LIAM Delves overcame technical problems to ride to his best finish of the Bennett’s British Superbike Championship season at Snetterton.
The Solihull rider impressed in changing track conditions to qualify 20th on the grid and start from the seventh row in Norfolk
And after making a good start in race one, a three-rider crash caused a safety car as Delves circulated in 22nd place for a few laps before ending the 12-lap sprint race in 18th place.
However, Delves was able to climb to 16th place in race two, just one position away from the points, having started 22nd as he once again recorded his best finish of the season to date.
The weekend finished on a sour note for Delves after he was forced to retire from race three due to an engine problem on lap seven.
Delves said: “It’s been a difficult weekend at Snetterton due to a mixture of technical issues with my engine which held me back.
“Also of course the mood was sombre due to the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, we all paid our respects with a minute’s silence on each race day and wore black armbands as a mark of respect.
“My team worked endlessly throughout the weekend to keep me out on track but we had to withdraw from the third race at the halfway stage of the race.
“However, we do have plenty of positives to take away from the weekend and my personal best finish of 16th place which is a great achievement in my rookie year in the British Superbike Championship.
“Free practice didn’t quite go to plan as we encountered a technical issue which held us back and didn’t give us much track time.
“In difficult conditions for qualifying, on the Rapid Training Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki fuelled by Cheshire Mouldings and Woodturnings, I managed to put in a few quick laps to qualify in 20th place for the short sprint race.”
The next round of the Championship takes place at Oulton Park on the weekend of Friday, September 23.
