Jediah Cumbermack could not have asked for a better start to the season after achieving an historic podium finish in the opening round of the British Superbike Championship.

The 20-year-old motorcycle rider finished third in the second and final race in the 400cc Junior Sportbike class at Oulton Park in Cheshire to become the first Bermudian to stand on the podium at this level.

“I am very proud and excited to be the first Bermudian rider to do this well and get a podium in the British Superbike Championship, which is pretty big,” Cumbermack told The Royal Gazette.

“This was my first time out in our season opener so I’m off to a flyer. I wasn’t even looking to get a podium that weekend and I was just looking to come in at least top five.

“My focus wasn’t on getting a podium or even almost winning, but it happened to come naturally and I felt comfortable enough to push for that podium.”

Things might have panned out even better for the promising rider had it not been for a few errors.

“I was actually in second for a little bit and creeping closer to the guy in front,” he said. “But he was consistent with his lap times so I didn’t really catch him because I made a few mistakes here and there. But overall I am excited with my result.”

The Team Rokit Rookies rider was fifth in the first race, which eclipsed his previous best finish of sixth at the same track last season and his fortunes have taken a turn for the better after he was plagued by several setbacks during the previous campaign.

“Last year I was doing pretty good but I had a lot of things that held me back in the season,” Cumbermack said.

“I had a lot of crashes and injuries and had to miss a few rounds, so I wasn’t able to get at one with the bike 100 per cent.”

Remarkably, the London-based athlete is off to a bright start despite not getting much track time under his belt during the off-season.

“I haven’t really had much off-season training and actually I did more training last year than I did this year,” he said.

“That’s because my bike in Bermuda has problems all of the time as it’s an old bike from 1998. I try to find parts for it and can’t really find them.

“I haven’t really been riding but I have been doing a lot of strength and endurance training to keep my physical health up.”

Having now achieved some success, Cumbermack is now confident of getting more podium finishes.

“This has inspired to keep going and I know I have many podiums to come this season for sure with the pace that I am at,” he said.

“I’m competing with the guys at the front, which is unheard of for a rider coming from Bermuda, so it’s crazy.

“This is going to inspire me to keep doing well, stay level-headed and just keep going. Do the same thing, don’t change nothing and be successful. Get higher up on the podium.

“Obviously, the goal is to try to win and try to be on the podium, but most importantly I want to finish every race with no crashes.

“That’s the main thing because sometimes at this level you can make mistakes as the level is so high. You are on the limit of the bike every lap so I want to try to keep the crashes to a bare minimum.

“I don’t want no crashes, so just keep it on two wheels and make it to the checkered flag is the main goal.”