It's been a busy part of the season for Conor Cummins with two weeks of action at the Isle of Man TT Races immediately followed by round 5 of the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship and the Manxman was well to the fore at both, his return to the TT both pleasing and positive given the injuries sustained there 12 months ago. His Island comeback was impressive, to say the least, and although he suffered mechanical problems during both practice week and in three of the five races, his pace was certainly quick and he was almost ever present in the top ten when he was circulating. An opening lap of 126.662mph in the Superbike race was a superb effort and he was up into 9th on lap 4 when the engine went sick and he was forced to retire. Monday afternoon's Supersport race saw another retirement, this time on the final lap when in 9th once more, but he got his first finish of the week in the 4-lap Superstock race later that day. With a succession of 123mph+ laps, Conor took a fine 12th place for another silver replica and things went better still in the second Supersport race when he finished in an excellent 6th place, something no one would have thought possible 12 months previous. His TT did finish on a low note, sadly, when he suffered his third retirement in the Senior race but it was most definitely a case of 'job done' around the Mountain Circuit this year. "My goal all along was to get to the first night of practice at the TT and by completing my first lap on the opening night, I'd achieved it and anything else was going to be a bonus - and as it turned out, I achieved far more than I thought possible. We suffered a lot during practice week with mechanical problems and I was stuck out on the course a couple of times, which was obviously no-one's fault, just one of those things. We were up against it but once we got to race week, I just got on with the job and was chuffed to bits with how I performed. If anyone had said beforehand that I'd finish 6th in one of the Supersport races, I'd have chuckled! I was running inside the top ten in nearly of all my races and whilst the DNFs were disappointing, that's how the TT can be, it's tough on everything! I got faster and faster throughout the fortnight though and, like I say, I was really pleased with the results I did get." At the end of the fortnight, Conor was also awarded the 2011 Spirit of TT Award, following in the footsteps of the 2010 winner Paul Owen, in light of his comeback from injuries and desire and commitment to return to racing on the Mountain Circuit. Commenting on the award, and his battle back to fitness, Conor said: “It’s meant everything to me to be back on the bike racing at the TT. I’ve worked really hard since the accident and it means a lot to me to win this award, especially as it's sponsored by Pokerstars, one of my personal sponsors. I couldn't have done it without the help and support of all my friends and family and all of my sponsors who stood by me during my recovery.” It was then back to short circuit action for Conor as he linked up with the Blackhorse Kawasaki team once more for round 5 of the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship. Held at Knockhill in Scotland, the vast amount of riding Conor had done at the TT had certainly paid dividends for his short circuit aspirations and he was immediately running in the top 15. Indeed, riding smoothly in the wet conditions, Conor qualified in an excellent 11th place and was hopeful of scoring his first points of the season in the 24-lap race. However, it all went wrong on the first lap when he was the innocent victim of a seven man pile up that also included TT legend John McGuinness. Battered and bruised in the spill, Conor had to make a trip to the medical centre for a check up and although nothing was broken, he had to sit out the re-start. "All the mileage at the TT really helped me so when I got to Knockhill, everything clicked straightaway. Obviously the conditions made it more of a level playing field as I'm still nowhere near fully fit but it was without doubt my best weekend on the short circuits so far. I felt really good on the bike and it was nice to be running inside the top 12 with the riders I'm usually running with. My luck ran out in the race though when Jason O'Halloran crashed and his bike collected me and about 5 other riders and it's fair to say I'm a bit sore from the crash as I got caught up with the bike and hit the deck fairly hard. The medics at the circuit looked after me really well and nothing's broken so I'll just rest up now before the next round. It was a very positive weekend though in terms of how I was performing so there's a lot to be encouraged by and I can now just press on at the next round and look to get the result I feel I'm now capable of." ENDS