WORCESTER racer Liam Turberfield suffered a blank in the final race at Castle Combe to effectively end his title hopes in the North Gloucester Road Racing Championship.

Catching Jon Wright now in the pre-injection 700 class is "near impossible" according to the city rider who had dreaded the trip to the Wiltshire circuit but swooped for a fine victory in the third contest.

Turberfield, of St John's, said: "It was the last of the tracks we visit for me to really click with and I had previously not finished any higher than fifth.

"First practice was not good. I had a really hectic week at work and it really hit me. I felt rusty and didn't really gel with the track."

But after lifting his spirits by performing a leg dangle move made famous by Valentino Rossi in MotoGP on a bend Turberfield grabbed a strong second place in the first race with improved times despite a poor start.

He managed third in the second contest but it had to be restarted after a bad crash for his friend Gary Walters who has since embarked on the road to recovery.

Turberfield boosted his meeting further with a one minute 15 seconds lap to see off Wright and Daniel Jones after initially dropping back to eighth in class.

But following a better start in the final race his meeting was ended by a flat battery on the first lap after he forgot to charge it.

He added: "It felt like a very cruel way for the racing to finish for me when I was on for good points. I ended up with my first DNF of the year and nobody to blame but myself.

"It means Jon is going to be near impossible to catch in the championship. He's too good and too consistent to drop points like that.

"This takes all the pressure off myself and means I can enjoy my final meetings in the class before stepping up to bigger and better things."

The city competitor next heads to Anglesey on August 11, 12 and 13.