James Ellison shrugged off the effects of illness to come away from Mallory Park with a second ViSK.com British Superbike Championship victory, even if he admits the circumstances were somewhat fortuitous.

Ellison had been struggling all weekend with fatigue, an ailment that left him as low as tenth in the early stages of race, one and while he gradually worked his way up to seventh place later on, he admits he was beginning to tire.

Nonetheless, Ellison was in the right place at the right time when a six bike pile-up further ahead eliminated each of those ahead of him, Ellison keeping his Airwaves Yamaha pointing in the right direction to continue and be classified the winner when the red flag was deployed.

Although Ellison acknowledges the disappointment for those ahead of him, he was delighted to come away with a surprise result.

"We made some changes to the Airwaves Yamaha for the first race and it felt a lot easier to ride. But after I'd caught John Laverty, I used so much energy trying to pass him, I really started to tire. I've been feeling unwell and struggling all weekend. My joints have been hurting and I've not been lasting well in the sessions because of fatigue.

“I was still really hoping to get on to the podium, and was waiting for a safe place to pass John when the red flag came out. It's a shame for the riders who were affected. Personally I was looking forward to chasing down the leading pack in the remaining laps.

Fired up for the wet second race, Ellison made impressive progress in the early laps before embarking on an enjoyable tussle with Chris Walker as they disputed what would become second place.

Eventually, Ellison would prevail, but his hopes of making in roads on leader Leon Camier would be curtailed by the early stoppage of the race.

"I was feeling really confident for the second race. Setting the fastest lap proved we have the pace. I just needed to make sure I did it consistently for 30 laps in Race Two. Of course the rain threw out all our original plans, but I absolutely loved every lap of it. I've not ridden the Airwaves Yamaha aggressively in the wet before so I didn't know what to expect. But it felt great and I really loved battling with Chris Walker.

“Once I passed him I concentrated on staying smooth and not making any mistakes. I thought I could have caught Leon so it was a shame the race was stopped. But it was definitely the right decision. I couldn't see a thing so the conditions were too dangerous to continue. I can't wait to get to Brands Hatch to see what we can do there!"