Motorcycling
Donington delight for Johnson

Buy photos » Alan Heal captures Danny Johnson on his way to another healthy points haul at Donington Park. (s)

EVESHAM-based National Superstock 1,000cc team JD Racing and their driver Danny Johnson maintained their momentum with more success in round 11 at Donington Park on Sunday.

Johnson last raced at the Derbyshire circuit four months ago and on that occasion he crashed heavily, causing extensive damage to his race bike, but this time he showed no signs of nerves during practice as he put in a string of fast laps and by the end of the session he was confident with the handling and only minor adjustments would be required to his Kawasaki ZX-10R race bike before the start of qualifying.

With perfect weather conditions, Johnson was able to push hard straight away and after just a few laps he was second quickest.

After a quick pit stop for new tyres Johnson returned to the track but would need a few laps in order for the tyres to reach racing temperature before pushing too hard.

During one of these laps he went through the speed trap just 2mph slower than the leading riders and his position dropped from second quickest down to 17th, which shows the difference such a small margin can make at this level of competition.

Once back to racing speed, he continued to improve his lap times and was moving back up the order until he slid off on the slowest corner of the track, bringing his session to a premature end.

Despite this, Johnson had finished seventh quickest and would start the race from the second row on the grid - his best ever qualifying in the National Championship.

As the flag dropped he made a good start but dropped two places into the first corner when three riders crashed, causing the safety car to come out while one competitor received medical attention.

After two laps the race got underway again and for the remaining 12 laps Johnson traded places with a group of six riders before eventually crossing the line in eighth place to score eight more points.

Johnson is now in 15th place in the championship with just two rounds to go. After his big crash here in May, this was a real test of character and determination for Johnson and his result shows he can compete and beat some of the best factory-supported teams.

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