INGLETON rider Harley Rushton claimed his fourth Classic Racing Motorcycle Club's National Classic 350cc Championship in 2019.

It was a successful season, yet tough season with up and downs mixed with some hard-fought battles along the way.

But it came after Rushton returned from injury and claimed race victories, lap records and overall won the 350 Twins’ Championship.

Rushton's 2018 racing season ended prematurely in a disastrous crash at Mallory Park. The incident was unexpected and was out of Harley’s control. It saw him flung from the bike landing hard on his right side, dislocating his shoulder and breaking a bone in the process.

"The crash came as a shock in 2018, I felt I was riding well but safely, I was not expecting the crash," said Rushton. "It was a strange mechanical issue. These things happen in motorcycle racing though and are the dangers."

Rushton spent months healing and rehabilitating his injured shoulder, but by early February he was back on track riding a bike again in preparation for the 2019 season.

By the time the first race of the season came round, Rushton was ready to race and hit the ground running with three victories.

Rushton continued this strong run through the following rounds, scoring wins and collecting solid championship points.

From a dominant performance at Pembrey to the wet races of attrition at Cadwell Park and tough battles at the Donington Classic Festival, the season was a challenge for Rushton.

The Craven Honda 350cc never let him down though, in all the contests the bike ran faultlessly thanks to the Craven Classic Racing Team of Ted Woof and Jon Sunter, who meticulously looked after the machine in 2019.

The same bike also won at the Classic TT in August at the hands of road race rider Jamie Coward, proving how strongly the bike performed in 2019.

Rushton's final race of the 2019 season saw him return to Mallory Park. Harley had mathematically clinched the CRMC's National 350 Championship by this stage, so the team used it as testing for upcoming season.

This didn’t stop Rushton from taking three further victories aboard the Craven Honda to conclude his 2019 championship.

Unfortunately, Rushton had a difficult time aboard the Craven Manx 500cc throughout the 2019 season with mechanical issues and crashes, which resulted in him not starting or finishing races.

Rushton will put this behind him and move onwards to next year with new challenges, and also defending his 350 Twins Championship.

But overall, Rushton is pleased with his achievements this year, saying: "It was mission accomplished taking the 350 Twins championship this year after been so close last September. Knowing it had slipped through your grasp while I was sat in hospital spurred me on to try again this year and we managed it."