Riders back in action for second half of BSB campaign

Cannock-based RICH Energy OMG Racing made steady progress through the weekend, with BSB star Luke Mossey in particular impressive form.

Team-mate Hector Barbera only managed to complete one free practice session so had a lot to learn coming into the race weekend,

For Mossey, hopes were high after finishing fifth fastest in the combined free practice times but during qualifying he was unable to find space for a clear lap pace and found himself back in P11 ahead of the opening race.

Thanks to a fantastic start, he had moved up to ninth, sticking with the lead group and just 2.6 seconds off the lead.

Pushing to move further up the order, a false neutral saw Mossey run on at Hislops and take the long lap route, which dropped him back to 12th, eventually crossing the line one place higher, while finished 18th.

Sunday morning brought another chance to score points but hopes of points for Barbera were dashed in turn one after a collision with another rider dropped him to the back of the pack.

Not one to simply give in, he battled his way back through the field and eventually grabbed his first points of the weekend, finishing P15.

Mossey again found himself in a competitive battle for a good point-scoring position, taking advantage of a mistake from Lee Jackson to wrestle a position from the Kawasaki man before a problem for Glenn Irwin promoted him to eighth.

Eventually Jackson retook the position, leaving Mossey ninth at the chequered flag.

A 10th in the final race moved Mossey up to 12th in the BSB standings, while Barbera sits 16th after a 14th-placed finish in race three.

Storm Stacey, 17, from Eccleshall, notched a 17th and 16th, before suffering his first DNF of the campaign in race three.

OMG Racing's Billy McConnell settled for a brace of seventh-place finishes in the National Superstock 1000 series.

In race one, the Aussie fought his way into the top 10, enjoying a great battle with former Moto3 World Champion Danny Kent and Matt Truelove, the latter crashing out on the last lap as he attempted to pass.

Unfortunately, the trio lost time on the leading pack, leaving 'Skippy' to cross the line three seconds off the podium places.

Starting 11th for race two, McConnell found himself in a tough battle with previous championship leader, Tom Neave, road racing legend Ian Hutchinson and Jordan Weaving for seventh throughout the race.

But on the final lap he made his move, first bravely passing Neave on the outside of Island Bend before overtaking Hutchinson in dramatic fashion around the outside of Shell Oils hairpin.

Rapidly reeling in Weaving, the Aussie predicted a defensive line into Lodge and countered with fantastic drive up Deer Leap, crossing the line 0.095 ahead to take seventh.

The results leave McConnell fifth in the championship standings.

For Brierley Hill team manager Michael Rutter and the rest of Bathams Racing, round four of the superstock 1000 series ended in frustration.

After new rider Dan Linfoot had picked up a ninth in the opening race at Oulton Park, mechanical problems forced him to retire from race two.

Rutter said: “It's hard not to be disappointed with a ninth place finish and a DNF from the weekend, but I've been around long enough to know that this is racing, and the reward doesn't always match the effort.

"The superstock 1000 class is so close and so competitive, that just being a couple of tenths of a second off the pace is the difference between the podium and where we are.

"All the time we are getting to know the S1000RR better, and all the time we are getting closer to where we want to be. We've just got to be patient and keep solving all the issues as they come at us."

New Zealanders Damon Rees and Shane Richardson were also back racing for Brownhills-based Astro JJR in the superstock 1000 championship.

Richardson claimed two positive 13th-placed finishes, moving him to 17th in the standings.

For Rees, Oulton Park was a brand new circuit so he was a bit steadier in the opening race, taking 17th, before rising to 11th in race two. He sits sixth in the championship.

Team-mate Caolan Irwin bounced back from a disappointing crash in the previous round to take a two impressive third-placed finishes, which moved back up to fourth in the National Superstock 600 standings.

Hednesford's Kurt Wigley took a 12th and 10th in the British Supersport championship races, which leaves him 12th in the standings, the same position his twin brother, Matt, holds in the GP2 class.

Teenagers Mcauley Longmore, from Willenall, and Kidderminster's Ben Taylor continued their battle in the Britsh Junior Supersport championship.

Longmore secured a 24th and 22nd, while Taylor came away with a 26th and 24th-placed finish.

The British Superbike series now moves on to Donington Park, October 2-4.