Clarke’s Superstock 16th place at Donington Park

Aaron Clarke rode well at Donington Park at the weekend and completed the penultimate round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 championship in a strong 16th position.

He completed his free practice with ease but when it came to qualifying he found himself down in 30th position with a lot of work to do to get on terms with the leading group.

But Clarke is a fighter and when the race got underway on Sunday he shot away to make up 12 places on the first lap.

The conditions were not the best with the track greasy from overnight rain and Clarke opted for a wet weather tyre on the front and dry on the rear.

This appeared to work for him as he found himself up into 15th position on lap three.

But then the safety car came out to enable the track to be cleared of debris following a crash and when the race was back underway on lap seven he dropped back to 17th.

He did move back to 16th on lap 11 but then Milo Ward passed him which put him back a place once more.

On the penultimate lap a front runner crashed and this promoted Clarke back into 16th place which is where he completed the race, just one place away from the points.

He said: “I opted for a wet weather tyre on the front while a lot of the other riders went for drys all round.

“It turned out well for me through the first few laps as I had a lot more grip that some.

“But after the stoppage for the crash the track dried a lot more and those on slicks had the advantage.

“But I am feeling positive as I am improving with every race.

“It’s been a difficult year for me as I missed half the season after my crash at Brands Hatch but come next year I am confident I will be up there in the points.”

The final round is at Brands Hatch on October 18-20.

Tattershall’s Aaron Silvester finished 11th in the penultimate round of the Pirelli National Supersport 600 championship at Donington Park.

Qualifying didn’t go as well as he had hoped but Silvester knuckled down and managed to produce a decent result.

Starting Sunday’s race from the sixth row it was always going to be difficult to get up into a point scoring position, but perseverance is the key and after spending the first three laps in 17th place he began to make his move forward.

His cause was helped by a three-rider crash ahead of him which brought the safety car out while the debris was cleared from the track.

This allowed the riders to bunch together and when the car left the track and the race was back underway Silvester found himself up in 12th place.

He made a concerted effort to move further forward and on lap 10 he was up into 11th place.

But the group ahead were by this time just a little too far ahead and he was unable to make further progress and completed the 14-lap affair in 11th place to pick up five championship points.

This brings his total to 28 and places him 16th in the rider standings with one race left to race.

The season finale is at Brands Hatch on October 18-20.

Horncastle rider Jack Thompson was at Donington Park where he was competing in the final two races of the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup and recorded a 12th place in the first encounter, going on to complete the second race in 13th place to finish his season in 14th place overall.

Qualifying didn’t go as well as he had hoped but Thompson, who started from the fourth row, got a clean start and moved straight up into 10th place as the lights went out.

He passed Sam Middlemas to move up into ninth position.

He held ninth for a couple of laps before Mark Cheetham overtook him.

Over the next few laps he held off the attentions of Craig Currie before finally succumbing to him on lap eight and one later he was further demoted to 12th which is where he remained to the chequered flag.

Once again starting the final race of the current campaign from the fourth row, Thompson was unable to make much headway and, although he did pass Daniel Shaw mid-race, he was too far away from the group ahead to make any further progress and completed his race in 13th position.

Looking forward to next season, Thompson is anticipating a change of class if he can raise the funds.

He is hoping to contest the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 championship and will reveal more as soon as his plans are finalised.

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