Runners-up spot well within reach as racer Railton faces exciting championship finish
Jon Railton during the penultimate round of the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup at Silverstone. Picture: NIGEL SHEARING - Credit: Archant
Hunts racer Jon Railton is bidding to equal his best-ever Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup finish – in what is shaping up to be a thrilling conclusion to the season.
Jon Railton aboard his Boast Plumbing Supplies bike at Silverstone. Picture: NIGEL SHEARING - Credit: Archant
Railton is one of four riders who will head to the final round at Dutch circuit Assen at the end of the month with a realistic chance of finishing as series runner-up.
It is a position he occupied in 2013 and Railton, who currently sits third in the standings following fourth and fifth-placed finishes in the penultimate round at Silverstone last weekend, is determined to enjoy a repeat.
But the local man, from Little Paxton, must fight off the advances of his Boast Plumbing Supplies team-mate Levi Day, Phil Atkinson and Sean Neary in the climax on the continent.
Railton said: “The man currently sitting second in the championship – Rob Guiver – is out injured for the rest of the season so the runners-up spot is up for grabs and there are four of us all fighting over it.
“Finishing in second would equal my best performance and it would be a better achievement now as the series is much more competitive than it was back in 2013.
“It’s all building up to a showdown in the final round and Assen is one of my favourite tracks.
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“There are still 50 points available and it is simply a case of out-performing the other guys chasing the runners-up spot.
“The weather can always be a factor at this time of year so it’s about keeping a cool head and trying to avoid mistakes.”
Railton struggled with a lack of straight-line speed at Silverstone when involved in drama on the final lap of both races last weekend.
He sat in third for much of a first race shortened to five laps by rain and mounted a challenge on second-placed Mark Cheetham leaving the final bend, only to be collared by Michael Tustin, who had been sitting behind in fourth. All three riders crossed the finish line within a tenth of a second of each other.
And it was a similar story in the second race as Railton had to settle for fifth after being in a three-way battle for third spot with Josh Wainwright and team-mate Day for much of the contest.
He added: “We could easily have been talking about a couple of podium finishes, but neither race quite worked out in the end.
“We still managed good points for the championship standings and that’s the main thing.”
