Swan Yamaha's Michael Laverty finally showed his true pace during the weekend's Cadwell Park British Superbike round scoring pole, a race win and two further podiums to secure his place in the Showdown for the second year in succession.

It was as though the Toomebrige man flicked a switch on Saturday afternoon when he snuck pole away from team-mate Tommy Hill and then stayed ahead of the Lingfield man in race one to bag the 25-points after it was red-flagged for rain. Races two and three saw Laverty take second and third after a small mistake allowed Josh Brookes through on the pentultimate lap.

"There wasn't any more I could have done in the second race to try and get the win. I just tried to adjust the traction during the race as I was struggling a bit with side grip in places and that meant I was unable to catch him again," said Laverty.

"I hadn't made any real changes from yesterday's race through to today so we looked at the data to see what could resolve the issue. I was happy to have been on the podium in that last race again but to be honest I didn’t realise that Josh Brookes was that close to me and I made a few mistakes and it gave him the chance he needed to make a move.

"I had wanted to try and make a move on Tommy Hill on the last lap and I am kicking myself a bit now not to have tried to do it sooner to try and win another race here. It was a pity not to have won but I think we should be getting our share in the Showdown. I think this weekend has shown that I am a title contender and I won’t be giving up without a fight."