The Morello Racing Kawasaki team were denied victory not once but twice at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday with the weather denying both Danny Buchan and Fraser Rogers the win at round three of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship.

The weekend had started perfectly for Buchan, topping both of Saturday’s free practice sessions by comfortable margins and it set him up nicely for Sunday afternoon’s 25-minute qualifying session.

However, no sooner had the Burnham-on-Crouch-based rider set the quickest lap, he crashed out at Old Hall Corner, fortunately without injury, although his time was still good enough for third place on the grid.

Race day at the Cheshire venue dawned damp but Buchan led at the end of the opening lap and when, two laps later, Richard Cooper and Adam Jenkinson crashed out, his lead shot up to six seconds.

However, spots of rain meant the race was red flagged and restarted over just nine laps with Buchan on pole.

The re-start saw Buchan lying in fourth, but on lap two he was in trouble and pulled in to retire with a technical issue

Buchan said: “Everything was going perfectly in the first race and with a six second lead, I was in a position to ease back a little and ride to my pit board.

“A bit of rain came and the race was stopped and then in the re-start, a small problem with the bike caused a DNF.

“That’s the way it goes sometimes but with Richard having bad luck as well, the points gap remains the same and there’s plenty of races to go.”

Steve Buckenham, Team Owner: “To say we’re gutted would be an understatement and we’re yet to have a trouble-free meeting.

“The first start was going perfectly for Danny and, with a six-second lead, the victory was all but his.

“He was happy leading and happy with the conditions but another rider raised their hand and the race got stopped.

“Then in the re-start, he felt an issue with the bike and pulled in and although we haven’t had time to fully inspect the bike, it looks like the settings weren’t what they needed to be for the conditions.

“Fortunately, the Championship positions have stayed the same and Danny’s still only a handful of points off the lead so we’ll regroup for the next round.”

Round Four is held at Knockhill between June 16-18.