JONES Dorling Racing's Ashley Beech secured fifth place and 11 points in the National Superstock 1000 Championship first round at Donington Park.

The Honeybourne team arrived at the circuit full of confidence after the team and rider successfully completed a four-day test in Spain.

Several technical issues were found during the test, including an electrical fault which if undetected would have scuppered any chance of a good result at the season opener.

Free practice on the first day went well although Beech was not completely happy with the handling affecting his entry speed into the Old Hairpin section of the track.

If his Kawasaki ZX-10R race bike is unstable when exiting the corner, several of the following corners will slow his progress and reduce lap times so it was important for the technicians to identify and adjust the settings.

In qualifying, Beech managed to improve his lap times and finished ninth fastest and started from the third row of the grid.

He began well although he dropped back to 11th place at the end of lap one but steadily fought his way back up to seventh place with over a three-second gap ahead of the following group.

Not satisfied with this position, with skill and determination he passed another two riders and crossed the finish line in an impressive fifth place.

Beech said: "On the last lap I had a scary moment when I became 'throttle happy', which caused the bike to flick me into the air and I landed on the tank so I decided to settle for a safe fifth position and 11 valuable championship points."

The team now move on to round two at Brands Hatch on Sunday.

Follow their progress at jonesdorlingracing.com, on Twitter @JDR_Racing or on Facebook at JonesDorlingRacing.