Top results for region's BSB riders and teams at Thruxton

Cannock-based OMG Racing rider Bradley Ray once again led the way securing a seventh, fourth and 10th, to move within two points of eighth place, which vitally would move him into the Showdown positions come the end of the season.

At the end of the first eight rounds, the top eight riders in the standings qualify as ‘Title Fighters’ for the Showdown and are awarded a starting total of 1,000 points – plus the podium points they have earned during the season.

These riders then compete over the final three rounds, once again scoring points in the usual manner, which shows how vital it is for Ray to finish in the top eight.

Ray's team-mate, Kyle Ryde, recovered from a DNF in race one to secure a superb sixth and then a 16th, while Eccelshall's teenage sensation, Storm Stacey, 18, was also back to his best form bagging his first points of the campaign finishing 15th twice in between an 18th.

Things are also hotting up in the National Superstock series as Black-Country based Bathams Racing rider Taylor Mackenzie endured a tricky weekend, which dropped him to third in the standings while OMG's Billy McConnell's slipped out of first place into second after finishing fourth and 11th.

Brownhills-based Astro JJR rider David Allingham was again in impressive form, taking a 13th and 18th in the superstock series to sit 19th in the championship, while team-mate Shane Richardson took a 15th and 21st in the same series.

Michael Rutter, team boss of Bathams Racing, said: “I could say that we were unlucky with the weather, or the decisions we made about the set up of the bike, but the truth is that we just didn't make the right decisions at the right time to find the last second of pace. It's as simple as that.

"It wasn't for the lack of trying. The whole team and our technical partners at K-Tech Suspension and BMW Motorrad put a massive amount to time and energy over the weekend into finding the right direction to go with the bike, and Taylor rode the wheels off it, but we just never quite unlocked the last bit of pace from the bike.

"This is racing and I've been around long enough to know that when it's just not happening for you, the trick is to get out in one piece and with as many points as you can and move on to the next one."

The British Superbike series and the rest of the support classes now move to Donington Park this weekend, August 13-15.