James Lodge put himself right back in the frame for the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship title with a podium finish at Brands Hatch.
After struggling in qualification at Knockhill and Snetterton in the previous two rounds, Lodge gave himself every chance with a good run in qualifying which he was able to convert into a third-place finish.
“I had a great weekend and was running top three in almost every session,” said the Holmfirth racer.
“I missed out on pole position by 0.016 seconds in qualifying, which was a bit frustrating, but it was still my best qualifying of the year.
“After a disappointing fifth-row start at Snetterton and a third row start at Knockhill, I was over the moon to be back up on the front row again.”
After recent technical problems, Lodge was a little happier with his Moto-Breakers Team Kawasaki.
“My bike has been down on power since Oulton and I have been struggling with straight line speed,” said Lodge.
“I got a good start into second place in the race, but I couldn’t get into the lead due to the speed disadvantage.
“Through the fast corners of the back section I was having to sit up to avoid running into the back of the leader but I couldn’t set up a pass.
“I then lost second place a few laps in, down the main straight.
“I made a move back up to second place, but when we got to the straight I just got passed back.
“I had to back off a bit otherwise I would have probably fallen off and I finished three seconds behind the leader by the end, which is the closest I’ve finished to the winning time this year.”
Oulton Park on August 10-11 is the next meeting and Lodge aims to have more speed for the Cheshire circuit and said: “I have had my engine sent off to be refreshed so hopefully at Oulton the bike will be competitive – I know I would have been battling for the win if the bike was as fast as my rivals at Brands.”
