Aaron Clarke managed 12th place in the heavy rain at Oulton Park in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship over the weekend.
After a run of fine finishes, Kirton’s Clarke was back in the pack in Cheshire as he began his race from a third row grid position for Draper Racing.
He was unlucky to get the worst of the weather for his race as it was raining heavily but he needed to finish the 12-lapper ahead of Joe Sheldon-Shaw if he was to overtake him in the rider standings.
He was only one point behind him and a good result at Oulton could have seen him move up into the runner-spot. The question was, did he risk a crash in the slippery conditions in an effort to finish the race ahead of his rival or did he go for a safe finish.
Clarke opted to go out and ride as safely as he could and hope to catch Sheldon-Shaw.
He took it steady on the first lap as, being in the middle of the pack, the spray affected vision, but as the field began to spread out, Clarke made his move on the riders ahead and completed the race in 12th position.
Unfortunately, his rival finished a few places ahead of him to extend his lead in the race for the runner-up spot to six points with one race remaining.
The Superstock 600 Championship does not go to Assen at the end of September and it will go down to the wire at Brands Hatch on October 14 where Clarke will be hoping to beat his rival and take second place in the series.
