Sean Emmett kept his title hopes alive with two second-place finishes in the penultimate round of the MCN British Superbike championship.

The Colin Appleyard Racing-Virgin Mobile Aiwa rider started from 5th place on the grid, after a strong qualifying performance and knew he had the pace to run at front.

After a good start to race one, Sean comfortably settled into the leading pack. On the sixth lap he moved up to fourth and 10 laps later was leading the race.

With four other riders snapping at his heels, Sean had his work cut out to keep the lead for the next eleven laps. With just four laps to go Steve Plater just squeeze through leaving the local rider half a second behind at the flag.

Race two saw another epic battle between Sean and Steve. As the pack screamed into the first corner Sean muscled his way through. Mirroring moves from the first race, Sean skillfully out powered his rivals to move his Yamaha R1 up to second place.

With the eventual race winner having made a break, Sean's attentions were focused on those just a fraction of an inch behind him. With moves so close that paint was being traded and some of the latest braking ever seen, the leading pack had the large crowd screaming with delight. With every daring move his rivals made, Sean had an equally emphatic answer. With the fight for second place going all the way to the wire, Sean held on to claim his consecutive second place by just 0.056 of a second.

"That was great racing," said Sean after the race. "My aim was to take back points from Hizzy, to make sure I go into the last round with a chance. My two second places are even better knowing that I can beat the Ducatis in a fair fight.

"Realistically the title is a long shot and would have to rely on Hizzy having some awful luck, but it's happened before."

The last round is at Donington Park on September 29.