Sean Neary's Ducati Trioptions Cup title hopes still alive

The Lymm rider heads to Donington Park for the championship’s final round sitting third in the overall standings.

He trails leader Josh Day by 24 points, but he is also just two behind second-place Rob Guiver.

Neary says Donington has proved a happy hunting ground for him in the past as he aims to pull off an unlikely win.

“The championship is still mathematically possible so on to Donington in two weeks’ time,” he said.

“A big thanks goes to the Suits Me Racing Team for all their hard work and all our sponsors who stick by us.

“Roll on Donington, which is usually a strong track for me.”

The 33-year-old kept his hopes alive by winning the first of two races at Assen in the Netherlands on Saturday.

He had finished the race in third spot but the two riders who finished first and second – Guiver and Luke Jones – were disqualified for multiple red flag violations on the final lap.

Sean Neary on the podium. Picture by Dave Yeomans

SMC Racing rider Neary could even have headed to Donington as Day’s principal challenger had Guiver not pipped him to second spot in the final race of the weekend to leapfrog him in the overall standings.

“I feel for the guys as it’s not easy in a last-lap battle, but we’ve had our share of bad luck over the years so I’ll take the points,” Neary said of his victory in race one.

“It goes without saying that I need to be winning – but I’ve got to be finishing the races to even be within a chance

“I had a few moments and I was pushing my luck a bit really.

“I was just losing out a bit on acceleration out of the slower corners, but I think that’s just physics – I’m a big lad at the end of the day.”

The final round of the championship takes place over the weekend of October 4-6.