SHIPTONTHORPE speed king Chris Martin heads for Snetterton this weekend hoping to boost his chances of winning the British Superbike Cup Championship.

Martin, 23, will arrive at the Norfolk course lying third in the current standings with hopes of making ground on leader James Buckingham.

Former four-time British Moto champion Martin trails Buckingham by 63 points, but with 25 points available for each race winner and 20 points for second-place finishes that gap can soon be closed.

Martin is also a previous winner of the British GP 125 Championship and has competed all over Europe.

He first raced a bike at the age of nine and is now riding a One Stop Race/Nycom GSX R 999 Suzuki.

Sixteen-year-old Dan Linfoot, from Knaresborough, is also hoping to continue making a big impact on the bike racing scene at Snetterton.

He is heading the standings in the Academy Cup class and third overall in the Honda GP 125 class.

Linfoot, who works for his father Craig's joinery business, is sponsored by Acaster Malbis-based company Hydrographics Ltd, a company which puts graphic images on 3-D objects.

Linfoot's bike will be on a show at a fund-raising evening for him at Squires Caf Bar in Sherburn-in-Elmet on Wednesday (5pm).

Meanwhile, rookie Shaun Brown continued his fledgling season in style at Cadwell Park in rounds six and seven of the New Era club championship.

The 19-year-old took home a fifth place qualification to a fifth place finish in both the 600 races on his CBR600RR and rounded off the day by halving his grid position in the 1300 clubman open to come in 12th.

On the following day, Brown was holding third place in the opening race until he slid out at Mansfield's corner. But he came back in the second race to finish third overall and first rookie home for the third time that weekend.

Brown, sponsored by Thompson's Traditional fish and chips near York, then had a superb ride in the 1300 open clubman to finish fourth behind three 1,000cc bikes.

Updated: 10:05 Friday, July 08, 2005