DARREN Barton moved up a gear in his bid for the British 125cc Championship after finishing third at Oulton Park.

Barton, from Hoddlesden, was in brilliant form for round seven of the series, planting his Colin Appleyard Racing/Helphire Bike Assist Honda on pole position, with less than half a second separating the front row grid of Leon Haslam, Pete Jennings and Jeremy Goodall.

But the green light saw Barton swamped by his rivals, emerging from the first corner at Lodge down in fifth place.

A characteristic fight-back saw the popular former British champion claw his way back through the field, snatching the lead by lap 11.

A terrific four-way scrap between Barton, Haslam, Alan Green and Chris Burns - from Burnley-based RCD Motorsport - ensued over the remaining five laps with Green grabbing victory from Haslam and Barton.

"It was a good result for me, although I would have preferred to win, obviously! " said Barton after the race.

"The high temperatures out on the track meant the bike was losing power. I tried to pull out a lead on the others but we were all to closely matched."

The result moves Barton up into second place in the championship, just eight points behind leader Steve Patrickson, who could only manage fifth.

Round eight is at Knockhill, Scotland, on August 6-8.

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