SWINDON’s Charlie Nesbitt produced two outstanding rides in the latest round of the Pirelli National Superstock Championship at Thruxton.

Racing in sweltering conditions, the VisionTrack Suzuki prospect worked his way through the field to third place in both races of a double header - his first podium finishes of the season.

Nesbitt started from seventh on the grid for race one but was consistently one of the fastest riders on the track, closing down the leading pack in fine fashion before eventually taking third from championship leader Billy McConnell on the final lap.

It was a similar story in race two, with Nesbitt once again showing serious pace. Despite losing ground off the line following a restart necessitated by a red flag, he closed down the leaders and may well have finished better than third had the action continued for another lap.

The two performances were a welcome demonstration of the huge potential of Nesbitt, who won last year’s British GP2 championship in dominant style.

After graduating to the National Superstock category he experienced a difficult start to the 2022 season, undermined by DNFs in the opening three races, but his season’s best display at Thruxton builds on an encouraging recent run of form.

With his two podium finishes, he moves up four places to eighth in the championship standings and will have his sights set on improving further on that over the remainder of the season.

Both races were won by Alex Olsen on the FHO Racing with Kobelco BMW, while McConnell retained the championship lead with fourth and second placed finishes.

Reacting to the weekend’s racing, Nesbitt said: “This weekend has been a true success with a podium position in each race, and to top it off a fastest lap in race two.

“Me and the team worked really hard to give me the best set-up and feeling I needed to do a good job.

“I can’t thank them enough for all their hard work and support, it has been great that it worked so well this weekend.

“Now for the remainder of the season with a new focus and aims. Next stop is Cadwell Park over the August Bank Holiday and then amazing Mountain.”