Easter encouragement for Clarke.

Kieran Clarke had an impressive weekend at the second round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch on Easter Monday, gaining a tenth and 13th place in the two races.

Weather conditions were varied throughout the weekend, ranging from drizzle and rain in Saturday practice, to dry but cold for Sunday qualifying, and warm come race day on Monday.

After his second race crash at Silverstone, Clarke was looking to put the bad memories behind him and get back on the bike. Good qualifying times throughout the weekend put him consistently in the top 15 and, when track temperatures proved much warmer in the first qualifying session on Sunday, he managed to gain himself a very comfortable 14th place on the grid.

A misfortune in the second qualifying session saw the Colin Appleyard-supported Yamaha R1 take a tumble, however. Oil on the track forced four riders to crash out at the same place, and an 'impressive' highside for the youngster saw him slightly injure his ankle and put an end to his qualifying session.

Competing on last year's R1, Clarke placed himself in-between the two factory 2004 Virgin Yamaha riders, Steve Plater and Tommy Hill, on the grid. Conditions had improved come race day and the youngster was keen to ensure a good start and settle himself into a comfortable position.

As the lights went green, Clarke forced his way through the pack, narrowly missing the huge second lap crash between Sean Emmett and Glen Richards. The safety car was sent out whilst the crash was cleared up, and bunched the riders together.

Four laps later, and the race was back on. A good restart saw Clarke away with the chasing pack, dicing with Sam Corke, Jon Kirkham, Hill, Plater and Dennis Hobbs for ninth place. A lap-by-lap battle ensued and positions between the six swapped regularly. Clarke had a slight moment at Surtees, after getting so close to the back of Kirkham's bike that he was forced to sit up and head across the grass, but he rejoined the pack without losing too many places.

It was the two former R6 Cup riders, Hill and Clarke, that gradually began to pull a slight lead over Plater and Hobbs. Closing in on every lap, Clarke was looking right up Hill's exhaust pipes, but was unable to make the move on him before the chequered flag. However, tenth was still his best result to date.

Another impressive start in race two and another tight battle followed, with Clarke making up three places on the first lap. Fighting throughout with Kirkham and Plater, the youngster had the upper hand on the factory Yamaha rider until the last lap, when Plater pulled a brave move on the 19-year-old. Kieran was only 0.2secs behind the more experienced rider as they crossed the line.

"It's been another good weekend for me," Clarke said afterwards, "I'm learning new things every time I go out on the bike. It's a big step from the R6, but it's still racing and it's what I enjoy most.

"The bike is working great, and I'm realising that I can still get a lot out of it - it is just a time thing to realise the full potential of the Yamaha and running on slicks. All last year, I was on standard road tyres, so it is certainly very different, but, the more I'm on the bike, the happier I feel with things. I feel I'm progressing at each meeting and am very happy to have scored double points at Brands. The bikes should work well at Snetterton in a couple of weeks' time, so I will be hoping for another good result there."