Elliott seals Irish Masters Supersport title

The Ballinamallard rider emerged unscathed from a 130 miles per hour crash in qualifying to claim first and second place finishes in the last two events at Mondello on board his AKR Thomas Bourne Racing Honda.

Josh made a late start to the campaign but surged ahead of his rivals with a string of race victories, meaning he went into the final weekend knowing two solid finishes would secure him an unlikely title triumph.

“I’m delighted,” he admitted, after sealing the championship.

“I’m probably more happy for the team, and to be able to repay them for the faith they are showing in me.

“Its their first full season in the class and I joined half way through the year. I don’t think anyone really thought that I would win the championship, but I hit the ground running and started winning quite early and that got the ball rolling.

“Thankfully, we got it secured on Sunday.”

Josh’s hopes of winning the title looked to have been crushed before the racing had started, when he crashed heavily on Saturday morning during the qualifying session.

“I made it difficult for myself,” he conceded.

“I had a massive 130 miles per hour crash on Saturday morning in qualifying for the 600 race. I completely totalled the bike.

“It was a really bizarre crash, and I put it down to the fact it was really cold with really cold track temperatures. I was having an issue with the clutch on the bike, and the rear just locked up and didn’t catch any traction and fired me off as I was going down the gearbox from fifth to fourth.

“It was a big crash. A fast one.”

Josh had already posted a qualifying time quick enough to take pole position on the grid, but his title hopes hung in the balance as his mechanics worked to get the bike back on the track before the start of race one.

“They had to build up a second bike using parts of the bike I had just crashed to get me ready for the first race just after lunch that day,” he explained.

“It was a bit of a rush with everyone running around trying to get the bike built but I got out for race one and thankfully the bike they had built was good enough to keep me at the front.

“The second bike was very far off what the first bike was like, and I was kicking myself because I was hoping to try to break the lap record in the Supersport class.”

Despite not breaking the lap record he led the race from start to finish, meaning it was in his own hands going into the final race on Sunday.

“I knew I just had to finish ahead of Emmet in the second race to win the championship,” he said.

“The plan was not to get into any silly battles on track. Jonny Campbell was keen to win a race and I sat behind him for most of the race and had a look at a few places where I could have passed him, but I thought about being ahead of Emmet and I needed to bring it home and secure the championship.

“The team were all very anxious and nervous about it, so I thought it was better just to bring it home in second.”

In addition to the Supersport class Josh recorded three podiums in the Superbike races, claiming two second places, a third and a new lap record despite a lack of testing time on board the bigger bike.

“We are way behind where we need to be with the Superbike,” he admitted. “We haven’t had much time with the electronics and set up of the bike. In the second race I put the head down and was able to go under the lap record that had stood since about 2008 with Alastair Sealey.

“To beat that on a bike that I am not really comfortable on was positive and it shows there is a lot more time to be found.”

Josh’s attention now turns to next season. A position on the grid in the British series remains the ultimate goal, but financing a deal to secure a competitive drive may elude him.

“A lot of the English teams are looking for crazy money,” he revealed.

“We have to sit down and have a think about what we are going to do. Maybe we will do the same as we did this year, with possibly a few British one off events.”