Donington Round 10 Superstock 600
A busy weekend at Donington in the heart of England, with two races for the Superstock 600 riders. The first being the re-run of the Oulton Park race which was cancelled due to bad weather, back in July. The qualifying times stood from then, which saw Connor take the position of 9th on the grid. The race being 10 laps, Connor got off to a good start and shot up to 3rd place behind Farmer and Irwin. Lap 5 saw Deane Brown take Connor and a mini battle with Brown and Blackshaw began. Lap 8 saw Connor retake 3rd place from Brown, then he had a huge moment which dropped him back down to 5th. Desperately seeking a podium, Connor managed to take Johnny Blackshaw but was unable to pass Deane Brown and crossed the line just 0.235 second behind, taking 4th place and 13 Championship points.
Race 2, Connor qualified in 6th place. He got an excellent start and took to the front, leading for the first 4 laps, then a nudge by Irwin took Connor on to the grass and he dropped back down to 4th behind Irwin, Blackshaw and Brown. An adrenaline fuelled Behan, desperate to regain his position, saw him tip off at the Melbourne Hairpin, luckily unhurt he jumped back on the bike, but had to retire to the pits with a broken gear leaver. Meanwhile back in the race, Irwin continued to lead and finally took the chequered flag, with Blackshaw and Brown finishing off the podium. Championship leader Keith Farmer finished in 6th place and secured the 2011 title, with Connor 58 points adrift and only 50 points available out of the next two races. Connor still sits in 2nd place in the Championship, but the gap closes behind him, only 10 points clear of Glenn Irwin.
Very disappointed with the outcome of the second race, giving Connor his first DNF of the season, but with a small consolation of setting the new lap record of 1:35.920 on lap 6 of the race.
The pen-ultimate round at Silverstone in a fortnight, Connor will be fighting to keep his 2nd place in the Championship.
