Thompson ready for his Oulton challenge

Thompson has moved up to the series this year and recorded a brace of points finishes in the opening round at Silverstone.

He was on the back foot at the Northamptonshire circuit as, not having ridden on the short circuit before; he had to spend time learning his way around.

But Oulton Park is more familiar to him so he will be hoping for two good races in Cheshire to boost his points tally.

Thompson said: “Well first BSB Ducati TriOptions cup race weekend done.

“An interesting one for sure on a circuit I’ve not raced before.

“Free practice was hilarious having set off in new leathers, boots and gloves but they soon bedded in and allowed me to crack on in qualifying.

“I managed to finish race one in the points... just.

“I managed to get a stonking start which saw me around 10th into turn two. I managed to hold the position for most of the race, however a few rider errors and a couple of false neutrals saw me slip back to 13th.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the first round and can’t wait to spend some more time on the little 959 learning how to ride it.”

Timetable: Saturday - free practice 12.05pm, qualifying 4.10pm; Sunday - race one 10 laps 3.15pm; Monday - warm-up 9.45am, race two 2.20pm.