Tarran Mackenzie has admitted he’s in a strong position for this weekend’s battle in Norfolk, no matter if the weather stays dry or rain hits as expected.

And after ending today just a quarter of a second behind pace-setter and points leader Scott Redding, the McAMS Yamaha rider believes he’s already in a good way.

Mackenzie currently sits fourth in the championship, nine points ahead of Danny Buchan but 17 down on Josh Brookes, and after only scoring points in one of the last four races, at his honorary home round of Knockhill last time out, he knows he needs to get back in the winning fight to maintain his standing.

With setup changes aiding his progress from fourth overall in FP1 to second in FP2 this afternoon, the Scotsman says he’s confident of a challenge as qualifying looms tomorrow with rain forecast for most of the day.

“I felt really good this morning and was fourth quickest using only one tyre, so I was quite happy,” Mackenzie said.

“We mad a few changes to the bike, not massive changes but enough to make a difference. I felt really good from the first lap of the second session and then we made another change during the second session and made another improvement as well.

“On my fastest lap I had a little technical issue at the end there, but the rain stopped play as well. The bike’s working really good.

“We’ll just see what the weather does tomorrow but I think in both wet or dry conditions we’ll be in a good position.”