Ryan Vickers relinquished the lead in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at the weekend but the OMG Grilla Yamaha Racing showed great resolve with a fighting third in the final race the highlight of his weekend.
With third in qualifying, it looked like the 25 year-old would challenge for the race wins in all three races but although he led the opening race of the weekend for three laps, fifth was the outcome.
“I started well from the front row, taking the lead from the start but I didn’t know what the pace would be like so I sat in the mid 34’s to then try and up it at the end,” he said. “But when Glenn (Irwin) came past the pace was much quicker and although I managed to do a few strong laps, I couldn’t match it so settled for fifth to get more points on the board,”
The Thetford rider was unable to replicate that speed in Monday's Sprint race and after slipping back from the start, he couldn’t find the passes he needed and crossed the line in ninth. However, he kept his cool and although he lost ground initially in the final race, his pace in the second half of the race brought him right into contention and a final lap pass on fellow Yamaha rider Danny Kent at Hizzy’s saw him claim the final podium position.
“It’s been a weekend of three parts really. We made a good start in testing and practice and then put together a strong lap in qualifying. But from there we struggled a bit and were left chasing our tails a bit. The team worked mega to improve the bike for the final race and I’m really pleased to finish the weekend on the podium.”
The results mean Vickers, double victor at the opening round at Navarra, now sits in second place in the championship table, six points behind new leader Irwin.
