After a tough few rounds Howie Mainwaring-Smart returned to form at the latest race weekend of the MCE British Superbike Championship.

On board his Quattro Plant Kawasaki at Thruxton Howie who resides in Aylesford was back up at the sharp end fighting for podium finishes.

In race one Howie took fifth place in what was a shortened first race, having started from tenth place he spent most of the race fighting for the podium, missing out to James Westmoreland and fellow Kent resident Shane Byrne.

It was an excellent weekend for the team at their local circuit and Howie followed up his excellent race one result with another good showing in race two.

Indeed he looked for a long time like he could be returning to the podium once again and with just five laps to go he was sitting in third place and handily placed to do so.

Unfortunately he needed to take evasive action when John Hopkins crashed from second place, and dropped back down the field such is the closer nature of the racing in the BSB. He did well to recover from this slight setback and finish in seventh place.

Speaking after the weekend, a pleased Mainwaring-Smart said: “After struggling in recent rounds, it’s been nice to be back fighting for positions at the sharp end and we’ve found something with the bike this weekend that has allowed me to get back to where I need to be.

“Yes, it would have been nice to have finished on the podium but I’m pleased with fifth and seventh places this weekend and pleased with the way I rode too. I didn’t get the best rub of the green when John went down whilst none of the safety car periods helped either but, like I say, I’m happy and the whole team can be proud of their efforts this weekend.”

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