Barry Burrell provided the cheers for Buildbase BMW Motorrad after claiming his first podium finish in the Mirror.co.uk BSB-EVO class.
The team had a difficult start to the season with John Laverty injuring his finger at Brands Hatch, preventing him from competing at Oulton Park.
But Burrell took advantage of a crash involving Glen Richards and Simon Andrews to take third place. The Bishop Auckland rider took seventh in race two but was delighted with the progress made on the BMW S1000 RR.
“I was a bit surprised but very pleased by the result. It’s not the way I wanted to get my first EVO podium but I’ll take it! We were nowhere all weekend but we tried new gearing, of all things, just before the race and everything just came together and it felt like a whole new bike. The second race was pretty good too, I was in fourth place but I pushed a little too hard and I think I cracked the back wheel coming over a kerb. I’m feeling very, very confident about the next races at Croft, my local circuit.”
Ian Lowry had a mixed afternoon as he tried to move forward from 20th place on the race one grid. The Irishman was charged with the task of leading the team in Laverty's absence, but could only finish 18th after running through the gravel at Knickerbrook.
Race two brought an identical result, after a number of yellow flag incidents, including an appearance by the safety car, prevented Lowry from establishing a rhythm.
Richard Cooper was also short of luck in the National Superstock 1000 race after a problem with the brake lever problem dropped him out of podium contention, before recovering back up to fourth.
Team Principal Stuart Hicken believes the team has made great strides since the season began, and expects the tide to turn in their favour by mid-season.
“We started this weekend rather disappointed as John Laverty was ruled out of racing with a quite severe finger injury. But things definitely have come together; we’ve made great strides forward. We’ve had Peter Goddard assisting with setup and he found something that worked for Barry and got him our first podium of the season. Richard just missed out on a podium finish due to a brake problem but we’re very happy with fourth. Ian continued improving his setup and I’m confident that by the fifth meeting of the year, we’ll be mixing it in the top ten.”
In further positive news, John Laverty is expected to return to action in time for the third weekend of the championship at Croft on the 13th-15th May.