RIDER Ashley Beech finished ninth twice for Honeybourne's Team Jones Dorling Racing in the National Superstock 1000 Championship second round at Brands Hatch.

During the 38-lap opening race over 50 miles Beech dropped two places early on but after an early finish due to rain recovered to bag seven points in ninth spot which is where he had qualified.

In the feature race over 24 laps he was ninth again and added further championship points.

Beech said: “The bike is pretty close to how I need it but we are still missing that extra 10th of a second.

"My race pace is good and my lap times are consistent but with that tiny bit more I can get on the front row of the grid and I’m confident I could battle for the win."

He had mixed results in the opening round at Donington Park with two point-scoring finishes before tyre problems prevented a clean sweep.

The next round is at Oulton Park on Monday, May 1.