A six-race drought of podium finishes came to an end for Taylor Mackenzie at Snetterton with a second place finish in the National Superstock 1000 race.



A much needed return to form for Bathams Racing came at the Norfolk venue following a number of set up changes to the BMW M1000RR. The changes made an immediate impact during Friday’s FP1, with Mackenzie immediately on the same pace as the championship front-runners.



A red flag at the end of qualifying while on his fastest lap of the session - meaning he couldn't complete the lap - was the only issue in the otherwise successful and productive pre-race preparations resulting in Mackenzie qualifying seventh.



During the race, Mackenzie got a good start to get away with the leaders and was one of only three people in the race to lap the Norfolk circuit in the 1’49 bracket, as he made his way up to second position which he held all the way to the chequered flag.

The result is the first podium in six races for the team and moves Mackenzie back into title contention with seven races left to run.

After the disappointment of recent race results and technical issues, the podium - as well as being the highest placed BMW in the race - is a much needed boost for the team going into Silverstone next week.

“This is just what we all needed on the team,” Mackenzie said. “Everyone has been working so hard recently, and not getting the results for one reason or another.

“We found a really good set up on the bike early on which carried through the whole weekend. Obviously I would have liked to have qualified higher up so I had less to do to get up to the leader, but to be honest, I'm just glad to be back on the podium again!!

“As brilliant has the weekend was, now we've just got to re-set and focus on the next round.”

“If we've learned nothing this year, it is that anything can happen," Rutter added. “There's still seven races to go, and we're only 31 points behind the championship leader.

“We made a lot of really big changes to the bike during the weekend which Taylor is very happy with, so I believe we've got a really strong package now that can win the championship."