Josh Elliott was forced to watch the first round of the British Superstock Championship from his living room after failing to secure a deal for a bike in time for the season opener at Donnington Park, but the Ballinamallard rider is hopeful that he will be back on the grid for round three.

Josh has been in discussions with a team that he believes will provide him with a competitive package, and although the deal could not be finalised in time for the first round he is confident that it will be worth the wait.

“It’s frustrating being at home and not able to do anything,” he admitted.

“I have been offered other rides but I didn’t think they were going to go anywhere, and I really want a competitive ride. At the end of 2015 we were looking to try and get into a Superbike team and it was only when that didn’t happen that the Tyco deal came up.

“Last year I felt like it just wasn’t the most competitive package compared to what I was on in 2015. It didn’t feel right and I want to make the right decision this year, and if that means waiting for this particular deal to come off then I think it would be worth it. Round two will probably come too soon because it is next week and it will be too tight, especially as we haven’t done any testing, so it will be maybe round three in a few weeks’ time.”

When Josh does make it onto the racetrack he is looking to put last year’s disappointments behind him and recapture the form that made him a British Champion two years ago. Having witnessed round one he reckons he can make a return to the front of the pack.

“It was tough to watch on television and it wasn’t much fun. It was good racing and entertaining but you just want to be involved. The Superstock class that I will be involved in looked exciting and the lap times were similar to last year so I would like to think that we would have been right up there challenging for the win.”

Since winning the title in 2015 Josh has been targeting a Superbike ride. That dream did not become a reality last season, but he believes this time around that he can progress to the bigger bike before the end of the season.

“The goal is to move into Superbikes. That is where I want to be and where I should be,” he said. “The plan is that we will be running Suzukis, and it looks to be a good package and a good Superstock bike. I know at this stage I will probably not be winning the Superstock championship because I will have missed out on so many points and it would be hard to come back and regain those points I have missed out on, but the team boss is looking to plan towards Superbikes. That is the focus of the whole programme, but they won’t have a Superbike built for a while so it will be Superstock and then straight onto the Superbike when it is ready, hopefully before the end of the year.”

It is a waiting game for Josh for the next month, but if his proposed deal comes to fruition as expected he will start his first race of the season at Oulton Park on May 1.