Jack Kennedy believes he has "set the bar high" for himself following a brilliant opening weekend in the British Superbike Championship.
Kennedy secured three top-10 finishes at Silverstone to collect a hefty haul of 26 points for the Lisburn-based Mar-Train Yamaha Racing team.
The Dubliner finished seventh in Saturday's opening Sprint Race at Silverstone and followed that up with a similar seventh-place result in Sunday's Race Two.
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Kennedy - who also secured two front-row starts for Sunday's double-header - ended the weekend with an eighth-place finish in Race Three.
It was a hugely positive weekend for Mar-Train Yamaha Racing as they kicked off the new season in style.
Kennedy hailed the performance of the R1 Yamaha, but joked that he had a tough act to follow in the next round at Oulton Park later this month.
He said: "Saturday's opening race was nerve-racking, but I was excited as well. I didn't know what to expect but things worked really well.
"We ran at the front end of the pack and started off with seventh place which was a good start. That gave me a lot of confidence for Sunday's races, and for the rest of the season.
"To collect 26 points from the first round is great. It is exactly what I wanted, three strong finishes and get as many points as I could.
"The Mar-Train team worked brilliantly. I suppose I have set the bar pretty high for myself and it is something I have to build on now."
He added: "I am really pleased with the three results. Our goal this weekend was to get some top 10s and that's exactly what we did.
"We ran at the front of the pack and collected some valuable points, so we are delighted. It is something to build on.
"The bike felt good from Free Practice One. It did everything I wanted it to do. We fine-tuned a few things for the rest of the weekend.
"It felt amazing to be at the front and challenging those guys. We were overtaking them and challenging for second and third which gave me a really good feeling.
"To know I can do it in the first race of the season gives me a lot of confidence moving forward."
Next up for Kennedy and Mar-Train Yamaha Racing is a two-day test at Oulton Park from April 12-13, the same circuit that will host the second round of the BSB Championship at the end of the month.
"We have the Oulton test coming up in a few days' time. The forecast isn't looking great and we might have a few wet laps," Kennedy added.
"We will assess things when we get there and then hopefully the weather is better for the second round of the championship.
"Oulton is a track I really like and hopefully I like it on a Superbike as much as I did on a 600."
Meanwhile Mar-Train Yamaha Racing Team Owner, Tim Martin, praised the performance of Kennedy on the super-competitive R1, and hopes it is a sign of things to come as the season unfolds.
He said: "It really was a super weekend's work by Jack and the whole team. Everyone deserves immense credit for the effort they put in.
"To secure three top-10 finishes and two front-row starts in our first British Superbike outing is a brilliant return and a great start to the season.
"It gives us a base to work from and now we look forward to the next round at Oulton Park over the May Day weekend."
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