Chris Burns has his eye on third spot

Aug 21 2011 by Zoe Burn, Sunday Sun

GEORDIE race ace Chris Burns is focussing on finishing third in his debut ONK Dutch Superbike Championship season.

The former MotoGP rider last week climbed up to P3 in the title chase after grabbing another podium when he finished second at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.

With two rounds left to go, he believes second place is just out of reach for him and the GS Racing squad and is now determined to secure third.

The championship has already been won by BMW rider Arie Vos, with Yamaha pilot Raymond Schouten holding second, some 43 points ahead of Burns.

“I have to think that barring any major drama, Schouten is looking good to take second now so I need to be looking at third and making sure no-one else gets it,” he told Burning Rubber last night.

“Arie has it sewn up so the pressure is off there, it’s all about the battle for second and third. Schouten is quite a way ahead so I can’t concentrate on catching him to be honest, I’ve got to think about keeping hold of third.”

Burns currently has 130 points after leapfrogging fellow Honda rider and outgoing champion Danny de Boer on 127 last weekend. However, he knows de Boer won’t want to settle for fourth, and expects a tough battle as the two Hondas go head to head in the final two rounds.

“De Boer has been ahead of me all season, but as soon as we had worked on developing the bike a bit by mid season we started to catch him.