The Samsung Honda team scored a double podium finish at Donington Park, as Michael Laverty claimed a third and second place at the ninth round of the British Superbike Championship.

Laverty finished third in the opening race after working his way up the order from tenth on the grid before challenging for the final podium positions and then following some changes for race two he stormed up the order to fight for the lead before finishing second. Jon Kirkham showed strong once again and took another pair of top ten finishes with a seventh and ninth place.

In the Superstock 1000 Championship, Jason O'Halloran scored a hard fought fifth place to close one point on title leader Keith Farmer with the pair now separated by only nine points. Gary Johnson continued to push hard to score a tenth place finish - after qualifying 20th - with impressive pace during the race.

Michael Laverty:

“These have been solid results though I gave myself a lot of work with the tumble and third row start for the first race but after a poor start I was back in the hunt and scoring a podium credit point. In the second race I made a little mistake and that gave Josh Brookes half a second. He rode strongly all weekend but we worked hard and going into the Showdown and I am looking forward to going to Assen.”

Jon Kirkham:

“It was good to qualify on the front row of the grid and I had good pace then but in the races, while I was good in the first two sectors, I lost time in the third and that was frustrating as this is my home circuit. I made a mess of the start in the first race and cooked my tyre in the second and I couldn’t stay with the leading pack.”

Jason O’Halloran:

“It was a tough race today with a lot of passing going on and with aggressive moves I sometimes lose out a bit in those circumstances. But I got one point back on Keith so it’s not all bad and we will take it to Silverstone and see what we can do there to try and close the gap again.”

Gary Johnson:

“It was good being back with the Samsung Honda team again this weekend and I think we can try and keep building now from here. It has been a weekend where we have kept trying to move forward and I think we should be aiming higher again at Silverstone.”

Havier Beltran, Team Manager:

“It has been an interesting weekend and of course it was great for Michael to have had two podium finishes. He came back stronger in race two with some improvements between the races but we still have some work to do for Assen. We still need to find some more from JK too; we saw him make some steps forward again but he again had mixed fortunes. The championship is now building for the Showdown and there will be so much for everyone to lose or gain when it gets underway at Assen. We will be ready to take up the challenge.”

“In the Superstock class Jason pulled back a point on Keith Farmer in the standings which could prove crucial over the final two rounds. We have the pace and ability to be back on the podium at Silverstone so we will be ready for that later this month. Gary continued to build on his previous races and I think there is more to come from him at Silverstone.”

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