BILLINGTON flier Phil Blackmore has shed his novice tag in style with a thrilling debut race as a Derby Phoenix club rider.

Blackmore finished in second spot in his debut season in the Novice Championship, gaining enough signatures along the way to see him make the step up.

And he didn't disappoint in his first outing at Oulton Park, with a fastest lap of 1.49 seconds and an average speed of 90.8 miles-per-hour.

He said: "I went there just to see how I'll stand next year and to get an idea of where we'll be within the groups. I was quite happy to sit there and find out the lay of the land, but I was delighted with the time and the speeds."

Blackmore took part in seven two-minute testing sessions on the Friday and qualified for the A Final the following day after a sixth placed finish.

But, after a season littered with various problems, the 34-year-old thought his luck was out again when the grid positions were announced.

He explained: "It was race 13, although they called it 12A and my grid position was 13, but again they called it 12A.

"This season has been a bit up and down, I've just had one bit of bad luck after another and in the back of my mind I was thinking about unlucky 13 and thinking not again'.

"But as soon as the lights went off, I was into the first bend and I caught a few people. I was then able to settle into the line."

After tasting his first club race, where he more than matched his competitors, including the old bike of current World Superbike Champion James Toseland, he is hungry for more.

He added: "It was a brilliant experience, absolutely phenomenal. The excitement of racing up there with some of the best riders in Britain is something else."

The first race of the new season is at Brands Hatch at the end of March, but Blackmore admitted there was a lot of work to be done before then.

He said: "By the end of the race, I was absolutely shattered. I've got some training to do over the winter to get in shape for the start of next year."