It was a weekend where very little went right for the BLDS Couriers rider, culminating in his first non-finish of the season, as he slid out of Sunday’s race in the wet.

In Friday’s free practice sessions, Fitzpatrick went well, posting the 10th fastest overall time in the dry and the fifth fastest in the wet.

Those times were fastest and second fastest respectively, out of the Cup competitors.

Although his lap times were impressive, Fitzpatrick was not happy with the way the bike felt.

Saturday’s qualifying sessions didn’t go smoothly, as Fitzpatrick chased suspension settings through both sessions, to enable him to improve his lap times.

Traffic was also a problem on the 1.4 mile Leicestershire circuit, making it difficult for all the riders to get into a rhythm.

With Sunday morning warm up providing no improvement, Fitzpatrick was left praying for rain, as he felt more comfortable with his wet set up.

It looked as though his prayers had been answered, as the grid formed so came the rain. His hopes were dashed however, as his wet bike wasn’t ready in time to take his grid position, leaving him to start from the back.

After climbing his way back through the field, Fitzpatrick was back up to third in the Cup, before a coming together at the hairpin.

The collision broke Fitzpatrick’s clutch lever off, making it difficult for him to maintain his pace. Then on lap 10, Fitzpatrick’s miserable weekend came to an end as he crashed out at Edwina’s.

Fitzpatrick has now dropped to second position in the Cup championship.