Kieran grasps podium finish

KIERAN Murphy put his Donington disappointment behind him as he snatched a podium finish in the latest round of the Superstock Championship.

The Copdock-based superbike prospect travelled to Oulton Park for the fourth round of the series anxious to recover from a below-par tenth place at Donington Park the previous week.

And Murphy made amends for that display with a brilliant ride to grasp third place – despite the setback of being hit with a ten second time penalty for a starting error.

The two 20-minute qualifying sessions were split over two days.

And having got the weekend off to a good start with third place on the provisional grid, Murphy had to settle for fourth, behind eventual winner Dave Jefferies.

As the riders lined up on the grid the rain, which had affected the Donington race, again threatened.

Fortunately it held off and, having completed the warm-up lap, the riders formed up on the grid ready for the red lights to disappear.

But just as the lights were about to turn, Murphy's bike jumped forward – costing him his ten-second penalty.

As the race unfolded, Murphy fought hard to make up places.

And his hard work paid off in the closing stages of the 15-lap race as he was in third place on the track, but fourth place on corrected time.

Murphy and Luke Quigley – currently two points ahead of the Ipswich racer in the series – crossed the line side by side. However, a delighted Murphy pipped his rival by a mere few tenths of a second to claim third.

"I wasn't sure that I had got a penalty for jumping the start but I guessed I probably had so I just rode as hard as I could, passing as many riders as possible," said Murphy.

"I think if I hadn't messed up the start I could have pushed Jefferies for the race win."

Murphy – now in joint fifth place in the series table – resumes his championship challenge at Silverstone next weekend.