JOSH Day is looking onwards and upwards after a tricky second round for his Crank Racing team in the Thundersport GB series at Donington Park over the Easter weekend.

The Kent-based team and Swindon rider Day had a round to forget as they headed north to the famous Derbyshire track, struggling with inclement weather and a crash in Sunday’s first race.

Day, aboard the team’s distinctive bright yellow Kawasaki ZX10-R machine, had been looking strong as the two-day event kicked-off on Easter Sunday, setting the fastest lap in qualifying to take pole for the first race a few hours later.

A quick getaway at the green light ensured he held his position at the front, leading TT runner Gary Johnson in the opening lap.

Johnson made a pass to take the lead on lap two but Day was having none of it and took the place back a lap later. From there, he began to stretch out a lead but disaster struck with four laps to go when he crashed out.

The team worked long into the night to rebuild the bike but Easter Monday threw up a whole new set of challenges as the riders were faced with severe cold and windy weather, with a snow and rain thrown in for good measure.

Determined to make up for Sunday’s crash, Day battled with a few issues which still weren’t right on the bike to take a very well-deserved second in the first race. Returning for the final race of the day, he had hoped to secure a victory, but again struggled and, in the end, had to settle for fourth.

Day said: “It’s been a tough weekend. Things just didn’t work out like we wanted or expected them to. I was gutted to crash out from the lead in the first race, and despite the best efforts from the team to get the bike ready again, we just struggled for the rest of the weekend.

“I’ve got to thank all the boys at Crank Racing for the work they did to rebuild the bike, and now we’ve just got to put this one behind us and look ahead to the next round.”