NORTHWICH rider Craig Jones got off to a dream start at the first round of the World Supersports Championship series.
After the first two races he is lying sixth, his best start in his three seasons in world and national class events.
Jones, 22, from Greenbank, qualified second for the first race at Qatar on his new Parkalgar Honda backed machine.
In the race he settled into fourth place and pushed into third on the final lap when leader Fabien Foret ran out of fuel!
Jones said later: “You could say I was gifted the podium result, but that just shows that the back-up from my team was spot on. I was in contention with the leading riders but going through the hairpin I missed a gear, had it not been for that I would have gone for the overtake and a possible win.”
The second round of the series took place last weekend at the famous Philip Island circuit, Australia, a track not familiar with Parkalgar Honda so the set-up of the machine was not going to be easy.
Although Jones has raced the circuit the team have no data set-up details and it played a large part in the result.
Having a tough time in qualifying due to a damp track and strong winds Jones qualified in 12th position. In the race, he struggled for grip and managed 16th place.
He said: “We opted for a different tyre than everyone else and it proved the wrong choice. Halfway through it started to lose grip and it was difficult for me to maintain a race
“I never thought I would be coming away out of the points. Lack of testing didn't help, but I’ll learn from it and can’t wait for the next round at Valencia at the weekend.”
