The Ulsterman had been on the pace throughout the weekend and he harassed reigning champion Tommy Hill for much of the first race.

Never more than half a second down as the Swan Yamaha rider struggled for pace complaining of tyre issues, Lowry timed his move at Campbell to perfection.

"That was an absolutely fantastic result for me and the team," said Padgetts Honda rider Lowry.

"It worked out so well. I was able to sit there, watch Tommy setting the pace and then when he started to struggle a bit with five laps to go I knew where to make the move on him.

"I had the grip and was able to take him and pull away - it was just awesome coming round and seeing that I had a lead of one second."

Lowry followed up by finishing fifth in the second race behind Australian Josh Brookes.

Hill looked all set to go one better but Brookes snatched the victory for Tyco Suzuki with a dramatic last-lap move.

Hill finished just ahead of the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki duo of former two-time title winner Shane Byrne and Stuart Easton.

Race One: 1 Ian Lowry (Gbr) Honda 25mins 37.097secs, 2 Tommy Hill (Gbr) Yamaha 25:39.891, 2 Josh Brookes (Aus) Suzuki 25:50.233, 4 Byrne Shane (Gbr) Kawasaki 25:50.663, 5 Stuart Easton (Gbr) Kawasaki 25:51.532, 6 Michael Laverty (Gbr) Honda 25:55.530, 7 Jon Kirkham (Gbr) Honda 25:55.570, 8 Luca Scassa (Ita) Honda 25:56.964, 9 James Westmoreland (Gbr) Honda 26:01.706, 10 Graeme Gowland (Gbr) Honda 26:03.993

Race Two: 1 Josh Brookes (Aus) Suzuki 25mins 36.122secs, 2 Tommy Hill (Gbr) Yamaha 25:36.786, 3 Byrne Shane (Gbr) Kawasaki 25:37.565, 4 Stuart Easton (Gbr) Kawasaki 25:37.648, 5 Ian Lowry (Gbr) Honda 25:38.841, 6 Luca Scassa (Ita) Honda 25:51.567, 7 Jon Kirkham (Gbr) Honda 25:51.844, 8 Alex Lowes (Gbr) Honda 25:53.091, 9 James Westmoreland (Gbr) Honda 25:53.310, 10 Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 25:55.13

Driver Championship Standings: 1 Ian Lowry (Gbr) Honda 49pts, 2 Josh Brookes (Aus) Suzuki 47, 3 Jon Kirkham (Gbr) Honda 43, 4 Tommy Hill (Gbr) Yamaha 40, 5 Shane Byrne (Gbr) Kawasaki 38