BURNLEY'S Neil Hodgson finished fifth at the AMA Superbike race at Road Atlanta.
Hodgson ran as high as third in the 25-lap event and challenged for the podium before a grip issue blunted his charge.
Hodgson, who qualified on the front row, got a good start in the race held in the warm Georgia countryside near Atlanta and said: "Even though we weren't racing for the win, we were riding hard and trying to do the best wecould."
An off-track excursion cost Hodgson a position in the order to an eventual podium finisher.
He added: "I ran off the track, unfortunately, and that's how Aaron Yates got by me. I was trying to hang with him and thinking we could run that pace until the end of the race but we had a grip issue with a few laps to go."
Race 1 Results 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 5. Neil Hodgson (Parts Unlimited Ducati)
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