Isle of Man TT legend Peter Hickman had to adjust back to circuit racing after two weeks of rain-interrupted roads work and a breakthrough in qualifying saw the Smiths BMW rider take a brace top-seven finishes.
Hickman closed the gap on sixth-placed man Xavi Fores in the points stakes and now trails the Honda rider by just 14 with the Knockhill Bennetts British Superbike round coming up.
“It’s been a very good weekend for both myself and the team and although it was a bit of a culture shock coming back to the short circuits after the TT, I had two good races," said Hickman.
I struggled a bit in practice initially but made a breakthrough in qualifying and went on to pick up some good points.
"Race one saw very changeable conditions and although it would have been nice to have got a podium, fifth place was a good result especially as I haven’t ridden the new Smiths BMW much in the wet.
"Seventh in the second race was ok but having arrived in 12th in the standings, I’m now in eighth and a lot closer to the top six so we’re slowly but surely getting close to where we want to be.”