The Swan Honda team ended the final races of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship with a double podium as James Ellison and Stuart Easton took a top three finish each at the season finale.

Easton took a strong second place in the penultimate race of the season as he moved ahead of Josh Brookes on the final lap as Ellison suffered further bad luck as he was involved in a crash with Tommy Hill whilst leading the race. It was red flagged and he was forced to start from the back of the grid but fought hard to take ninth.

In the final race Ellison looked set to challenge for the win, but he took evasive action as Kiyo braked harder and then after an off track excursion he recovered to finish third. Easton meanwhile was forced to retire from the race as he was suffering with a chatter problem.

Ellison said:

“It has been a rollercoaster of a year for me and again this weekend. I wanted to win so badly today and I have been pushing hard as I felt stronger here than I have over the past rounds. I wanted to end the season on a high and it just wasn’t to be. I thought I could win but Kiyo braked late and I had to brake harder to avoid him which unsettled me and I was on the grass. I couldn’t have tried harder this weekend and I have to thank the Swan Honda team for their efforts this season.”

Easton said:

“That was a tough race and the move was like I put on Leon last year, but I just waited and if I could do it then I knew I would just have to go for it. I think Hizzy must be up there helping me as I always seem to make my moves there. It’s not a win but its champagne so hopefully we can do the same in the last race. In the second race I was suffering with chatter problems which forced me to retire which was frustrating after the podium earlier in the day but I need to thank everyone at Swan Honda for their support.”

Team Manager Shaun Muir concluded:

“It has been a frustrating year overall for us, but we ended it with a double podium. We knew we had the potential and seeing James today makes you wonder what could have been. We are happy to have come away with these podium finishes and now we can go away and plan for next season to come back stronger.”