The Swan Honda team had a solid end to their weekend at Brands Hatch for the eight round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship as James Ellison and Stuart Easton finished both races inside the top eight.

Ellison battled to two fifth places at the Kent circuit as he continued to improve his pace. In the second race only seven tenths separated him from the podium and in the final race he was able to battle with Honda rival Josh Brookes to finish ahead in fifth. Easton had a solid weekend, securing seventh and eighth place finishes and now is feeling positive on building on the progress the team have made this weekend at the next round at Cadwell Park.

Ellison said:

“The second race was ok, but I messed up the start as we had a bit of a problem with the clutch off the line. The team worked hard to fix the problem for the restart which meant I got away well and I was feeling fast and consistent with my lap times. I just couldn’t match the times of the leaders in the opening laps and they managed to get a bit of a gap, but towards the end of the race I was setting faster times and I was reeling them in. I am not sure why we couldn’t match them in the opening laps but we will look at that before Cadwell Park to try and find a solution as I was only a few tenths of a podium again at the end of the race. In the second race I had a good battle and I am happy to come away from Brands Hatch with two fifth places and some good points to move up there in the standings.”

Easton said:

“Today was definitely better than yesterday for me as I finished both races and scored some much needed points with a seventh and eighth. That gives us something to build on now for Cadwell Park after what has previously been some horrific rounds for us. I think we made real progress with the settings and if we can continue like this over the final few rounds then there is no reason why we can’t return to that top step of the podium. I feel like we are now heading in the right direction and I am looking forward to building on the results we have had here at Cadwell Park in a few weeks’ time.”

Team Manager Shaun Muir concluded:

“This weekend the Swan Honda team made some good progress, which means we can leave Brands Hatch feeling happy that we can be stronger at the next round. James showed good pace over the weekend and regained the potential that he showed earlier this season before his crash. He is still lacking a bit of confidence, which is always going to happen when coming back from injury, but I feel that it won’t be long before he is back on the podium. For Stuart he has overcome the technical and setting issues he has suffered from over the last few rounds and has shown that he is ready to get back up the sharp end now. I feel the team are ready to come back stronger at Cadwell Park as we get into the final stages of the championship.”