A WEEKEND of two halves ultimately saw Lewis Rollo pick up a top-10 finish at Silverstone.

The Pirelli National Superstock rider endured a difficult start to the weekend with limited track time, which saw him outside the top 30 following the two practice sessions.

Positively, the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team member managed to improve his time by 1.2 seconds in Saturday’s qualifying session, which enabled him to line up in 15th for the 22-lap race.

A good start saw him gain two places on the opening lap and two laps later, he had moved into the top 10.

He was only 1.8 seconds adrift of the race leader until the 12th lap, when he was forced to retire on safety grounds due to a throttle issue.

Starting Sunday’s race 12th, Rollo, who lives between Gifford and Haddington, made another great start to slot into seventh at the end of the first lap, then fifth a lap later.

Only a last lap move by Saturday’s race winner Tim Neave denied Rollo, who finished seventh, fifth spot.

The 21-year-old said: “The weekend didn’t start very well as we had all manner of problems, so it was a real shame the technical issue forced me out of the first race.

“It was getting too dangerous to continue but Sunday was a lot better.

“All the issues had gone and I could just focus on riding so it felt good to be involved in a proper battle. It was slightly disappointing to drop to seventh on the last lap but the fact I was battling with Saturday’s race winner shows we have the pace. The team have been working incredibly hard so the aim is to get onto the podium at the last few rounds.”

Rollo, who sits eighth in the Pirelli National Superstock championship standings after eight rounds, now turns his attention to Oulton Park this weekend.