VERWOOD-based Worx Crescent Suzuki are riding high as they head for the next round of the MCE Insurance British Super-bike (BSB) championship at Brands Hatch on Sunday-week.

Crescent’s Tommy Hill rode two hard fought races at the seventh round at Snetterton to grab two second place finishes and regain the championship lead.

In both races Hill was in lower leaderboard positions at mid-race but found the extra pace in the second half to pull himself up to the runner-up spot, recording his fastest lap in the last laps of each encounter.

Aussie rival Josh Brookes from Bournemouth had secured wins in the first two races of the weekend but his machine expired at mid-distance in the last race, which passed the championship lead to Hill as he overcame Michael Laverty in the final laps of that race.

Hill now leads the BSB championship by two points over Brookes and also leads the BSB podium points table by one point.

Crescent’s Yukio Kagayama suffered more ill luck in the first race when his clutch developed a technical issue during the sighting lap, forcing him to start from the pit lane. He finished 21st. In the second race, starting from 24th, Kagayama rode an impressively strong race gaining 14 positions to finish top ten.

Hill said: “I can’t deny its very satisfying to get back on the podium in all the races and to take back the championship lead.

“We were running less electronic aids on the bike and maybe this harmed my early race pace, but it seemed to work very much to my advantage in the second half of each race and I found I had a consistent feel to the bike that allowed me to confidently push hard at the end.

“A little bit of luck fell into our hands with Brookes going out in the third race, but it helps to be in the right place for when these things happen. No question I’m really looking forward to the Brands Hatch GP round now!”

Team manager Jack Valentine said: “The team has worked hard on the set-up, the GSX-R’s always been good but it’s the very last little details that are making all the difference and certainly we’ve now got a very good basis on which to build for the coming races.”