Lewis Rollo enjoys a successful weekend at Thruxton

The Aprilia rider strengthened his grip in both the Pathway and R&G Newcomers classes at the Hampshire circuit over the weekend.

However, it proved a challenging weekend off the track, as the death of a family pet disrupted his preparations.

Rollo, who made the step up to the Bennetts British Superbikes at the beginning of the season, impressed to narrowly miss out on two top-10 finishes overall, which was good enough for maximum points in the classes.

A tough qualifying session saw Rollo start the opening race in 19th spot before cutting through the field to finish 11th.

Disruption in the second race saw Rollo come home in 16th but, again, he was impressive in the final race of the weekend as he finished in 11th spot again.

Lewis Rollo, pictured at an earlier event, enjoyed a successful weekend at Thruxton (Image: Camipix Photography)

He said: “We started the weekend really well in practice but then we were forced to miss the second session with a bike problem.

“Friday night my family all had to go back home as sadly one of our dogs passed away.

“I struggled sleeping and wasn’t thinking straight for qualifying but I had to put it to the back of my mind for the races.

“We got a great start and I was able to push hard, the bike felt really good and I felt really comfortable.

“I managed to pass Glenn Irwin and had a good dice with Peter Hickman.”

The second race was red-flagged before the distance was cut short.

Eventually, the race was brought down to a five-lap sprint.

Rollo, who lives in Gifford, felt that he was not at his best in the second race at the 2.3-mile track.

He said: “The second race was just difficult, with the red flag, restart and safety car, it was only five laps and I just didn't get settled in.

“Ian and the team just said for the final race just give it all you can and see what you can do. So I did!

“It was great to be fighting up at the front and sat in third place for many laps, we just dropped off towards the end, but it was great, another Pathway win and another strong result.”

Lewis Rollo, pictured at an earlier event, enjoyed a successful weekend at Thruxton (Image: Camipix Photography)

Attention now turns to Cadwell Park later this month, with a further three rounds of high-speed action.

Rollo and the INCompetition Sencat team hold a 48-point advantage over Alex Olsen in the Pathway Riders Classification with just 12 races of the 32-race campaign to go.

Meanwhile, the former Knox Academy pupil has a 70-point lead over Brayden Elliott in the R&G Newcomers Classification.