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.
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