Ellison ‘frustrated’, ‘disappointed’ for Tag Racing Yamaha

James Ellison proved doubters wrong as he came close to winning race one of the British Superbike championship on Sunday afternoon, finishing third behind Brad Ray and Shane Byrne. However, the Cumbrian was left in the dirt during race two, leaving Donington Park with 16 points, whilst placing as top Yamaha – something that the Tag Racing Yamaha team have been since Donington Park in 2017!

“I’m just purely frustrated, before race two the game plan was to get away on the clean line from the start. I felt quite comfortable, but a few guys ran the intermediate front tyre and they went for the inside line on the damp patches into turn one and I got bullied, pushed out wide and I ended up a little bit too far behind,” began the ex GP star, who is starting his last full season in British Superbikes in 2018.

“It was then frustrating to get past Glenn because there wasn’t anywhere really to pass, he was fast, but I felt there were a lot of areas I was faster in, so I was desperate to get past him. It was a big move to get past and then I dropped him. I then went in pursuit of Shakey, I knew I had good pace and I was strong out of the Melbourne Hairpin but as I accelerated out I must have ran slightly wider than normal because I hit a wet patch and I had a massive high side.

“I’m disappointed for the team, it’s been a good start to the season and I’ve got to forget the crash. The package is further on than what most people thought it would be, so I’m taking the positives out of this weekend and moving on from it.”

Ellison now sits 7th in the championship with just 3 points separating him from a Showdown placing. Ellison led laps at last year’s Brands Hatch Indy event before crashing and was 2nd in race one the year before, so it could be a round at which he is strong at.