TOMMY Hill gained some crucial momentum ahead of the MCE Insurance British Superbike 'Showdown' after claiming a one-two at Cadwell Park.

The Worx Crescent Suzuki rider produced a professional performance in race one to stalk leader Josh Brookes before pouncing on lap eight and easing to victory.

Hill, 25, then stormed to the front in race two, only to be overtaken in spectacular fashion by an airborne Brookes over the Mountain, but held off Ryuichi Kiyonari for second.

It was the former World Superbike rider's first victory since round two at Thruxton in April, and a delighted Hill praised the fighting spirit of his Worx Crescent Suzuki team.

"It is nice to be back on the top step again; it has been a long time since Thruxton but that is what we needed and three podium credits is good for me and the team," said Hill, from Lingfield.

"We regrouped this weekend and worked hard on the settings and it paid off. We have had some ups and downs but now we are back on top.

"We are back where we need to be, especially after the start of the season, which was like a dream come true. But we have regrouped well. Superbikes is full of ups and downs that are sent here to try us.

"We had a bit of a nightmare to start with at Brands to be honest, so we were keen to try and gain some momentum here."

Hill's two podium finishes come after a disappointing series of results threatened to overshadow his fine early season form.

But as the 'Showdown' approaches – effectively a play-off between the top six riders – a confident Hill was in bullish mood as the championship reaches its climax.

Hill's points tally from the nine rounds amounts to 287, three more than Brookes and six ahead of Kiyonari. but with the Showdown phase now beginning, the championship points so far is cast aside.

The championship will now be decided over the final three rounds (seven races) between the six highest points scorers so far, known as the Title Fighters.

All have their championship points tally put on an initial parity of 500 to which is added the podium points they have scored so far this season [three for a win, two for a second and one for a third].

On this basis Hill steps forward into the Showdown as joint leader with Kiyonari on 525 points apiece.

"I am looking forward to the showdown," said Hill – who is currently joint top alongside HM Plant Honda rider Kiyonari courtesy of 25 podium credits.

"I'm in ok shape for podium credits as we've focused on picking as many of them up as we could, although nobody really knows just how important they'll be.

"If you end up losing the championship by a point or two, which has happened before in motorbike racing, it would be an absolute disaster, and we don't want that to happen.

"But we need to just focus on our game and ignore everything and everybody else.

"That was our mentality at the start of the season and we were leading for a long time with everybody else playing catch-up so we need to keep that mentality.

"Now it's gloves off and just try and get the job done. It's crunch time."

The remaining rounds are: Croft (September 10-12), Silverstone GP (September 24-26), Oulton Park (October 8-10).

British Eurosport 2 will be broadcasting every round of the 2010 MCE British Superbike Championship. The channel is available on Sky 411 & Virgin Media 525.