LIAM Delves secured his first top-20 finish of the season at Thruxton last weekend in round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship on what is perceived as the fastest circuit in Europe.
Riding the Rapid Training Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki Fuelled by Cheshire Mouldings and Woodturnings Ltd, the 21-year-old rookie from Solihull ended his free practice just 1.575s away from pole position.
Qualifying was held in scorching heat of over 30 degrees Celsius as Delves managed to overcome the hot conditions and earn a place on the ninth row for the start of the first of three races.
Delves was 28th at the end of the first lap in race one and battled his way through to 20th at the halfway stage before gaining another place on the final lap to cross the line in 19th place – his first top-20 finish of the season.
A slow start to race two saw Delves fall back to 29th position and found himself in 25th by lap six before he cut a chicane and lost ground later on in the race to finish 27th at the chequered flag.
In the final race, Delves started and finished in 23rd position to round off a promising weekend.
Delves said: “I had a great feeling with the bike and feel I have more to give and my team feel there is more to come from the bike – the changes made to the bike have helped me improve so much.
“What an experience of a weekend at Thruxton. We have many positives to take away with us. The speed and the pace was unreal; my personal best lap time would have been top-10 last season.
“To come away with my first top-20 finish is a step in the right direction. A big thank you to all of my team for a mega weekend and everyone who came along to support me.”
The next round of the Championship takes place at Cadwell Park over the Bank Holiday weekend of August 27/29.
