DEAN Harrison’s return to action didn't quite go to plan on Sunday after he was involved in a collision at Silverstone.

It was the second race of the day, when a third incident took place on lap 11 as Bjorn Estment and Harrison made contact at turn one, resulting in the Bradford speedster getting off to a below par start to the season, but through no fault of his own.

Harrison was given a DNF and it was Glenn Irwin who completed the double, claiming victories in both races at the British Superbike curtain-raiser.

On reflection, Harrison said: “It was definitely nice to be back, certainly initially, but then the incident happened in the second race, Bjorn’s brakes failing behind me. He crashed into the back of me and wiped me out which wasn't ideal.

“To be fair, it's not really his fault either. He didn't want it to happen, but it sometimes does and it's just one of those things.”

“I’ve just come out with some bruises and a couple of missing fingertips”, Harrison joked.

He added: “Up until that point, I was actually very pleased with my performance. I got my best time there (Silverstone) in race one and it didn't take me long to get back into the swing of things. I felt no rust within myself which was a surprise because we've been away from competitive action for a long time.”

“Don't get me wrong, an incident like that (crash) is extremely frustrating, especially with it being the first race of the season. I wanted to start well and I was full of optimism going into it, but it happened, and you can't dwell on it. You have to move forward and keep pushing on.”

Harrison was at Oulton Park on Thursday for the Superbike Test session ahead of next weekend’s race at the same location.

The Bradford man finished 19th in testing, and he’ll be looking to progress even further at this season’s second event.

He said: “The testing went reasonably well; the conditions were good but the cuts on my hand from the fall were sore. I struggled with the handling a little bit.

“Overall, I was reasonably happy with the timing because I do think Oulton is one of the hardest tracks on the calendar. I'm definitely more confident going into next weekend’s race based on my test run.

“On Thursday it was about getting a feel for the new bike again as we had to get a new one made because of the crash at Silverstone. It’s only going to feel better next week.”

Harrison added: “There are a number of big races coming up, so I really want to finish the Oulton Park race without any injuries and finish the race completely this time.

“My target is to stay away from as many riders as possible because I certainly don't want a repeat of Silverstone.”