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Silverstone BSB: Pinson and Day dice for Ducati spoils

Josh Day made an uncommon mistake in Saturday’s Ducati Cup race at Silverstone, crashing out from the lead. The Host.it.co.uk Racing rider’s loss was CymCirrus Motorsport’s Elliot Pinson gain as his rival collected the victory.

Sunday saw Day back on form as he launched from pole, maintaining the advantage after an early drop, to collect his trophy from the top step despite a red flag disruption.

Saturday initially looked to be business as usual, with Day setting a new lap record on the third lap with a time of 56.287s, but disaster struck for the championship leader when he crashed out on seven laps later. This left Pinson out front with a comfortable gap to take the chequered flag, for his second victory of the year following the Donington Park visit, with the result moving him up to second in the championship standings.

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David Shoubridge (Rich Energy Ducati) who was in pain following a Friday crash, and Chris Walker (4T2 Racing) had another close race, with Shoubridge making a move in the closing moments to claim second position across the line ahead of the former Superbike star.

David Jones (Dragon Racing), Alberto Solera (Solera Sport) and John McGuinness (Blue Earth Construction) completed the top six finishers.

With the top three in the championship lining up on the front row for Sunday’s battle, Pinson was quickest off the line with Walker in second, and pole-sitter, Day, third. Pinson’s lead was not to last as the Host.it rider moved to the front, immediately setting the pace with fastest laps on the next two consecutive rounds.

By lap 6, two separate podium battles had formed between Day and Pinson, and Walker and Shoubridge, and it was set up for a gripping finale. Unfortunately, Sam Cox crashed out damaging the barrier and leaving debris across the track with the race was immediately red flagged and restarted with a six-lap dash.

Part two was a carbon copy of the first with Pinson taking the holeshot followed by Day, Walker and Shoubridge. Again, Pinson’s lead was short-lived as Day edged past over the line at the end of lap one. The CymCirrus rider pushing him all the way and setting the fastest lap of the race as the two crossed the line within 0.06s of each other. Walker and Shoubridge were equally close across the finish line, with Walker again claiming the final podium position.

“It’s a big moment in the championship with Josh not finishing and me getting 25 points,”
Pinson said of his Saurday victory. “I’m really happy with that. I got a really good start, and I was just sitting with Josh and then I saw him go down in front of me.

“It was pretty easy going from there to be honest because I had a bit of a gap behind me and no one in front of me. Really happy to take home this win and a massive thank you to the team and all of my sponsors and supporters because I wouldn’t be standing on this top step if it wasn’t for you.”

“It was good to be back, you always begin to doubt yourself after a crash,” Day said on Sunday. “I had a real strong pace in the first race and had pulled a 1.3 second lead on Elliot and made a silly mistake trying to extend my lead, when I didn’t need to. We make mistakes don’t we, and it was my first crash in two and half years.

“Race two, I pulled half a second on Elliot and then the safety car came out. It was a six-lap race, and I thought there is no way I am going to beat this kid over six laps, as he is awesome off the line. But I dug deep and the last two laps I rode super defensive, but nice to come away with the win. Hopefully we can keep that momentum and you never know I might be lifting that title again.”

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