Tommy Hill is still very much in positive contention for the 2011 MCE British Superbike Championship title, despite missing out on a much-desired victory at Silverstone.
Having ceded the lead of the
BSB standings to John Hopkins at
Donington Park, Hill was looking to overhaul his rival again at Silverstone, but a run to second and third would see him lose a further five points.
Nonetheless, Hill remains just eight points off his Samsung Crescent Suzuki rival heading to the final three races at Brands Hatch, where the Swan Yamaha man was a race winner earlier this year.
"We have left
Silverstone second in the standings and still ready for the title fight at Brands Hatch. I was feeling frustrated with third place in the first race; it wasn't a bad result in terms of a podium finish and consistency is important but not when a certain American is winning races ahead of us. I really thought we could challenge for the win and we did pull them in towards the end after they had got a bit of a gap.
“We obviously wanted more in race two and again I had mixed emotions for that race as I was pleased that I had John (Hopkins) behind me for the championship, but also I want to win badly for myself and the Swan Yamaha team. We had a few issues with set up this weekend and I did struggle with grip but I knew I just had to push on because every point counts.
“Josh (Brookes) came past me and I wanted to have a go but the championship tapped me on the back of my head and I knew that the points would be critical coming in to
Brands Hatch and the last three races.”