RACER Liam Turberfield secured second spot in the North Gloucester Road Racing Championship 700 pre-injection class at Thruxton.

On heading to one of his least favourite tracks, the St John’s competitor had plenty of work to do on the Yamaha R6 after suffering damage at Pembrey.

Turberfield only managed one lap in first practice after fixing issues with the replacement engine.

Despite his gear lever falling off for the qualifying race, he finished fourth in class and sixth overall after starting fifth on the grid.

Turberfield was happy to knock two seconds off his times from 2015 as rival Jamie Griffiths won the race.

He shook off nerves in the final championship race of the season to finish third in class after battling for victory.

The red flags came out due to rain falling on part of the track making it too dangerous to continue on dry tyres, just after the Worcester rider managed to regain control after sliding.

Turberfield set the fastest lap of the contest, not far off the record, and got 16 points to overtake the unfortunate Griffiths, who crashed out on the fastest part of the track.

He admitted: “It was hard beforehand and I found it difficult to get motivated.

“I didn’t see much point going as I needed 12 points on my rival Jamie in second place in the championship.

“But I really flicked a switch in my head for the race. I was nervous before it. I was battling for the win so it was a great confidence boost and a really positive way to end a stressful season.” 

The city competitor added: “I look back on all the season’s results and when I dropped my points it was often through no fault of my own.

“If all those races had gone in my favour, then I would have challenged for the championship.”