Keith Farmer crashed out of the lead of the British Superstock 1000 Championship at Caldwell Park, as Josh Elliott continued his good run with a another podium finish. Farmer went into the 14th points scoring race of the season with a slender lead in the championship, and it looked as though he would extend that advantage when he moved to the front of the pack, but he misjudged a chicane and crashed heavily allowing title rival Billy McConnell to move five points ahead.

The championship title remains out of Josh Elliott’s grasp after a slow start to the season, but since joining up with OMG Racing he has become a contender for race wins, and the latest race continued that trend as he claimed third place.

“We went into the weekend pretty confident,” admitted Josh.

“We knew that a few of the other front guys had been testing there so we had a bit of catch up to do, but from the first session we were finding a good set up, and we improved it every session. We were getting quicker, and we made a good improvement in the race which definitely helped, and I was able to run with them in the race, and set the fastest lap.”

Josh made a good start and after taking the first corner in fourth place he got past his local rival Keith Farmer on the first lap.

“I was feeling very comfortable and I probably should have made a move to the front in those first few laps, but I was a bit hesitant in some areas and I didn’t want to risk going down because it is very tight around Cadwell,” said Josh.

“If you do make a move then you have to make it stick or you are going to mess your whole race up. Keith came back past me, and us four sat and broke away from everyone else and pulled on a four second lead on the rest.”

Keith decided to make a surge for the front and he moved into the lead midway through the race, but Josh’s prediction about the dangers of the track were proved correct when Keith clipped the curb through the chicane, pitching him into the gravel trap.

“When I saw him go down I knew I had a comfortable third but right after he went down I started having gear selection problems going down into first,” revealed Josh.

“It was popping back into neutral and I was getting no engine braking and I ran through the chicane and that gave the front two a bit of a gap. I just had to nurse it home the last three or four laps. I didn’t know when it was going to happen and I was having to be really gentle with the gearbox, and fortunately I did enough to bring it home. It was a good weekend and good to get another podium.”

The championship now moves to Silverstone in three weeks time, and while Keith will be looking to reclaim the top spot, Josh is hoping to make it a hat-trick of podium finishes.

“We have got a good understanding of what I need from the bike, and I’m pretty confident that I can be challenging at the front every weekend,” said the Ballinamallard rider. “When you have that feeling it’s great. It’s not a feeling I have had for a very long time, so it is nice. The overall feeling on the bike is very good at the minute and I am very confident.”