Oulton BSB: Jackson back to the top at happy hunting ground

A return to Oulton Park proved to be just the tonic Lee Jackson needed in his bid to lift this year’s British Superbike Championship as the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki rider repeated his victory from earlier this year at the Cheshire venue.

That was probably something he didn’t think was going to be possible after crashing in Friday’s free practice session when it looked like it would be another challenging weekend in store and continue his dip in form from where he was at the beginning of the season. However, a strong sixth in Saturday’s Sprint race was a solid start and he just about managed to avoid all the carnage that was going on around him in Sunday’s first race, going on to win the seven-lap re-start and take his second BSB win. Luck was on his side when he clipped the fallen Kyle Ryde’s Yamaha R1 and the team were able to repair the bike ahead of the final re-start but he took full advantage to take the lead on the third lap and see off Tommy Bridewell’s challenge to take a popular win. “The stoppages weren’t ideal in the first race and full credit to the team as the oil cooler got damaged when I hit the bike and they changed it ahead of the seven-lap restart,” he explained. “I’ve been in the doldrums a bit recently but the team have kept faith in me and you’ll always take a win when it comes your way. I had no idea what was going on behind me and in each restart I was further up the grid than before and although it was only a seven lap race, it wasn’t the easiest for tyre life. I didn’t want to ride defensively once I was in the lead and just wanted to push on so to get the win was mega.” That was Jackson’s first podium finish since Knockhill in June which highlighted his struggles of late but he backed up