Cowie wins Thruxton Ducati Monster S4 challenge.

Guest rider Doug Cowie took the honours in round three of the Shell Advance Ducati Monster S4 Challenge at an overcast Thruxton race circuit in Hampshire today.

Qualifying second behind series leader Juan Kinnish, Shell Oils guest rider Cowie fought an epic battle with Kinnish from the start, despite a ten second penalty for Kinnish for a jump-start.

Cowie, who as a guest rider for this round only, commented: "What a fantastic race! Juan and myself were swapping places from the start. I didn't realise that Juan had been issued a ten second penalty, so I kept pushing hard for the whole race. We even ran off the circuit on the last lap together but managed to carry on."

Juan, who after his jump start was down to eleventh position (on time) on lap one commented: "That race was so much fun. Doug and I were really pushing one another, and I even managed to pull back the 10 seconds from the penalty to finish second."

Finishing in third place was Mark Cheetham from Bolton who celebrated yet another podium position, moving him up to joint second place in the championship with Carl Ogden.

As guest rider Doug Cowie does not score the points for his win, so maximum points are awarded from second place downwards.

Juan Kinnish now leads the championship by 28 points. The next S4 Challenge round is at Cadwell Pak on the 26th August.

Race Results:

1. Doug Cowie 16:59.450
2. Juan Kinnish 17:09.573
3. Mark Cheetham 17:14.488

Fastest Lap: 1:23.457 (Cowie)

The Championship table so far:

1. Juan Kinnish 75 points
2. Carl Ogden 47 points
2. Mark Cheetham 47 points
3. Duncan Burns 46 points
4. Gary Byrne 31 points
4. Russell Joyner 31 points
5. Karl Willerton 19 points

The Ducati Monster S4 Challenge is sponsored by Shell Oils, Pirelli Tyres, Fiorucci (UK) Ltd, and Regina Chains.