BRITISH Superbikes star James Ellison, of Kendal, had an eventful weekend in the latest round of the championship.

The series was resuming after a six-week break to accommodate the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT international road races.

Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha rider Ellison was 11th fastest in qualifying at the Norfolk circuit of Snetterton.

But in race one, he soon found himself in last having navigated a dramatic collision which ruled four men out on the opening lap.

He showed good pace to make his way up to seventh but on the last lap was overtaken by BMW’s Peter Hickman and had to settle for eighth position.

His teammate, Shaun Winfield, was second from last in fifteenth position.

In race two, Ellison managed just one full lap before crashing out and retiring from proceedings. Winfield again finished fifteenth in the second race.

Both British Superbike Championship round from Snetterton were won by Leon Haslam at Ellison’s former team JG Speedfit Kawasaki.

“It’s been a somewhat frustrating weekend,” he said.

“We’ve made steady progress and we’ve got a good bike but we seem to be a little off the pace, but not a lot.

“Race one after the crashes, I was second last, so I had my work cut out.

“The bike was working great, and I picked my way through the pack but then my visor started steaming up and I lost out to Hicky on the last lap.”

Ellison added: “Race two I got away well and I wasn’t pushing at all, but then I hit the curb and went down.

“I’m really gutted for the team, they’ve worked so hard, but I’ll be back stronger at Knockhill.”

Winfield added: “It’s always a good thing to walk away with points so I’m pleased about that. However, my pace hasn’t been as strong as I wanted it to be.”

The next races, at Knockhill in Fife, Scotland, takes place from July 6-8.