Jon Railton hopes a bike upgrade can pave the way for an improved end to the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship season.

Railton, who lives in Little Paxton, had to settle for 22nd place aboard his Boast Plumbing Team Kawasaki ZX10R in the latest round of the series at Thruxton on Sunday.

He gained one place in the race at the Hampshire circuit after starting from 23rd position, but he couldn’t add to his sole points finish of the season so far.

Railton said: “It wasn’t the top 15 placing I was hoping to get to score points, but it was certainly good fun at the fastest track in the country.

“The lap times of the leading 25 riders in the race were covered by one-and-a-half seconds and that highlights how competitive it is in this class.

“We potentially have some new developments for our front suspension, which has been something of a lingering issue, ahead of the next round.

“Hopefully that can give us the little bit extra we need to be up there scoring points on a regular basis and challenging for the top 10.

“We’ve got four rounds to go and that’s the aim from here as we try to finish the season as well as we can.”