Scotland’s Rory Skinner will race on home turf this weekend at Knockhill’s round of the Dickies British Supersport series.

The youngster has been making progress with his Chris Walker Kawasaki-backed ZX-6R after initial struggles and is hoping to put on a good performance in front of a partisan crowd.

“Step by step we’ve been making improvements this season and I’m really looking forward to racing at Knockhill again,” said Skinner.

“We were late putting our team together and it’s no secret that we got caught out by the changes to the new 636cc ZX-6R. It seems that Kawasaki made some small changes to make the ZX-6R a better road bike, but which didn’t help us with developing a race bike.

“Pre-season testing and the first few rounds weren’t productive for us as we struggled to find a set up that worked. Thankfully Kawasaki UK stepped in to help. We’re on the right track now, and I was able to get back the feeling with the bike that I had last year at Donington Park.

We had a test at Knockhill earlier this month and tried a few things, but mainly it was good to get plenty of laps in and I am happy with my race pace.

“At most races this year I have either been trying to learn the track, or we’ve been working on the bike set up, in the practice sessions so the good thing is that I should be in a position to get straight down to it at this weekend.

“The people at Knockhill have always been good to me over the years and I’ve always loved the track. This year is maybe even a little bit more special because so many people have helped me to get on track this season and for many of them this will be the first opportunity they’ve actually had to see me and the team racing.

“I am looking forward to seeing lots of friends, sponsors and supporters over the weekend and hopefully I can thank them for their support with two strong performances.”