The penultimate round of the 2009 Metzeler National Superstock Championship at Silverstone lived up to the pre-race hype by providing a thrilling spectacle for race fans, as Richard Cooper claimed his fifth podium of the season (27 September).

With Sam Lowes called away to World Supersport duty in Italy, it was left to the very capable hands of Richard Cooper to fly the flag for the Co-ordit Performance team at the 2.2 mile Northamptonshire circuit. With the Mirror.co.uk Superbike Cup format coming to a close this season, and being replaced by the new EVO class in 2010, a second wild card ride of the season for Cooper and the Bruntingthorpe based '118' squad was made possible in the premier race class.

Posting respectable lap times throughout free practice and qualifying around the fast-paced circuit, Cooper lined up in 14th position in the middle of the fourth row alongside fellow Yamaha rider Chris Walker. Throughout the 20-lap race, Cooper mixed it with the Superbike regulars, running in a Mirror.co.uk Superbike Cup podium position during the first half of the race to finish 16th overall and fourth in the Cup. Cooper now lies in tenth position in the Mirror.co.uk Cup despite only having raced in three rounds of the Championship.

Attention then returned to the matter at hand - the chase for the runner-up spot in the Superstock Championship. With Croft race winner John McGuinness setting a blistering pace to qualify on pole, Pete Bradshaw took the decision to withdraw the yellow liveried 118 Yamaha from race 2 to prepare for battle with the TT legend.

The 2009 National Superstock Championship has undoubtedly become the most thrilling class within the Superbike series. And, with newly crowned champion, Alistair Seeley defecting to ride in the new EVO Superbike class, even more points were up for grabs as Cooper looked to close the gap on McGuinness' stranglehold over third. The 40-strong grid did not disappoint the thousands of avid race fans that stayed for the final race of a day that saw fellow Yamaha protagonist Leon Camier claim his 17th Superbike victory of the season, and with it, the 2009 Superbike crown.

From the lights, Cooper made a strong start from P4 on the outside of the front row, quickly becoming embroiled in an epic battle with eventual race winner Jenkinson, McGuinness, Neill and Brogan. Never outside of the top four, Cooper looked assured of a podium finish, the level of step unsure until the chequered flag. With the two Padgetts Hondas clashing on lap 12, leaving Brogan in the gravel, Cooper briefly elevated his Co-ordit Yamaha into second but could not hold off the advances of McGuinness. The 26 year old crossed the line in third to claim his fifth podium of the season and 16 valuable points. With Brogan failing to score Cooper has been handed a lifeline, and the final round will now see a three-way battle for the runner-up spot.

The 2009 season will draw to a thrilling close in two weeks time as the British Superbike Series heads to Oulton Park in Cheshire (9 - 11 October). Cooper will be going out all guns blazing to snatch back third, and possibly even claim second, in the Superstock championship, while Sam will look to clinch the Supersport Cup title. Ahead of that is the small matter of Cooper defending his title at the Stars at Darley, where the Nottingham based rider will be out on the Co-ordit

Performance Superbike (3 - 4 October).

Richard Cooper: "That was a very busy weekend for myself and the team. Riding Superbike and Superstock round here is hard work but at the same time it has been very rewarding. We took the opportunity to test the Superbike ahead of Stars at Darley next weekend but our main focus was to close the gap on third place in the Superstock title race. With McGuinness finishing ahead of me it didn't quite go to plan but it was a great result for the team and an awesome race to be involved in."

Pete Bradshaw: "A great weekend's racing for the team. The Superbike ride worked well and Richard was unlucky not to get on the Cup podium. I decided not to put Richard out in the second race as it ran back-to-back with the Superstock race. With this as our main focus this weekend, we desperately needed to close the gap on third. What a race it was, and Coops fought hard for the podium and it's now all in the balance for 2nd and 3rd at the final round at Oulton. We now go to the Stars at Darley with Richard on the Superbike looking to defend his 2008 title. With McGuinness also lining up it will be a tough race but will prove invaluable ahead of the final showdown at Oulton Park."

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Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship

Result:

1. Jenkinson, 2. McGuinness, 3. COOPER, 4. Neill, 5. Warren,

Championship Points:

1. Seeley - 241 (2009 Champion), 2. Brogan - 160, 3. McGuinness - 148,4. COOPER - 136, 5. Jenkinson - 119

MCE British Superbike Championship

Race 1 Result:

1. Camier (2009 Champion), 2. Ellison, 3. Brookes, 4. Easton, 5. Hill, 16.COOPER

Mirror.co.uk Cup

Result:

1. Bridewell, 2. Mason, 3. Hickman, 4. COOPER, 5. Tunstall

Mirror.co.uk Superbike Cup Championship Points

1. Mason - 470.5 (2009 Champion), 2. Hickman - 361, 3. Jessopp - 289,

4. Tunstall - 259.5, 5. Bridewell - 234, 10. COOPER - 25.5

Richard Cooper - Superbike Race 1

© Clive Challinor

Richard Cooper - Silverstone

© Clive Challinor