Double podium start for Taz Taylor at Donington

The youngster finished in a fantastic second place in race one on Sunday and then a strong third in race two.

He said: “I’m so pleased to have started the season this way with two podiums.

“I know it’s a long season, so it’s great to leave here lying in second place in the Championship. The RS Racing team have worked so hard this weekend to make the bike perfect for me.

“I felt so comfortable in the second race and so disappointed I made the mistake on the last lap where I ran on. They were two awesome races and really enjoyable, just thank you to everyone who have helped me get here this weekend and made it possible.

“I can’t wait for the rest of the season now and just hope we can keep up this form. Thank you to all my sponsors and Ryan and the team for a great start to the year.”

Racing for the RS Racing team on a KTM, Taz had a strong weekend from the start and was consistently within the top three throughout the practice and qualifying sessions.

He suffered a crash during the first qualifying on Saturday, but with not much damage done he was back out Sunday morning for qualifying two.

Taz ended up third on the grid for race one on Sunday and he was eager to get a good start to his season.

He managed to get the hole shot in the short 10-lap race but dropped back to fourth after the opening lap. He soon got his head down and back into a rhythm and was second after lap two after one of the front bunch crashed out.

Taz was consistently fast, setting five fastest laps of the race and the overall fastest lap. He pushed Brad Ray throughout the race, having a huge out the seat moment on lap eight. But he re-grouped and, despite a pass for the lead on the last lap, he had to settle for second.

In the second race on Easter Monday Taz had qualified on the front row and once again gained the hole shot and led for the majority of the race against two very strong former GP riders, Scott Deroue and Brad Ray.

Taz worked so hard and was the leader for the majority of the race. However, on the last lap he was distracted by approaching back markers and ran straight on at the Esses, managing to re-join and take a great third place.