The HM Plant Honda team left the eighth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch leading the overall standings as Ryuichi Kiyonari secured two second places in the final races of the weekend whilst Josh Brookes suffered a crash and finished in sixth.

In the second race of the weekend Josh had taken the lead, but whilst pushing to increase the gap he crashed out at Druids before rejoining and retiring to the garage. The race was red flagged following a crash involving Alastair Seeley and Andrew Pitt and Josh was unable to make the restart, but Kiyo was able to secure a strong second place. In the final race of the weekend Kiyo challenged Tom Sykes for the lead but was forced to settle for second, whilst Josh battled hard to secure sixth place.

In the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship Bryan Staring fought his way through from tenth on the grid to finish fourth in his first race at Brands Hatch for the HM Plant Honda team.

Kiyonari said:

"The first race was difficult and I was pushing hard but I didn’t know what the limit was after the wet race yesterday. The second was a good, hard last race for me but I am happy that I was able to finish on the podium again with a second place. I could follow Tom but we were faster in different parts of the track, so it was difficult to make a pass on him. Every lap I was following him trying to work out if I could get by but I just couldn't make it. I am happy as I have found a good setting this weekend with my mechanics and we are feeling very confident of another good round at Cadwell Park. I was really motivated to have three strong races and we have been on the podium three times so I am pleased to have the championship lead now but there are still races to go before the end of the season.”

Josh said:

“It has been a difficult weekend and the crash in the second race of the weekend was down to lack of grip. I braked exactly the same as I had the lap before and was pushing to try and gap the other riders and went straight down. I rejoined and was circulating dead last so I thought I might as well come in and then as soon as I did that the race was red flagged and I wasn’t then able to make the restart. In the last race I was pushing as hard as I could, but I just didn’t feel comfortable. I got caught up in the pack and then when the race settled down I couldn’t catch the other riders. I am just going to put this weekend behind me and look ahead to the next round at Cadwell Park.”

Bryan said:

“It has been a great experience for me coming over to ride with the HM Plant Honda team and I need to thank them for giving me the opportunity. I did some laps of the circuit a few weeks ago with Steve Plater and it really benefitted me, and his advice really helped me this weekend. It was a tough race but I just kept my head down and I was happy to finish fourth, although I really wanted to be on the podium before I return home to Australia. It has been awesome for me to ride in the UK for these two rounds and I have learnt so much working with the team.”

Team Manager Havier Beltran concluded:

“It has been challenging weekend for the team and we have had one or two issues that we needed to resolve but we still leave Brands Hatch with the championship lead and with Josh in third overall, which means we are in a strong position ahead of the Showdown. The championship is so close, that anything could happen and we now head to our home round determined to score more podium credits that will prove vital as we head into the final three rounds of the Showdown. For Bryan, the knowledge he gained from Steve Plater has proved invaluable and he put on a good show for the HM Plant Honda team this weekend.”