Conor Cummins got back into Championship contention at Cadwell Park on Sunday when he finished in 6th place in round 4 of the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship. The Team Blackhorse Kawasaki rider overcame a tough first qualifying session to steadily increase his pace over the course of the weekend and he was rewarded with a fighting sixth place in the 15-lap race to move into fifth place in the title race.
 
Slight problems with the handling in Fridays opening qualifying session saw Conor down in an unfamiliar 15th place but only 1.2 seconds off the pole position time so, with a few changes to the set-up of the bike, he was confident of moving up the grid during Saturdays second and final qualifying session. Sure enough, the changes to the geometry worked and he was able to shave over a second off his time, jumping up to 8th on the grid, which was good enough for a third row start on the 3x3 grid.
 
With extremely warm temperatures on Sunday, it was going to be a tough race for the 36-strong field but a good start by Conor saw him move up to sixth straightaway and when the safety car came out on the sixth lap he was up to fifth and more than handily placed. Two laps later, the car pulled in and for the second half of the race Conor was embroiled in a fine seven-rider battle for fourth place, a position he briefly held having overhauled Luke Quigley before the Suzuki rider fought back. With the leading three riders clear, fourth place was still anyones but Quigley manfully resisted all challenges Conor made and in the run in to the line he slipped back to fifth as Glen Richards just sneaked by. Nevertheless, after crashing out of the last round at Oulton, it was good to be back in the top six and the ten Championship points picked up by Conor see him well placed in fifth overall.
 
Talking later, the 23-year old said: I am really happy to be back in the top six again and it has been nice to move back up to fifth in the Championship table. With the TT so close, its important to stay out of trouble but you have also still got to give 100% so it is a bit of a fine line but we put together a strong race and were rewarded with a good result. We had a few handling issues on Friday but all the team and the guys from Maxton got their heads together and we made a few changes to the bike to try and make it steer a bit better and it was a lot better on Saturday. In the race, I got a good start and the bike was flying but, try as I might, I just couldnt find a way past Luke. He was stronger than me in places but I was faster in others and if I could have got by I think I could have pulled clear but fair play to him he rode a good race. It would have been nice to have held onto fifth but Glen was more confident than me through the Gooseneck although I am still chuffed to be back in the top six. I am really looking forward to the TT now and cant wait for it to begin!
 
The next round of the Superstock series takes place at Silverstone alongside the MotoGP, over the weekend of June 19-20, but prior to that Conor will be back on the roads with the McAdoo Kawasaki team at Isle of Man TT races, his main event of the year. First practice takes place on Saturday 29 May.