Rutter battles pain.

Despite still being far from 100 per cent, Michael Rutter was able to bring home a top ten finish from the latest rounds of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park.

Still riding with broken bones in his left wrist, Rutter was forced to retire from the opening race of the weekend with a mechanical issue, but bounced back in race two to finish in eighth place having battled past Tommy Hill following a Safety Car period.

"This circuit may only be around 1.4 miles long but it's pretty tough on my left wrist!" he said. "The mechanical DNF in the first race is just one of those things, but I was pretty happy with the result in the second race. Sure, I want better but we've had a hard time of it at the last few meetings, so I'm looking forward to Croft, where my wrist will be 100 per cent and we will have the new engines to use.

"This could be the final piece in the jigsaw for us, as the bike is very well balanced, we just need some more power out of it, which will improve it across the board."

Team-mate Stuart Easton meanwhile also brought home a top ten finish in the Supersport race as he came through from tenth on the grid to finish seventh.

"What can I say?" he reflected. "I was riding the bike as hard as I could. With no qualifying, we were put on the grid in our championship positions so from tenth on the grid I just tried to get my head down and get a good start. I passed Jamie Robinson and made it up to seventh but then couldn't do much more, so I decided to bring it home for some more points.

"We're looking forward to Croft, Cadwell, Donington and Brands as I think those circuits should suit us more than the likes of Mallory. I've still got my chin up and there's still a way to go in the championship so we will get the podium before the end of the season."