JAMES Ellison made it on to the third step of the podium during the opening MCE British Superbike race at Oulton Park at the weekend.

The JG Speedfit Kawasaki racer, from Kendal, could have very easily made it two third place finishes, but in race two he was narrowly pipped to the post by his team-mate Leon Haslam and had to settle for fourth.

But it was a solid points haul for him and he bagged an all important podium credit.

Ellison is now up to seventh in the overall standings with a 40 points total.

Race one was declared a wet race and Ellison and the rest of the grid opted for full wet tyres, but in race two in drying conditions he went for the slick options and a fully dry set-up.

“It wasn't an easy day with the weather, but we’ve made a massive step this weekend and to walk away having taken our first podium of the season is really positive,” said Ellison.

“We’ve experienced very different track conditions in pretty much every session, but we were still capable of pushing at the front in all of them so I’m feeling really good on the bike now. We’ve got a couple of weeks until Brands, but I’m really looking forward to it. We had a fantastic weekend there last year so fingers crossed we can replicate it this time.”