MAX Cook was denied a podium place at the opening round of British Talent Cup as he fell victim to the weekend’s wet weather conditions at Donington Park.

Having sensationally secured pole position for Sunday’s opening race with his final qualifying lap on Saturday, Swindon's Cook was well in contention for victory when he crashed out on lap six.

Up until that point, British Talent Cup debutant Cook had been in a battle for first place as he chased down leader and eventual winner Thomas Strudwick.

However, his hopes ended on lap six at the Melbourne Loop as he lost grip on the front tyre and slid to the outside of the track.

To his credit, Cook remounted and finished the race in 20th position but more importantly he set a host of lap times which proved he would have been fighting for the win.

The second race of the week was scheduled for Sunday morning but due to torrential rain was cancelled for safety reasons.

Reflecting on the weekend, Cook remained upbeat despite his fall saying: “To be honest I’m upset about the crash and losing the points at the first race as I wanted to start the season well.

"The weather and bike set up didn’t give me much confidence early in the race, but after a few laps I managed to find the a good rhythm with the leading group.

"I had a decent plan in my mind to fight for the win, but unfortunately as I started to close the gap to the leader, I pushed a little too hard and I crashed”

“After I crashed all I wanted to do was get back on and finish the race. I surprised myself by starting the bike without the marshals and even though the handlebars were pointing in wrong direction I was happy with the laps I put in and that I managed to set the third quickest lap time of the race on my own”

“The result wasn’t great, but I can take some positives from the weekend as my pace was good all weekend in different weather conditions and I’m beginning to get a good feeling with the bike. I’m really looking forward to the next round as I enjoyed being in the British Talent Cup set-up and the team around me worked brilliantly.”