Mature Jones makes podium

The Spa teenager, a rookie for Honda Red Bull Racing, showed that he is starting to hit his stride in the championship by finishing third at Knockhill.

Jones, who had also won the previous round at the Croft three weeks before, has began to look like one of the championship's hottest prospects after a difficult start.

The Droitwich Spa High School pupil has put aside his poor start, where he failed to finish the first three rounds of the championship, to produce consistent performances.

Mother Pam Jones said: "Every race has been a learning curve for Chris, but he's getting use to the championship."

Jones clinched his fourth front row starting position of the year on the grid after a steady performance in qualifying.

His time of 55.204 seconds put him third on the grid behind Kevin Coghlan and James Westmoreland.

He said: "I went into this race with a lot of confidence after winning the last race.

"I was hoping to make sure I was in with a chance and qualifying third I managed it."

On a Knockhill track, which is notorious for its difficulty overtaking, Jones showed his growing maturity by keeping his lofty position over 24 laps to ensure his third podium place of 2005.

He said: "That was a relatively incident-free race for me today. It certainly makes a change.

"I knew after a few laps that there was nothing I could do about the two leaders. So I settled into a rhythm and maintained my concentration throughout.

"My reward is another podium finish and some invaluable points towards my championship challenge."

The third place finish keeps Jones in the hunt for the title.

Despite slipping to sixth place in the championship after being overtaken by Coghlan, Jones trails championship leader Chris Elkin by just 44 points.

Jones will have another chance to eat into Elkins' lead at the top of the riders' standings in two weeks, when he races in round eight of the championship at Snetterton on July 10.