Yamaha man Ben Wilson scored yet another double podium in his two races at Silverstone in the penultimate rounds of the Henderson R1 Cup and the Metzeler National Superstock championship on Sunday but second place in the R1 Cup was not quite enough for him to retain the series lead in the Autumn Cup and he goes into the final round at Brands Hatch just one point behind Jon Kirkham.
 
From a second row start in the Superstock race, Wilson got away to his usual lightening start and slotted straight into third place, which he held throughout the 15 laps. The pace was hot and the top three riders were all running around lap record pace with Wilson posting laps just a fraction of a second away from the record of 1m 28.2s throughout the race.
 
The only time the Lincolnshire rider was challenged was when Alastair Seeley briefly moved ahead mid-race. But he promptly lost control and crashed right in front of Wilson who then continued on his way to the chequered flag untroubled in third place.
 
The National Superstock championship title was decided on Sunday with Steve Brogan claiming sufficient points from a second place finish to seal the victory for Honda with Jon Kirkham being named as the runner up. But the battle for the next six places is tight, just 15 points separate Wilson from a third place end to his season and a top result at Brands Hatch could see him move further up the standings.
 
“I am happy enough with my result,” said Wilson. “I posted a quicker time than in qualifying so hopefully we can take that on to the next race and try to beat it.”
 
And Wilson did just that in the penultimate round of the Henderson R1 Cup a little later in the day when he posted a quicker lap time and moved up onto the second step of the podium.
 
Wilson and Kirkham have dominated the R1 Cup this year and Sunday was no exception. Qualifying saw the pair battle it out for poll position with Kirkham starting from the head of the grid and Wilson lining up by his side in second place.
 
As the race got underway the pair streaked away from the rest of the field leaving the third place rider to trail home some 12 seconds behind them.
 
Kirkham was unbeatable but Wilson followed him throughout the 14 laps to take second place and also the runner up spot in the overall championship.
 
“All credit to Jon, he's ridden really well all season. I managed to get nearer to him today than I have for a while but Jon has ridden another faultless race. We both got caught out a little with the back markers at the end so it kept our gap pretty even,” said Wilson. “Thanks to all my sponsors, I'll look forward to Brands for another chance to catch Jon for the win.”
 
Although the main championship is now decided there is plenty to race for at Brands Hatch as Kirkham leads the Autumn Cup by just a solitary point from Wilson. Again he cannot end his season further down the order than second so Wilson will be giving it his best shot in the final round at Brands Hatch on October 12.
 
Brands Hatch is one of his favourite circuits and with the race being held on the short and tight Indy circuit, whoever gets the hole shot is likely to be the victor. Wilson has a reputation for being quick out of the blocks and is determined to end his season with a win.