BUILDBASE ace Tristan Palmer experienced the highs and lows of racing at a scorching Oulton Park at the weekend, qualifying on the front row of the grid and keeping pace with the leadfers before crashing out late on.
Teammate John Laverty had to settle for eighth after set-up problems and in the 125cc British Championship Luke Hinton charged through the field only to be halted by a technical problem with his Honda RS 125.
In the 15-lap British Superstock race Palmer ran at the front all race and looked set for at least a podium finish until the pace car was brought in following an incident on track.
This caused the lead group to bunch up and as the pace car left the track, Palmer was desperate to get into second position so that he could challenge for the outright win. Unfortunately with just three laps to go, when making the pass for second, Palmer collided with a fellow rider and crashed out of the race.
"We're flying now, the bike is sorted and I'm feeling really comfortable on it," he said.
"I was on pole position until the last couple of seconds of qualifying but just lost out on that and ended up second.
"In the race I was battling up front running anywhere between second and fourth.
"After the pace car I was keen to get past Ian Hutchinson as he was holding me up, but I ended up losing rear wheel grip into the hairpin and running wide. As I came back on line I thought I could hold the position but ended up colliding with him and crashing out."
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