SWINDON’S Charlie Nesbitt turned in another promising performance in the Pirelli National Superstock championship, finishing second in the first race of a double-header at Oulton Park in Cheshire last Sunday.

Nesbitt began the weekend in encouraging form, churning out to third places in Friday’s practices to set himself up nicely for qualifying.

While the Swindon ace’s times improved, so did those of his rivals and he was unable to improve on his position in qualifying on Saturday.

A third place was still a superb result for Nesbitt, who quickly turned his attention to devising a plan for Sunday’s first race.

The Swindon ace continued to build on his recent run of form, initially moving from third on the grid to lead in the early stages of race one.

Facing strong competition from the experienced Davey Todd, Alex Olsen and Billy McConnell, the youngster was involved in a close, race-long battle for the podium before eventually sealing second on his VisionTrack Suzuki, only 0.187 seconds behind Todd.

Saturday’s success looked likely to be followed up by a strong showing in the second race on Sunday. However, with Nesbitt again vying for the win, an unrelated incident led to the safety car being deployed and he then suffered a mechanical failure before the action resumed.

Both races were won by Todd on his Milenco by Padgetts Honda, giving him a 26-point lead in the championship with two races at Donington and one at Brands Hatch still to come.

Although it was a case of mixed fortunes for Nesbitt, his strong pace throughout the weekend was a reminder of why he is one of the most highly-rated young riders on the British scene.

He is widely expected to step up to the high profile British Superbikes class in 2023 and will be keen to impress again before the season draws to a close.