Motorsports

THE Buildbase Knotts Magnum team was on good form in the 11th round of the British Supersport Championship at Oulton Park, claiming a well-deserved eighth place.

This result was a welcome return to form and demonstrated the team's determination to get rider Matt Llewellyn racing at the front.

Qualifying proved to be exciting, with Llewellyn making the most of a new specification engine in the Honda CBR600RR to post the fifth fastest time and claim a second row start.

The lap times of the front runners were so close with just 6/100ths of a second separating second to fifth place.

After mixed weather conditions on Friday and Saturday, the 18-lap Sunday race got under way in dry, bright conditions.

At the start, Llewellyn initially lost some places on the opening lap but soon mounted a comeback and began setting some impressive lap times.

He was embroiled in an exciting three-way battle for 7th place with former 250GP rider Jamie Robinson and factory-supported Suzuki man Simon Andrews.

Llewellyn fought hard and exiting the final corner, pressured Andrews into running wide and was able to out-drag him to the finish line.

Llewellyn said: "We've had a few disappointing rounds so to be racing at the front again this weekend was great for the team and I really enjoyed it.

''I was competitive from the word go thanks to a refreshed motor and we also tried a bigger rear tyre, which gave us awesome grip.''

He added: "After qualifying fifth, I was a bit disappointed in the race because I felt we had the pace to be in the top five. I didn't get the best start and then I got pushed off line a couple of times early on, which lost me a bit of time.''

The next and penultimate round of the championships is at Donington Park over the weekend of September 24 and 25.