Anthony Johnson made his debut in the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship at Oulton Park last weekend, and he was pleased with his performance.

Having been a last minute call-up and with limited testing in fact just a days before the season got underway, he made progress throughout the race weekend. He brings us up-to-date with his race weekend.

Race 1 – I started P35, got a decent start and went for the outside line into turn one. It was typical first corner chaos, I got clipped and pushed onto the wet grass on dry tyres. Somehow I kept it upright, rejoined at the back and just got my head down lap by lap.

I caught and passed a few riders, dodged Craig Dance’s broken belly pan along the way and finished P27. I was disappointed with the result but honestly I was just relieved to finish after a pretty hairy moment. I did get my PB lap time on the final lap – 1:44.8 – which I was pretty happy with.

Race 2 – I made a change to the rear suspension before the race (shout out to Dave Croft for his help) and started P31. I got into a rhythm, overtook a few riders and got onto the back of a group battling for P26 but just couldn’t find a way through. I finished P30 – I know I am capable of more but with limited time on the bike that is all I had on the day.

Overall I absolutely loved the entire weekend with MPR Racing. Just wish I had a bit more time on the bike to figure it all out.

Massive thanks to David Howard, MPR Racing and all my sponsors for making it happen. What an experience – and one I would love to do again someday

Now it’s time to get my leg back over the Triumph. Donington Park Circuit with Bemsee this weekend – See you there

Images courtesy of Colin Port Images