In fine, warm weather the practice and super-pole felt good for me aboard the Alitalia RSV4 Aprilia for last weekend’s WSB held on the ultra-fast Assen TT circuit in the north of Holland. I was more than pleased with my fifth place on the grid, whilst team-mate Max Biaggi qualified in 11th.

Ahead of me was Jonathan Rea, Jakub Smrz, Troy Corser and Leon Haslam.

The lights going out on the first 22-lap race on Sunday saw me get up to second behind Corser (BMW) and hold this position for five laps until a short lapse of concentration saw me run wide, letting Rea (Hanspree Honda) and Smrz (Pata Ducati) get past, relegating me to fourth.

At the halfway stage James Toseland squeezed past me, dropping me down yet another position, so it was important to get back into a rhythm and settle down. Because it was warming up, the tyres began moving around a fair bit, so it was important not to take too many chances and try and conserve the rubber.

At three-quarter distance, I got past Smrz and Corser which pushed me up to third with Rea and Toseland ahead of me. With James in my sights, I did manage to pass him approaching one of the fastest corners on the circuit. But I ran wide, allowing him to re-take me, so with only a couple of laps to go I had to settle for third – my first podium in the series.

The start of race two saw the track temperature rise a few degrees which meant tyre conservation was paramount, but it was still important to get away with the leaders. By halfway round the first lap I’d slotted into third, then on lap three, Haslam (Alstare Suzuki) passed me – down to fourth again. This passing and re-passing continued for a number of laps.

With seven laps to go I made a move on Corser, getting me up to fourth. For the next five laps I had a real battle with Toseland with both of us passing and re-passing one another.

With just two laps to go I managed to pass James and make it stick for half a lap when, exiting one of the ultra-fast laps on the back of the circuit, I ran wide and the front tyre of my Aprilia touched the astro-turf letting go at more than 120mph and I hit the gravel trap with the bike somersaulting alongside. Ultimately I slid on my back onto a grassy run-off area – end of my race. I was really, really angry with myself for throwing away another third position – that’s racing!

Ultimately Rea won both races, with team-mate Max Biaggi coming fourth in race two. Let’s hope for better in Monza, Italy in two weeks’ time.

Race results: Race one: 1. Jonathan Rea (Hanspree Honda); 2. James Toseland (Sterilgarda Yamaha); 3. Leon Camier (Aprilia). Race two: 1. Jonathan Rea (Hanspree Honda) 2. Leon Haslam (Alstare Suzuki); 3. James Toseland (Sterilgarda Yamaha).

To find out more about Leon Camier and how you can help support a local rider, visit www.leon-camier.net