Donington Park disaster for Hucknall racer Richard Cooper
Hucknall racer Richard Cooper went into the penultimate round of the Pirelli National Sportbike championship at Donington Park with a slim championship lead.
But he left the Leicestershire circuit in second place with a 21 and a half point deficit after a first lap crash on Sunday.
Riding the PHR Performance Triumph Daytona 660, Cooper completed his qualifying in second place and started the race from the middle of the front row.
But as the race got underway on Sunday lunchtime disaster struck when he crashed at Craner Curves on the opening lap of the race.
Nearest rival Edoardo Colombi went on to complete the race in second place to pick up 22 championship points and regain the lead in the rider standings with an advantage of 21 and a half points over Cooper with one round, two races remaining.
The final round is at Brands Hatch over the weekend of 11th-13th October and with extra points on offer there is still a chance for Cooper to take the title.