ASTWOOD Bank speedster Andy Tinsley stayed top of the Superstocks championship after an enthralling third place finish at the super-fast Thruxton circuit.

The Tinman completed qualifying at the country's fastest track in a disappointing seventh position but made up for it during the race.

The Buildbase/Knotts racer had a ding-dong battle with rival Howard Mainwaring during the fight for third position.

The Tinman and Mainwaring passed each other an incredible 25 times during the 23-lap race and finally beat his opponent by two hundredths of a second.

Tinsley notched a race average of 106.39 mph over 18 laps on his Knotts Suzuki 1000-R in beating 34 riders.

Team boss Dave Worthington said: "Thruxton is the fastest track in the country because of a large sweeping bend called Church - it's about three quarters of a mile long and racers usually get up to about 150mph.

"It's also a bumpy circuit so getting the suspension right is critical. Andy wasn't happy with it so we'll be working on it for the next round."

Team-mate Luke Quigley with his Knotts Honda CBR600RR made a remarkable fight through the field in the Supersport race from a lowly 31st on the grid to claim 15th place - ahead of 23 bikes - averaging 103.97 mph for the 16 lap race.

Both riders will be testing at Oulton Park before their next outing at Mallory Park on April 24.