Second place at Donnington Park maintained Josh Elliott’s lead at the top of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship. The Ballinamallard rider has not finished outside the top two in any of the season’s four opening races, and holds a three point cushion over nearest rival Hudson Kennaugh after a thrilling three way battle at the latest race.

Second place at Donnington Park maintained Josh Elliott’s lead at the top of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship. The Ballinamallard rider has not finished outside the top two in any of the season’s four opening races, and holds a three point cushion over nearest rival Hudson Kennaugh after a thrilling three way battle at the latest race.

Josh led the pack for much of the race but he was never able to pull clear of the chasing pair of Kennaugh and Alastair Seeley, and he was eventually pipped to the chequered flag by South African Kennaugh with Seeley finishing third to remain in contention in the championship.

“I got into the lead early on lap one and led it comfortably until lap five,” explained Josh. “I let Alastair take the lead as there was rain falling through the last sector and didn’t want to risk falling. The Safety Car came out just after that for an incident on track and gave me a chance to regroup and work out a plan for the last couple of laps. Once it pulled in, I started to attack Seeley as I felt I had a stronger pace. I put in some fast laps breaking the lap record on one of them, but couldn’t gap the riders behind. Alastair passed me into Redgate on the last lap and I could have passed him right back in two or maybe three areas before we got to the last sector, but I decided to sit behind him and make a move at Melbourne Loop or the last corner. I got great drive out of the Foggy Esses and went for the pass, but then I saw Hudson Kennaugh’s bike on the inside of me. He pretty much let the brakes off and put both of us wide. That meant it was a drag race between myself and Alastair to the last corner. I had the inside line and defended it well so he couldn’t pass.” It was Josh’s second runners up position at Donnington this year and his third in total to go with his single victory at Brands Hatch, and his consistency is paying dividends. “I was a little frustrated with the final result, but I’m still very happy to be leading the championship,” he said. “We move onto Snetterton now, which is a track I like and go well at.” Result Winner – Hudson Kennaugh [BMW]; 2nd – Josh Elliott [Morello Kawasaki] +0.473sec; 3rd – Alastair Seeley [BMW] +0.600sec; Championship Points [after 4 rounds] Josh Elliott 85pts Hudson Kennaugh 82pts Alastair Seeley 68pts