SPLITLATH Motorsport Aprilia newcomer Hudson Kennaugh boosted his Mirror.co.uk BSB-Evo Championship chase after taking two solid thirds in today’s races at Snetterton. The Leicester-based South African rider now sits second in the championship, just four points adrift of leader Steve Brogan.

Kennaugh, who joined the squad on Thursday, spent Friday and Saturday getting to grips with the stunning Aprilia RSV4 machine, and finished Saturday’s rescheduled race in a strong fifth in his maiden outing for the team.

But today he was back on the championship trail as he grabbed two podiums at what was expected to be the team’s weakest round of the season. The fast circuit with its high-speed straights was always going to be a challenge for the Aprilia, especially when compared to its expensive rivals which boast factory parts.

However the fast nature of the Norfolk track proved no problem for Kennaugh, as he quickly got dialled in to his new bike.

Starting from 23rd spot in Race One, Kennaugh got a clean start and by lap four had despatched with Aaron Zanotti’s Red Viper Suzuki and moved into fourth. From there he chased down Craig Fitzpatrick’s Honda, making the move on Lap Nine and rocketing up to third, a position which was to go unchallenged for the rest of the 22-lap race.

Race Two saw Kennaugh on a similar charge. This time starting from 21st on the grid, he quickly shot into third and began chasing down the leading duo of Johnson and Brogan. Each lap he reeled them in until Lap 13, when he was just under two-tenths of a second behind Johnson and the safety car was deployed.

The safety car came in two laps later and top three were quickly back on their charge. Johnson made a pass on Brogan with Hudson less than half a second behind. On Lap 21 of an extended 24-lap race, Brogan took the top spot back from Johnson. By now, Kennaugh was a second adrift but on the final lap he had reeled Johnson in. Time ran out however, and he finished third just three-tenths behind Johnson.

“This really has been a weekend full of positives, if we can move forward like we have today then we will really have a great second half of the season” said Kennaugh. “I’m really happy with everything, it was definitely the right decision to come here. It’s a great team and the bike is definitely better than expected.

“We started this weekend three seconds off the pace and in the final race we were just a quarter of a second behind. It’s been a great weekend and I leave here feeling very optimistic.”

Team Principal John Dimbylow was thrilled at his new rider’s progress. “Standing next to our practically stock Aprilia RSV4 in Parc Ferme I was struck by how our Italian machine with road-going suspension gave the factory –backed and funded Suzuki and BMW a very close run for their money on our weakest circuit and their strongest. We can only wonder at how this bike will perform when we fit similar Superbike parts.

“Hudson did a brilliant job for us, we’re all delighted that we are going home with two thirds. He has settled into the team well and we’re all going home feeling positive and excited at what there is still to come from our bike.”

But it was a disappointing weekend for team-mate Chris Burns. The former Moto-GP pilot suffered disastrous luck after a mechanical problem hit at the start of Saturday’s race. The Newcastle rider was forced out after his throttle locked on, and although the team worked late into the night to fix it, it was deemed too badly damaged for him to compete today.

John Dimbylow added: “ At the start of this weekend the team were devastated for Chris when a faulty throttle mechanism stuck open and he was forced to bail off the bike at speeds approaching 180mph.

“The team worked late on the bike but the chassis was too badly damaged to continue. Sadly, Chris was the victim of the one bike rule, and because we did not have the time to make the repairs we needed he was unable to race.”

Mirror.co.uk BSB-Evo Championship points after Round Seven.

1. Steve Brogan
2. Hudson Kennaugh
3. Gary Johnson
4. David Johnson
5. Pauli Pekkanen
6. Aaron Zanotti
7. David Anthony
8. Chris Burns