For the third meeting in a row, Manxman Gavin Hunt put in a superb performance in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship to finish inside the top ten, the Northern Escalator Kawasaki rider taking tenth place in round seven at Oulton Park at the weekend.
 
Keen to continue with the good form that had taken him to sixth and seventh at the last two rounds, Gavin did exactly that in the first qualifying session on Friday to place ninth quickest and although he was pushed back to tenth on Saturday morning, he lapped quicker at 1m38.828s to close the gap to pole position man Danny Buchan. It all meant he lined up at the head of the fourth row and with bad weather forecast for Sunday the 14-lap race was brought forward to Saturday evening.
 
A slightly sluggish start meant Gavin slipped back to 12th at the completion of the first lap and by the fifth lap this had become 13th although it was nip and tuck as he was embroiled in a six-rider battle for eighth. Sure enough, as the race wore on, Gavin’s race pace came to the fore and whilst other riders slipped back he began to move forward, picking off the riders in front of him one by one. With three laps to go he was up to ninth and although Dominic Usher pushed him back a spot at the chequered flag, it was mightily close with just 0.065s between them.
 
The result moves Gavin on to 28 points, which maintains his 12th place in the Championship and he’s now just seven points adrift of ninth.
 
Gavin Hunt: “After a strong qualifying performance I was hopeful of a result similar to the previous two rounds but I had a poor first lap and it took me a while to get into the race. I’m pleased to have got tenth as I knew it wasn’t one of my better rides but I got bumped around a bit in the first few laps and it unsettled me a bit. I got beaten up by riders who I was a fair bit faster than so I had to regroup and get stuck in.”
 
“I did just that although it was quite a hard race as everyone was running at a similar pace which made it hard to overtake. If I could have run my own lines, I’m confident my pace would have allowed me to pull clear but no sooner had I overtaken someone then they came straight back. I kept chipping away and although it would have been nice to have stayed ahead of Dominic Usher and have a good go at pulling away, tenth was a good result all things considered as, like I say, I know I can ride better. It’s another top ten finish though and we’re consistently there now so the aim is to maintain this form and stay there for the rest of the season. Thanks again to all the sponsors and to everyone who's helping me.”
 
The next round of the series takes place at Cadwell Park on August 23-25.
 
Picture by Glynne Lewis.