Moto Rapido Ducati’s Scott Smart took two second-place finishes in yesterday’s British Superbike Evo Championship double header at Oulton Park which means the team march into second place in the series points table ahead of the next round in a fortnight’s time.

The Maidstone rider slowly chipped away at chassis and engine settings over the Bank Holiday meeting, qualifying fourth in class at the Cheshire circuit on Sunday before making additional alterations to the motor and suspension ahead of the two races.

“Both races looked like they were going to be a bit messy and one was subject to the safety car after a Suzuki got launched into the next county. Safety cars are usually good for races but this was bad for me as it negated the seven-second gap I had built to the guys behind me,” said Smart.

“It turned into a fight with a few people heading across parts of the track they shouldn’t but at the end, I crossed the line in second for the first time this year. For race two, we made a couple of changes and the bike was even better. Again, I got caught in a group but worked my way through and ended up in a fight with some full Superbike, two of which I got the better of.

“A great weekend, all in all, the team worked really hard to give me a good bike, we have got a few things to change for Croft and a couple of small tweaks to make which, obviously, we’re not going to tell anyone about it. Looking forward to it already.”