Just 24 hours after a huge crash which saw him nursing a dislocated collarbone, pain was replaced by joy for Sam Lowes and the GNS Racing team at Oulton Park today when he finished in a superb second place in round three of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship.

Initially delayed due to slight rain, it soon became clear that the rain was there to stay and a strong start saw the 19-year-old from Lincoln immediately move up to fifth place. By lap three he was up to third and a lap later this became second as he moved past Jack Kennedy. With debris needing to be cleared from the track, the safety car was deployed on lap five and when it went in on lap eight, Sam found himself briefly relegated to third.

However, showing the same grit and determination he'd shown all weekend, he was back up to second on lap ten and closed right in on the back wheel of race leader Ben Wilson. The race was anyone's but Wilson didn't make any mistakes and Sam took the second place to move to joint top in the Championship table.

There was disappointment for second team member 18 year old Ulsterman Paul Jordan though when a problem with the throttle caused him to crash out on the warm up lap, fortunately without serious injury. Despite this, Jordan occupies 5th in the Supersport Cup standings going into the next round at Oulton Park in three weeks time.


Sam Lowes:

"Conditions were really tricky today but the weather played into my hands as it was slightly easier to ride in the wet than it was the dry. I rode my own race and if people wanted to come by, I let them, which worked out as some of them crashed out trying too hard. I closed right in on Ben in the last two laps but he didn't put a wheel wrong and thoroughly deserved his win. I'm really, really happy and the team have done a mega job all weekend as did the physios. I wouldn't have been able to move my arm let alone race, if it wasn't for them. We've got some great points back on the board and being back on top of the table is what it's all about. I'd like to dedicate that result to the team for all their hard work and it's my home round next at Cadwell so I'm going there for the win and for the win only!"

Paul Jordan:

"I'm feeling very sore at the moment and just very disappointed as I felt confident we could have scored some good points again today. There was simply nothing I could do though and when I went in to Island, there was a problem with the throttle and down I went. Luckily nothing's broken so I'll be looking to bounce back at Cadwell next time out."

Gary Stubbington:

"That was a really hard race for all of us particularly with what decision to go with regarding the tyres. It was an either/or situation at first but then it became clear full wets were the only option and Sam rode a faultless race. To come back like he did after the crash in practice is brilliant and we've all got to take our hats off to him. To be joint top of the Championship is superb and the whole team is very happy to be in that position. It was a race of two halves for us though as losing Paul from the race due to an electrical problem, which caused him to crash heavily, was obviously a blow. Fortunately he's OK and I'm sure he'll bounce back at Cadwell."

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport result (16 laps)

1 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
2 Sam Lowes (GNS Racing Honda) +0.361s
3 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) +9.269s
4 Dan Cooper (Triumph) +11.615s
5 Glen Richards (Honda) +15.611s
6 Tom Grant (Yamaha) +22.453s
7 Patrick McDougall (Yamaha) +22.682s
8 Jesse Trayler (Kawasaki) +29.253s
9 Jenny Tinmouth (Honda) +32.279s
10 Mark Cringle (Triumph) +32.958s
DNS Paul Jordan (GNS Racing Honda)