HORWICH motorcycle rider Malachi Mitchell-Thomas remains seventh in the National Superstock 600 Championship despite crashing out of the latest race on the final lap.

The 19-year-old racer was pushing for seventh place in the eighth stage of the series at Thruxton when he lost control of his bike on the final chicane.

He walked away with only cuts and bruises but his bike was badly damaged after it catapulted through the air before smashing into the catch fencing.

Mitchell-Thomas’s team now face a race against time to repair it before the next race at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire in two weeks’ time.

“It was a disappointing end to the weekend but I was lucky to come out with only minor injuries,” he said.

“It is one to forget for me but hopefully the team will have the bike sorted for Cadwell so I can get there and learn the track as I have never been there before.”

The young rider looked set to add to his tally of 56 in the British Superbike competition before coming a cropper in the high-speed crash.

His times were consistently quick through practice and qualifying, when he clinched ninth place on the grid.

Mitchell-Thomas gained a place early in the race and was gaining on Jordan Weaving in seventh before he lost control.