Former chef Ian Lowry shocked the British Superbike paddock at Thruxton by converting his first ever front-row start into a maiden win, passing reigning champion Tommy Hill to win by a near-three second margin.

The young Irishman, who was rookie of the year in 2009, got the best from the harder-compound Pirelli tyres while Swan Yamaha’s Hill began to lose grip. It was the also the first time he had stood on the podium with Hill and Josh Brookes for company.

“I'm absolutely over the moon with the first race result, everything just went right and the Padgetts Honda team were perfect. I knew I had the pace to run near the front this weekend and everything in the first race just went according to plan and it was mint,” said Lowry.

“I just followed Tommy and wanted to see where he was struggling, I knew I had to make a break and made a clean pass on him for the lead. It was important to keep focused and not lose concentration it made things easier knowing I had managed to pull a small gap and I didn't need to do anything stupid and throw away the win. The bike and team were perfect, it was just awesome.”