Bennetts Suzuki take the positives from a difficult weekend at Oulton Park and the third round of the MCE British Superbike Championship today and look ahead to the next round at Snetterton next month with a fully-fit team ready to come out fighting.

Josh Waters, who qualified in 18th position, progressed through the pack to 12th in race one - setting the eighth-fastest lap of the race along the way - highlighting the progress the team has made with the set-up of his GSX-R1000.

After looking forward to battling at the front-end of the field in race two, a poor start left the double Australian Superbike Champion with work to do as he dropped outside of the points on the opening lap. However, he recovered to 12th with lap-times that would have seen him comfortably inside the top-10.

Team-mate Christian Iddon spent the weekend playing catch-up after breaking his leg at the previous round at Brands Hatch. The injury meant he couldn't take part in the test at Oulton Park with the rest of the teams, and only one dry practice session saw the team still searching for the right set-up in time for qualifying.

However, he battled through from his 24th-place grid spot to finish in 17th place in race one before going two better in the second race and taking a hard-earned point away from a challenging weekend.

Josh Waters:

“It's been frustrating this weekend, especially race two. We moved up 10 positions on the grid only to move what felt like 10 back. The plan was to get away with the guys in front who we know we could lap with. But we've definitely moved forward with the bike and we'll take the positives away with the times we put in this weekend. I'm looking forward to the Snetterton test now where we'll keep working hard.”

Christian Iddon:

“I think that's the hardest point I've ever earned. We've been playing catch-up after missing the test and I really struggled with my leg in the first practice session. After that, the second session was wet and the third was half-and-half, so the first time I felt comfortable on the bike was in qualifying. In the races I struggled with arm-pump as I was over-compensating with them, and it's a physically-demanding circuit. The team made some changes to the bike in race two to try and make it easier to ride. If we hadn't scored a point this weekend I think I'd have cried. But now we have a break before Snetterton so I'll keep working on getting the leg right and we'll go from there.”

Jack Valentine - Team Manager:

“The team worked hard with both riders to get a fast and stable set-up for this quick and undulating circuit. Josh had his best session of the year in race one, posting consistent lap times and finishing 12th - up from his 18th grid-spot but crucially he put himself eight on the grid for race two. While a podium might have been out of reach, a top-eight finish was certainly on the cards, but the poor start put paid to that. But he came back through after losing a lot of ground to take another 12th.

“Christian's performance suffered by not being able to use the strength in his leg and he found himself compensating with his upper body and arms which led to arm-pump in both races. But there's a break now before Snetterton, so he'll go away and get himself fit and healthy and come back stronger. This Bennetts Suzuki team is better than the current results and I'll be looking for an improved performance at Snetterton.”

The next round of the series will take place on June 19-21st on the Snetterton 300 circuit.

Race One:
1. Tommy Bridewell 2. Josh Brookes 3. Shane Byrne 4. Stuart Easton 5. Ryuichi Kiyonari. 12. Josh Waters (Bennetts Suzuki). 17. Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki). 

Race Two:
1. Stuart Easton 2. James Ellison 3. Josh Brookes 4. Michael Laverty 5. Jason O'Halloran. 12. Josh Waters (Bennetts Suzuki). 15. Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki).