Source: Supplied.

The Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) Superstock 1000 crown is in sight for Australian Billy McConnell after capturing a race victory at Oulton Park’s penultimate round on the weekend.

The Buildbase Suzuki rider charged to pole position in qualifying, which he later translated to a race win in the opening 14-lap encounter.

Battling the worsening weather conditions in race two, McConnell was in contention for a double victory, although a mistake saw him salvage seventh, which now positions him 10.5 points behind championship leader Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW Motorrad).

“The weekend started really well for us,” McConnell commented. “The bike was working well, we got dialled-in quickly and were fast from the off, and qualifying on pole gave us a lot of confidence for the races. The pack was quite close at the front, but we managed to grab the win by half a second or so in race one and it set us up well for race two.

“It was obviously wet the second time out, but we were up there again and in the mix. I definitely think we could have had a podium if not the win, but I made a little mistake and it’s cost us another good result. We’re behind Keith [Farmer] in the championship but it’ll be all to play for at Brands Hatch. We’ll go there and try to win and see how it plays out.”

With the British Superstock 1000 class not attending the Assen round of the series, the category will return at Brands Hatch’s final stop on 12-14 October.