Josh Elliott secured his highest ever finish when he crossed the line in second place at this weekend's Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc class at Donington Park.

Josh Elliott secured his highest ever finish when he crossed the line in second place at this weekend's Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc class at Donington Park.

The Fermanagh rider led for five laps but with tyre wear becoming an issue he was unable to hold on to the top spot, but Josh admits he was delighted with the runners up position. 'It is nice to grab a second place,' he said. 'It is my best result yet and a great start to the season, so it is all good.' On board his Morello Kawasaki, Josh was battling at the front of the field right from the first practice session, and never finished outside the top two all weekend. 'Qualifying went very well,' he said. 'I was on provisional pole on Saturday and then Adam Jenkinson got me by a couple of hundredths so I qualified second. We were struggling with rear grip and we tried to improve the bike for the race, and we eventually got a very good set up for the race.' For long spells of the race it looked as though Josh would top the podium, but he lost over the second half of the race to the BMWs of Alastair Seeley and Hudson Kennaugh before recovering to snatch second on the final lap. 'I got into the lead on lap five and held the lead for about five laps,' he said. 'I felt comfortable and within myself. I wasn't overriding the bike and I felt like I could go on from there, but on lap ten or eleven I started to have slides and started to lose grip and that is when Alastair Seeley came back past me and Hudson Kennaugh as well, so I decided to sit behind them for the rest of the race. They were fighting with each other so I decided to sit behind them and see what happened and try to grab something on the last lap if I could. Alastair Seeley missed a gear coming out of the second last turn and I got past him and went across the line in second.' Josh is hoping to build on his pleasing start to the season when he travels to Brands Hatch Indy Circuit for the second round of the series. 'I hold the lap record there so I should be in a strong position,' he said. 'There is no reason why we can't go one better. I was battling at the front the whole race (at Donnington Park) and I think we should be stronger than the BMWs around Brands.'