James Ellison consolidated his place as the leading non-works rider in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship after producing his best weekend of the season at
Oulton Park.
Looking to replicate the form that took him to second place the last time the series visited the Cheshire circuit, Ellison qualified a modest eighth but made the most of strong starts to challenge the frontrunners in both races.
Indeed, the former
MotoGP rider very nearly scored a win in the first race after a stunning start saw him end the first lap in second place before going on to snatch the lead off Tom Sykes at Island on lap two.
Staying comfortably in the front for the next few laps, Ellison was eventually forced to concede the lead on the seventh revolution when Sykes slipped back through.
Nonetheless, the Hydrex Bike Animal Honda rider was quick enough to maintain second place to the chequered flag and match his best result of the season so far.
Although frustrated not to be able to keep up with Sykes, Ellison was satisfied with his performance, not least because he remains the best of the non-works fraternity.
“I pretty much had my eyes shut! I managed to get off the line well, which is important because the guys at the front are so strong, so you need to be with them on the first lap. I have been working on that at the end of the practice sessions and it certainly paid off.
“I was comfortable though. I wasn't banzai, I felt good where we were and it wasn't until mid-race when we started struggling with rear grip, so we lost the tow from Tom and that was pretty frustrating.
“I have to be happy though. The Hydrex Bike Animal Honda team did a fantastic job this weekend again and this is the highest point scoring finish we had over a weekend, so I have to be happy with that.”
