LEE Johnston has targeted a win in the British Supersport Championship before the end of the season, after capturing another second place finish at the latest round in Silverstone.

Lee showed his pace in both races at the weekend, challenging run-away series leader Skinner before claiming another podium.

“I would love to win a British Championship round this year,” admitted Lee.

“It’s been a long time since I won one, and I would really like a go at it. We are as close as we have ever been and we’ve had too many seconds.

“We have been the only person all year that has taken it to Skinner over a full race distance. We are close, but no cigar yet.”

Last season, Lee struggled to challenge for a top-three finish on board his Ashcourt Racing Yamaha R6, but he has shown a dramatic improvement after the delayed start to the campaign.

With little alterations made to the bike, Lee has put his new-found competitiveness down to a change of attitude.

“It’s not that I’m doing anything different, I just don’t have the pressure of worrying about getting injured before I go road racing,” he revealed.

“People in the British Championship think it’s mad that I’m trying to save myself to go and do something more dangerous, but doing the roads is what I make my living at, and I have to be able to be there to perform.

“When you get wrecked doing the British Championship, it doesn’t go down too well!

“You just end up taking a little percentage off, but we don’t have to worry about that when there is no road racing. That’s pretty much all the difference there is. The bike is exactly the same, apart from a few minor suspension changes. It’s just mindset and being able to have a go.”

Lee had a positive start to the latest race double header at Silverstone, where he shadowed the race leader to claim the runners up position.

“I didn’t get a great start, and we were back in fifth,” he recalled. “Skinner got away and got a second and a half gap. I got through into second and broke away myself.

“I pulled about a second and a half on third, and I tried for about five laps but we were doing identical lap times and I wasn’t catching him. It got me away from the other group, and once I realised I had got away, I settled for second.”

The second race of the weekend looked like it would yield yet another top finish, but gearbox problems ended his race prematurely.

“It was a selector fork in third gear and after about ten laps it started to go,” said Lee.

“Every time, I would come through into second and then miss a gear or grind a gear and drop back to fifth, and then make my way through and then drop back again.

“With two laps to go, it gave up and stuck. It made a horrific noise and that was the end of that.”

Lee will return to he roads for the Gold Cup at Scarborough this weekend, before he has another chance to grab that British Championship win when the series returns to Oulton Park a week later.