TOMMY HILL refused to give up on retaining his MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship crown despite seeing his title chances all but evaporate after a disastrous weekend at Silverstone.

Hill could only manage a pair of seventh-place finishes, dropping to fourth in the standings - 42 points behind championship leader Shane Byrne.

The 27-year-old had surrendered his championship lead at Assen the week before, a position held for much of the season, and the Swan Yamaha bike struggled once again on the high-speed circuit while Brookes, Shane Byrne and double race winner Alex Lowes prospered.

Out of podium contention from the opening lap of both races it was a case of damage limitation for Hill, who admits the Assen-Silverstone double header could not have come at a worse time for him this season.

"It's been a massive blow for me because I was the favourite and now I'm all but out of it, it's come at a terrible time for me" he said.

"It's another frustrating weekend but full credit to those other guys because it's a high pressure part of the season and they kept it together.

"This just isn't a track like many others we race at on the calendar - it's no coincidence we've struggled at both Assen and Silverstone because I don't think it suits the bike.

"Your average Joe might wonder why we can do the triple at Oulton Park and then do so badly here but it's a tough track for our bike.

"We can't make excuses - I knew it would be tough and we had to do the best with what we had.

"Shane Byrne won all three races at Brands last year so I have to believe I can do the same. I'm a motorbike racer, I'm not going to give up on the title until I absolutely have to.

"I'll be racing with nothing to lose again and we'll just have to see what happens."

Hill admits he is taking comfort from teammate Noriyuki Haga, a three-time World Superbike Championship runner-up, failing to record a point - an indication of just how well he feels he did to get anything from an otherwise forgettable weekend.

"I can leave Silverstone knowing I did everything I could and it wasn't enough," he said.

"If I'd been sixth and Nori had been first I could have gone home kicking myself, but it wasn't like that - I drove the paint off that bike and at the end of the day I have to be satisfied with that."

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