TT winner Gary Johnson denied podium by tyre issues
Tyre wear denied Isle of Man TT winner Gary Johnson a podium finish in the latest round of the National Superstock 1000cc Championship.
The Samsung Honda rider had been running in a strong 3rd at the Oulton Park round on Monday until issues with his tyres saw him fall back. Despite the problems, Johnson secured 6th to move up to 11th in the championship standings.
The racer from Broughton near Brigg had some catching up to do in the series after missing the second round due to a clash with the World Endurance Championship, where he represents the Honda TT Legends team.
Johnson qualified 9th and after a fantastic start was up into 5th by the end of the opening lap. He moved up another place the following lap and, on lap three, passed Victor Cox for 3rd.
His progress put him in the middle of a five rider group challenging for the lead, but by lap 7 his tyres had started to fade and he fell to the back of the group, into 7th place.
A retirement on lap 10 saw Johnson promoted to 6th, the position he held when the red flag came out due to damaged air fencing.
The 2011 Monster Energy Supersport TT winner said:
“It was a good start for me; I knew I would be a bit on the back foot after missing Thruxton, but we worked hard and we were running a good 3rd place until we seemed to lose some grip.”
“We will work on the setting for the next round to help that so we can push on again.”