​Mixed weekend for Iddon at Thruxton

Christian Iddon in action at Thruxton last weekend.Christian Iddon in action at Thruxton last weekend.
Christian Iddon in action at Thruxton last weekend.
​Christian Iddon and his Oxford racing Moto Rapido Ducati squad managed to hold on to third in the British Superbike Championship after round seven at Thruxton.

The start of the weekend was incredibly promising with Iddon progressing directly into Q2 but he was unable to put in a good lap in qualifying and started the first race from 15th.

From that difficult grid position, Iddon was able to put on an incredible show, getting all the way into the lead before he eventually ran out of tyre and dropped back into the pack but it was a huge confidence builder ready for Sunday.

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Sunday’s increased temperatures caused a number of issues for the bike set up with Iddon struggling all day to find any kind of grip.

Despite that he was able to salvage a strong sixth in the sprint race but was unable to fight off the pack in the final race of the weekend and crossed the line in 13th.

Iddon said: "The bike worked quite well from the first session and we worked really well through our plan which was awesome. When I put in the soft tyre I had a lot of speed which boded very well but unfortunately we made an error in one of the technical aspects of the weekend and I was forced to qualify on the hard tyre which hampered our grid slot for the first race.

"In the first race I had a lot of pace and I felt I was able to move forwards without hurting the tyre. I got into the top three and eventually the lead but I had made a couple of attempts to pass (Kyle) Ryde out the back section and each time I knew I had burnt a match in terms of the tyre life but I wanted to be at the front to actually be able to conserve. That plan didn't go as I hoped and I ran out of tyre life with five laps to go and dropped down the order but it was pleasing to feel how good the bike was working and how much grip I had.

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"I honestly am lost as to what happened on Sunday as all the feeling I had with the bike vanished. I was unable to find any grip with the bike and even struggled with the front which is the first time this year I've had that issue. In the sprint race we were able to cling on to a strong result with sixth but the final race was a real struggle and I had nothing."We need to regroup and move forwards to the next round now putting this behind us. We are still in a strong championship position so it's all to play for."

The next round is at Cadwell Park from the 24th to 26th August.

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