British Superbike rider Luke Mossey started his 2017 campaign in tremendous style over the weekend after claiming second place in the championship.
The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider started the first race at Donington Park second on the grid, due to the qualifying session being cancelled, and was primed to start the season with some strong results.
The first race was a thriller, with Royston-based Mossey showcasing some aggressive overtaking which paid off as he claimed an outstanding second place. Team-mate Leon Haslam took top spot on the podium making it a JG Speedfit one-two.
Speaking about his success, Mossey said: “I tried to stay with Leon at the start, but by doing so I was making a few mistakes, so I came back to my comfort zone and tried to stay consistent.
“I knew I had a bit of a gap from third place so I maintained that speed and pulled it home in second. To be first and second for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team is a great start to our season.”
Mossey’s fastest lap in race one proved to be the fourth fastest, so he started race two on the second row of the grid in another highly respected position.
Throughout race two Mossey was entrenched in a battle between third, fourth and fifth. It was a 20-lap battle with Glenn Irwin of the Be Wiser Ducati team and Christian Iddon of Tyco BMW.
Mossey fought hard and finished the race in fifth place, behind Irwin and Iddon respectively, with Haslam taking the win.
Mossey’s result was enough to place him second overall on the championship standings after the opening round.
He said: “I was a little bit disappointed with race two; we went for the harder option tyre and sort of knew that was going to be a gamble from the start.
“Overall it was a really good weekend and we’re second in the championship. It’s the strongest start we’ve had to a BSB season, including our previous starts in the British Supersport Championship.
“I can’t wait to go back to Brands Hatch Indy in a few weeks; it’s where we got our maiden pole last year and that’s my local circuit so hopefully we can make amends.”
All eyes now turn to Brands Hatch on April 15-17, where Mossey will look to continue his fine start to the season.
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