JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey may have finished on the podium in the opening MCE British Superbike race at Knockhill, but he felt that he struggled due to a tyre choice gamble that failed to pay off.

In race one Mossey opted for the harder SC2 front tyre compound, but had been using the softer SC1 front over the other two days on track.

In the final event the youngster reverted back to the SC1 Pirelli. He did in fact head the pack out on the Fife circuit but he was involved in a battle for the win with RAF Reserve’s Kawasaki’s Jake Dixon, Be Wiser Ducati’s Shane Byrne and McAMS Yamaha’s James Ellison.

But towards the end of the last race Mossey lost out on third to Byrne, with Dixon taking the spoils for the second time on Sunday.

Mossey was the only JG Speedfit backed ZX-10RR competing in the double-header as his team-mate Leon Haslam had to sit out both races due to an earlier free practice crash, where he broke some vertebrae and suffered a concussion.

With Haslam out of the mix it paved the way for Mossey to make his title assault and after a fourth and second place finishes he now leads the BSB championship, and has a 30 point advantage over garage buddy, Haslam.

“Jake got a blinding start, and I got through James and bridged the gap back but we went for the SC2 front, and just struggled a bit,” said Mossey at the circuit after race one.

“I think Jake run with the softer option all weekend and to be fair we ran the softer option all weekend but we opted out because the track was 40 degrees before the race. Really happy for Jake, and to win his first race is an unbelievable feeling.”