The race around the 1.37-mile Leicestershire circuit was won by Yamaha’s David Jefferies after his team-mate, Matt Llewellyn crashed out unhurt from second place at the hairpin.

Richards took the holeshot in the 26-lap race after qualifying in second place yesterday. The Australian relinquished his lead, however, on lap two before finishing strongly, 4.7 seconds behind Jefferies.

"I got a good start but Jefferies and Llewellyn got by," said the 26-year-old from Adelaide. "I figured it was a long race so just bided my time. I was closing on Llewellyn when he crashed out – I just couldn’t believe he’d done it."

Sanyo team-mate, Chris Vermeulen, back from World Supersport duty over the last two weekends, was nursing injuries from recent crashes and his third place finish drops him behind Richards in the series points table.

"I was in a bit of pain with my hand and foot and I cooked the front tyre early in the race," said the 18-year-old. "I was losing the front everywhere so had to take it a bit easy. The championship is still winnable though and we’ll be trying hard at Brands Hatch next weekend."

Results (Mallory Park – 1.37 miles, 26 laps): 
1 David Jefferies (Yamaha) 21m38.451s, 
2 Glen Richards (Honda) +4.733, 
3 Chris Vermeulen (Honda) +9.106, 
4 Rob Frost (Yamaha) 9.540, 
5 Gary Mason (Kawasaki) +13.792, 
6 Jago Chapman (Yamaha) +16.641, 
7 Danny Beaumont (Yamaha) +17.092, 
8 Andy Tinsley (Honda) +26.583, 
9 Tristan Palmer (Yamaha) +32.728, 
10 Iain Duffus (Honda) +33.463.

Championship points after 10 of 12 rounds: 
Jefferies 180, Llewellyn 168, Richards 157, Vermeulen 154, Frost 79, Chapman 68, Tinsley 66, Steve Brogan (Honda) 58, Gus Scott (Suzuki) 53, Duffus 41.

Next round: Brands Hatch, 24 September.