British Superbikes: Andrew Irwin misses out on Top Six Showdown after sanction
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Honda Racing rider Andrew Irwin secured his maiden BSB race win at Thruxton in August
Andrew Irwin has missed out on a place in the British Superbike Championship's end-of-season Top Six Showdown after being banned from competing in the second of three races at Oulton Park.
The Carrickfergus rider was penalised by race organisers after re-mounting and finishing his lap after crashing contrary to rules in Saturday's opener.
Oil deposited on the circuit led to two crashes involving other riders.
Irwin was 10th in race three to lie seventh in the overall standings.
As an additional sanction, the 25-year-old was forced to start from the back of the grid for the third race of the weekend but forced his way through the field to claim six points.
BSB Race Director Stuart Higgs explained that Irwin had been penalised and excluded from competing in race two for breaking the rules and causing "track contamination" which led to Peter Hickman and Dan Linfoot coming off.
'Track contamination'
After finishing seventh in Saturday's race, Andrew's brother Glenn ended up 15th in Sunday's opening outing after running off the track while holding seventh spot.
The Tyco BMW rider improved to fifth position in race two and has moved up to 13th place in the series as his results continue on an upward trajectory following his split from JG Speedfit Kawasaki last month.
Josh Brookes, his Be Wiser Ducati team-mate Scott Redding and Tommy Bridewell were the race winners, with the former two riders tied on points at the top of the championship.
They will be joined in the top six by Yamaha-mounted Tarran Mackenzie, Kawasaki pilot Danny Buchan and Smiths Racing star Peter Hickman, who forms part of the leading six group of riders for the third season in succession.
Alastair Seeley crashed out in the second Supersport race at Oulton
Alastair Seeley, who was second in Saturday's Supersport sprint race, crashed out of the feature race on Sunday and looked to have sustained a wrist or arm injury.
Series leader, Dubliner Jack Kennedy, also slipped off in race two but his 10 successes so far this year mean that he still enjoys a healthy 37-point advantage over Brad Jones at the head of affairs.
EHA Racing Yamaha man Seeley is third, a further 36 points adrift of Jones.
Meanwhile in the National Superstock 600c series, Korie McGreevy clinched two second-place finishes, with Eunan McGlinchey third and fourth.
The Northern Ireland pair continue to lie second and third respectively in the championship table.
The first of the final three rounds will take place at Assen in the Netherlands on 21-22 September.