Lewis Cornish got his 2012 supermoto season off to a flying start at the first two meetings of the year.

The season’s campaign got under way at Lydd International Raceway in Kent where the teenage Nameplate Services/DCR racer crossed the line in first place in race one of the SSM.UK Championship.

Fully charged on his success Lewis continued to push hard throughout the day and returned another top five finish to scoop second overall in the championship standings.

This was an excellent warm-up for the opening round of the televised British Supermoto Elite 450 and Open Championships held over the Easter weekend at Three Sisters Circuit near Wigan.

Lewis, from Caister, laid his mark down early in the weekend with a strong fifth place qualifying position in the 450s.

A bad start meant that he had to work hard in the damp overcast conditions to finish sixth in race one, followed by a forth place in race two. In the trophy final Lewis was fired up for a good result and got a fantastic start and quickly moved up to third place.

Shadowing the rider in front it seemed only a matter of time before Lewis would make a move on the second place rider, but despite setting the fastest lap of the leading trio he narrowly missed out on the runner up spot to finish third at the flag and gain a well-deserved podium position.

On the podium Lewis thanked his team and sponsors and commented on his race strategy: “I’m just so pleased to be on the British podium, we’ve all worked so hard over the winter and now the investment is paying off.

“I had a great start and several times I could have made a move to go through to second but it would have been a big risk and I didn’t want to take either of us down.

“Well done to Ben for his first win and also to Lee for fending me off for most of the race.”

Easter Monday dawned in typical British Bank Holiday style….torrential downpours, mixed with overcast conditions would dominate race day.

Although the weather was inclement at least it made the days tyre choices easy. Unfortunately a sixth place qualifying spot didn’t help as Lewis became tangled up with other riders at the first corner.

Passing several competitors and with visibility at a premium Lewis worked his way up to fifth place before sliding off on the dirt section.

Once restarted the Norfolk youngster battled back up through the pack only to fall once more but he still salvaged 12th place.

If this wasn’t bad enough, Lewis’ luck really did desert him in race two as he picked up a puncture and dropped from the leading pack right down to 24th at the flag, at least it was still a points scoring finish.

Starting from the back row for the final race of the weekend Lewis had nothing to lose and his determination was clear to see.

He passed rider after rider sometimes two at a time and rode an amazing race to finish in a very respectable seventh place. Not the best of days but overall a good haul of championship points.

Dave Clarke was impressed with Lewis’ riding over the Easter weekend: “He’s had some fantastic races with a podium in the 450s and the last race today shows just how quick Lewis is. Despite the bad luck with a puncture his determination is obvious and his pre-season preparations has obviously worked well.”

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