastic again this weekend."
Shaun Muir - Team Owner:
"Overall I'm obviously well happy with another podium for James and he now has a chance to get into the top three in the championship. It was a pity he didn't get on the podium in the second race when the race was cut short. Guy rode well to score a good couple of points, and Kieran also had a good solid ride for some points. Hopefully we can move forwards again at Cadwell Park."
Image Credit: Turn One Photography
