LEWIS Rollo “burst out greeting” after picking up his first ever podium finish in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
A rollercoaster weekend at Snetterton saw the racer start the first race from the back of the grid before powering through, only for the race to be stopped when Rory Skinner suffered a serious injury.
A five-lap dash was then needed to decide the places, with Rollo going on to lead before being pipped to the line by Storm Stacey by just 0.222s.
Rollo told Courier Sport: “I crossed the line and burst out greeting – I could not believe it.
“I went round turns one and two, and all the riders I have looked up to for years came past congratulating me.
“The layout at Snetterton means there are a couple of corners before the crowd, and Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes, people like that, were coming past congratulating me.
“To see the crowd clapping and cheering, coming into the pit lane, all the teams clapping me and into parc fermé and my mum, dad, sister, girlfriend were in tears.
“Everybody was absolutely buzzing.
“I got my helmet off and there were all different racers, Niall Mackenzie, the commentators, Shakey [Shane] Byrne, a lot of people who are big names in the paddock, were all there congratulating me.
“It was just absolutely amazing.”
The success capped a remarkable day for Rollo, who was unable to set a qualifying time after an accident in the final practice session.
That meant the Gifford rider started 26th and last on the grid alongside former British Superbike Champion Leon Haslam.
However, tyre strategy proved key and allowed Rollo to motor through the field to 11th spot when the race was stopped following Skinner’s accident.
Restarted as a five-lap sprint, Rollo again passed his rivals in a thrilling race.
He said: “I got a brilliant start and made my way through the pack and up to third and then second.
“Then, I thought ‘I’m probably going to crash, I may as well crash out in the lead as second place!’
“We then took the lead of our first-ever British Superbike race and that was incredible.”
On the last lap, Stacey came by to take the win but Rollo stressed he had no mixed feelings at coming home in second spot.
The 25-year-old, who made the step up from National Superstock at the start of the season, described the second place as “the best of my career”.
On Sunday, in dry conditions, the East Lothian racer came home in 16th in the second race of the weekend before a 20th place finish in the third race.
Rollo and his IN Competition SENCAT Aprilia team now turn their attention to Brands Hatch next weekend.
Success at Snetterton has Rollo sitting 18th in the overall championship but also extended his advantage in the Pathway Riders Classification to 37 points.
The former Knox Academy pupil also has a 42-point advantage in the R&G Newcomers Classification.
Those leads come after two non-finishes at the Circuito de Navarra in the opening round.
Rollo said: “The season never started the way we wanted.
“We were just wanting to finish a race – not be on the podium!
“We have had so many strong results and are winning the Pathway class and getting our first-ever points in the wet and the dry.
“The season was going well even before Saturday.”
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