Racer Liam Turberfield finishes season with podium place

The St John’s competitor, 26, was eighth overall and fifth in the 700 pre-injection class in a dour opening qualifying race.

Mechanical problems meant Turberfield could not restart in the championship contest after racing was stopped by a big crash.

He could not finish after sitting third in class and fifth overall following a strong start.

Despite starting from the back of the grid on the second day, he motored up to seventh on the grid and fifth in class in the second qualifier with a more aggressive approach.

Turberfield then finished the day with a second podium place in the second championship contest and recorded his fastest lap of the meeting, which was half-a-second off the class record.

The Worcester rider, who finished fourth in class over the season, had been to the track countless times and crashed many times there too.

Although recovering from a damaged shoulder and hit by slight mechanical issues, he decided to compete but was not high on confidence initially.

Turberfield qualified seventh and fourth in class before the four races.

He said: “I was the first newcomer to finish in my race, which is what my main goal was, and to be competing with the winners is something I never thought I could do.

“I want to thank all of my sponsors for their support for this season and also appeal for new sponsors for next year if anybody would like to get involved.”

Anyone interested can visit the Liam Turberfield Racing page on Facebook.

n Lewis Hamilton has one hand on the Formula One World Championship after he won the Russian Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg was leading the race in Sochi but had to retire with a throttle issue on lap seven.

Sebastian Vettel, who was second, is Hamilton’s nearest challenger in the title race.

Sergio Perez completed the podium for Force India after Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen had a dramatic last-lap collision.