Hawk Racing’s rookie rider Charlie Nesbitt mastered tricky conditions to impress again in the latest round of the Bennetts British Superbike championship.

It was a rollercoaster of a weekend for the team, with the weather playing a part in three unpredictable and incident-packed races at Donington.

Damp conditions in Saturday’s BikeSocial Sprint Race led to a tactical battle over tyre choices that didn’t work in the team’s favour as Nesbitt came home in 20th.

But Sunday saw him produce among his strongest performances of the season on the MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing, taking seventh place in race two and then - from 11th on the grid - an excellent fourth in the final and wettest race of the weekend.

Charlie said:

“Donington is one of my favourite circuits but the conditions were extra challenging and I’m really happy to have picked up two good results.

“It’s a credit to the whole team that we’re competing well against such a strong field, so I’d like to thank all of them and our sponsors for their support.

“I’m already looking forward to Brands Hatch, where I’ll be doing my best to end the season on a high.”

Nesbitt’s latest performances leave him just outside the top ten in the championship standings and favourite to finish the year as the best-placed rookie.

Steve Hicken, team manager, said:

“The weather was a big feature of the weekend and overall we can be pleased with how it went.

“For Charlie to step up and get some of his best results of the year when more experienced riders were struggling with the conditions says a lot about him.”

The team was again without the injured Josh Owens at Donington and welcomed back Michael Dunlop to gain valuable track time in his place on board the Crendon Honda by Hawk Racing.

The season finale takes place at Brands Hatch in just under two weeks’ time from October 13-15.