GNS Racing's Sam Lowes put in another excellent ride in round five of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship today as he finished second at Mallory Park in Leicestershire. The 19-year-old pulled through the pack to secure the runner-up spot and the result moved him to joint top of the Championship table.

Having qualified in a strong third place, just 0.241s off pole position, Lowes made a solid start to lie in fifth place at the completion of the first lap and moved up to fourth just two laps later. Positions remained the same for the next four laps but on the seventh lap, the safety car came out due to debris on the track, thus allowing the pack to bunch up.

When the safety car pulled in on lap ten, Sam didn't wait long to make his move and, two laps later, he moved into third place as he overhauled the Kawasaki of Ben Wilson. The pace setting Yamahas of Billy McConnell and James Westmoreland had opened up a small gap but, as we have become accustomed to this season, Sam wasn't going to settle for the position he was in and, slowly but surely, he closed in on the back wheel of Westmoreland.

The Lincolnshire youngster sat behind Westmoreland for a number of laps but, with three laps remaining, he moved up into second and he promptly pulled away from Westmoreland to secure the position. After 25 hard laps in strong heat, Sam crossed the line just 2.033s adrift of McConnell to secure 20 more points for his Championship challenge, which now sees him tied for the lead with Westmoreland.

Meanwhile, there was double celebration for the team with Paul Jordan claiming second place in the Cup competition on the second GNS Honda. The Ulsterman had qualified in an excellent 18th place and by half race distance he was up into the Championship points proper and he held on to 15th place to score a good championship point. However, more important were the 20 points meaning he's now got his Cup title bid firmly back on track.

Sam Lowes:

"I'm really happy with the podium and whilst you always want to win, second is a great result for the Championship whilst it also means I've finished on the podium in every race I've finished. The safety car helped the group bunch up and once I'd got by Ben I got my head down and set about closing the gap to Westy. I dug deep and reeled him in and made a good, clean pass to secure the position. The bike's absolutely flying and the team did a terrific job once more and they've worked tremendously hard again all weekend so a big thanks to them. The meetings come thick and fast now so let's hope I can get on a roll and keep these podiums coming."

Paul Jordan:

"I felt a lot better this weekend because we'd been testing here before the meeting and that definitely helped. It was a lot more positive compared to Cadwell and I'm a lot happier. We had some brake problems at the start of the weekend but my technician sorted it out for me, so it's a big thanks to the team for all their hard work. I'm leaving here on a high so hopefully we can progress from here again at Knockhill next weekend."


Gary Stubbington:

"I'm very pleased for both of the riders. Sam worked exceptionally well all weekend and a podium was well deserved. Also, the same with Paul, he had a few problems but we got through them and once he got into gear he got a good result of 15th overall in the race and is now 4th in the Cup championship, just four points behind the leader, which is absolutely brilliant. This just shows that we, as a team, are growing in stature."

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship result (25 laps)

1 Billy McConnell (Yamaha) 24m30.058s
2 Sam Lowes (GNS Racing Honda) +2.033s
3 James Westmoreland (Yamaha) +6.030s
4 Glen Richards (Honda) +12.929s
5 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) +13.142s
6 Graeme Gowland (Honda) +13.309s
7 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) +17.035s
8 Allan Jon Venter (Triumph) +17.879s
9 Luke Mossey (Triumph) +18.832s
10 Joe Dickinson (Honda) +19.008s
15 Paul Jordan (GNS Racing Honda) +34.350s

Cup result

1 Luke Mossey (Triumph)
2 Paul Jordan (GNS Racing Honda)
3 Shaun Winfield (Triumph)
4 Jenny Tinmouth (Honda)
5 Patrick McDougall (Yamaha)

Championship standings (after 5 rounds)

1 Lowes (GNS Racing Honda) 81
= Westmoreland 81pts
3 McConnell 79
4 Gowland 54
5 Kennedy 53
6 Wilson 43

Cup standings after (after 5 rounds)

1 Kneen 68
2 McDougall 67
3 Tinmouth 66
4 Jordan (GNS Racing Honda) 64