THE remainder of James Ellison’s MCE Insurance British Superbike season has been plunged into doubt after the Kendal rider appeared to aggravate his injured leg during round seven at Snetterton.

The 29-year-old was faced with three outings, as opposed to the usual two, at the Norfolk circuit with the abandoned second race during round six at Knockhill now taking place on the Saturday.

Ellison – who broke his femur during round two at Thruxton back in April – looked comfortable early on qualifying for Sunday’s two races in fifth and finishing the opening one in seventh.

The Swan Honda rider looked set to for a podium finish in race two – his first since the opening round of the season – but was edged into fourth by Alastair Seeley.

But just when Ellison’s fortunes appeared to be changing he was thrown off his bike after 13 laps of the final race when Seeley careered into him while attempting an ambitious overtake.

Ellison was taken the medical room and wasn’t seen afterwards but speaking before the start of the third race he said: “I had to fight my way through the field during the second race and I made some really good progress.

“With two laps to go I had a chance of winning but then I got caught up with the slower riders all the way down the back straights.

“The last lap was close between myself and Alastair [Seeley] and we touched going into one of the corners.

“I’m obviously carrying a bit of an injury and even though it can still hinder me I had to put it to the back of my mind because the other lads are probably carrying injuries – whether it is to their fingers or if they have a sore head.”

Ellison picked up 22 points for his efforts during the three races at Snetterton and currently sits tenth with 70 overall – 148 away from championship leader Tommy Hill.

HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes had better luck than Ellison taking victory in race one and two before his teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari swept up in race three.

Ellison has two more rounds before the top six enter the Showdown for the overall title but with the deficit to get there now 59 points his hopes may be slowly drawing to a close.

* British Eurosport 2 will be broadcasting every round of the 2010 MCE British Superbike Championship. The channel is available on Sky 411 & Virgin Media 525.