BSB: Krystal Racing Snetterton summary

FOURTH FOR JACKSON AT SUNNY SNETTERTON

Krystal Racing Space Air's Lee Jackson narrowly missed out on his second podium of the season as the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock Championship paid its annual visit to Snetterton today. Jackson crossed the line in fourth spot, while team-mate Paul Veazey scored his best result of the season in 17th.

Jackson (33) started the race from second on the grid after a strong qualifying session. But his recurring nightmare of bad starts came back to haunt him at the green light, and as the race got underway, the 32-year-old from Lincoln found himself languishing down in seventh place by the end of the first lap. After finding his feet and a consistent pace, he had made his way up to fifth by Lap Seven, before taking another spot when Luke Quigley, who had been running fourth, crashed out on Lap 11.

With three laps of the 18 remaining, Lee had reeled in John Laverty and began to push the Irishman in a bid to take third. Despite several attempts to pass him on the circuit's two blisteringly fast straights, Jackson was unable to get his Yamaha R1 past Laverty's Buildbase Ducati, and the pair crossed the line just over one hundredth of a second apart. The race was won by Glen Richards, with Hudson Kennaugh second.

"I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about it, because I really felt I could've had that last spot on the podium," he said. "I tried a number of times to get Laverty on the straights, but I just didn't have enough speed to outdrag him. He was racing very defensively and I just couldn't get past him. It was very, very close at the end, and there was pretty much nothing in it.

"I'm a bit frustrated to have been beaten so narrowly but at the same time, a fourth isn't a bad finish. I've picked up some more points and I'm now third in the championship which is a much better place than where I was when we arrived. I'm pleased with the progress we've made with the bike and I know I can get close to the lads at the front. There's still a lot to play for and a long way to go yet, so I'm going home happy."

Veazey (33) lined-up in 28th spot after a difficult qualifying session. An engine problem with the 20-year-old from Middlesbrough's machine meant he was forced to qualify on his spare bike, and the youngster had been left disappointed with his low grid position. As the race began, Veazey found the bike was handling well, and he set off to make up as many places as possible. He made it past several riders to eventually finish 17th.

"That's not too bad, I'm quite pleased with that, especially when you consider how far back I started," he said. "I was gutted after qualifying but as soon as we got off the line today I knew it was going to be ok. The bike was handling well and I really enjoyed the race.

"I made a good few passes and it felt good to be able to get some good moves on people, so I'm definitely feeling a lot more confident now. It was good battle and the first race I've actually enjoyed this year. It's my best finish of the season so far, and even though it wasn't enough to get me in the points, I'm still happy with the result."

Team owner Tony Astle commented: "We may have just been pipped to the podium but I think we're all pleased with the way the weekend has turned out. Lee is a bit disappointed to have missed out on third place, but at the end of the day, he's now sitting third in the championship and that's something to be happy about.

"Young Paul has had his best finish of the year and it's the first time he's really gone out there and enjoyed it. Getting some good passes in has boosted his confidence and sets us up nicely for the double-header at Mondello next month."

Meanwhile in the National Superstock Cup, Gary Jackson (19) brought his Newell Plumbing Krystal Racing Yamaha R1 home in sixth spot after starting from fifth on the grid. "It was a good race, I had to work hard and had a couple of good battles to deal with," he said. "I enjoyed it, it was good fun and I've come away lying sixth in the championship so it can't be bad."

Krystal Racing Space Air's next outing will be a double-header at Mondello Park in Ireland over the weekend June 15,16 and 17.

-credit: krsa