JAMES Ellison overcame a broken wrist to claim his place in the MCE British Superbikes Championship Showdown with a stunning podium finish at Oulton Park on Saturday.

The Kendal rider sustained the injury at Thruxton in late July and has been undergoing intensive treatment to prepare.

And all the hard work paid off when he claimed second place in Saturday's opening race, before securing two fifth places on Sunday.

With all six Title Fighters having their points levelled at 500 and their podium credits added, Ellison sits third in the Championship, just 31 points from the lead as the Championship now heads to Assen, Netherlands, in the first of three Showdown rounds.

“To be leaving Oulton Park as a Title Fighter is a job well done," said Ellison. "It was our goal this weekend and thankfully we did it in the first race as I struggled a little with the injury. Josh (Brookes) and Shakey (Shane Byrne) are on fire at the moment so it’s going to be a tough final three rounds but I believe we can do it and if it wasn’t for the broken ribs at Snetterton and then the wrist at Thruxton we would have been closer. Despite that, we’re sat third in the Championship and when I’m fully fit the JG Speedfit Kawasaki will be back challenging for victory.

"The bike is mega at the moment and capable of winning every race, I’m just not able to ride it to the maximum just yet, but with two more weeks until Assen I’ll be in a much better shape. With the riders who’ve made it and Yamaha, Kawasaki, BMW and Honda all in the Showdown, it’s going to be epic. My job now is to focus on getting in the best position I can for Assen and claw back those points.”

The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider pushed hard at the front of the pack to qualify in the first of the three races, finishing in third place to add further podium points to his tally.

Byrne had grasped the advantage from the opening lap and had a pack of riders queuing up to try and snatch it away from him led by Tommy Bridewell with Ellison and Danny Buchan in close contention.

Bridewell was pushing for the lead, but disaster struck the Tyco BMW rider on the seventh lap and as he closed on Byrne to try and make a move he was sidelined by a technical problem that forced him to retire.

That left a returning Ellison and young gun Buchan to keep pushing for the final podium positions and the Be Wiser Kawasaki rider was looking for anyway to grab the second place away from the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider but it wasn't enough and Ellison held him off.

On Sunday Ellison struggled with his injury and was unable to replicate his storming start from the opening race but still crossed the line at the end of the first lap in seventh.

Keeping his cool throughout the race, Ellison was able to eventually take the flag in a strong fifth place, a position he also took in race three.

JG Speedfit Kawasaki team principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen said: “Our main goal was getting James Ellison and JG Speedfit Kawasaki into the Showdown. We achieved that far earlier than we expected and even with the amount of discomfort and his limitations on the bike, he was still able to get an incredible podium and two very strong results. We’re all so pleased for him, and the fightback to the top of the standings begins now.

"We’ll be bringing some improvements to the Kawasaki ZX-10R for Assen and with James being stronger we’ll definitely be closer to the front and show everyone we’re capable of winning the 2015 MCE British Superbike Championship."