The British Superbike Championship kicks off at Brands Hatch with a four day Easter extravaganza on 10/11/12/13 April, which includes an extra day of testing on Good Friday and the opening BSB races of 2009 on Easter Monday. The Airwaves Yamaha team will be looking to pick up where they left off at the end of 2008, with James Ellison joining Leon Camier in the championship-winning team who have made the switch to the new YZF-R1 from Ducati in a bid to secure a second successive title. The Brands Hatch event also marks the eagerly awaited debut of Sylvain Guintoli with the Worx Crescent Suzuki team. The former MotoGP ace has been strong in recent Spanish tests and is targeting nothing less than a double win on Bank Holiday Monday. HM Plant Honda return to the fray with an all-Australian assault on the title with Glen Richards and Josh Brookes – the former champions will want to ensure that they remain the top Honda team. They now face tough opposition from fellow Honda squad Hydrex, who have doubled their efforts with Stuart Easton lining up alongside Karl Harris, and the pair have been a match for each other in recent tests. You also can’t discount the three-pronged Yamaha attack that comes from the red and blue Rob Mac Racing teams; Michael Rutter will line up in the red corner for the North West 200 Coca Cola Zero squad whilst Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker and Graeme Gowland uphold the honour of the blue team in Motorpoint/Henderson colours. Kawasaki will also have two teams vying for supremecy; World Endurance rider Julien da Costa and Simon Andrews head up the MSS Colchester Kawasaki challenge, whilst John Laverty and Tristan Palmer line up on the Buildbase Kawasakis. Within the main championship there is a race within a race for the Mirror.co.uk Cup with ten riders battling for glory, among them Gary Mason riding the Quay Garage Honda and the two STP-JHS Mv Agustas in the hands of Chris Burns and Victor Cox. Ahead of the races, the duel for grid positions centres on Sunday afternoon’s Swan Combi 50 Roll for Pole, with the Formula One-style knockout taking place at 15.30. There will also be races for the MRO Superteens, the Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup, Yokohama ACU British F2 Sidecars and a Metzeler National Superstock 600 ‘Shoot-out’ race. The two British Superbike races provide the Easter Monday feature action on a busy programme that also has championship races for the Metzeler National Superstock 600 and 1000 Championships, Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship, the Relentless British 125GP Championship and further races for Superteens, Sidecars and KTMs. More, from a press release issued by SMT Honda: SMT Honda looking to impress in 2009 SMT Honda head into the opening round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this weekend high on confidence and eager to make their mark with riders Jason O’Halloran and Adam Jenkinson aiming to challenge strongly in their respective classes. 21-year old O’Halloran impressed considerably last season when he joined the team for the final 3 rounds of the BSB series scoring points in 5 of his 6 races, with a best finish of 7th at Silverstone. The 2007 Australian Supersport Champion returned to the UK in March and has signalled his intentions to seriously challenge the established runners and further his already impressive racing career even more. Meanwhile, Manchester’s Jenkinson returns to the saddle after missing the entire 2008 campaign when a crash at the opening BSB round at Thruxton last year left him with two badly broken wrists. The 24-year old, coming in to his sixth year of British Championship competition, will be contesting the National Superstock Championship, also on a Honda Fireblade, and heads into the season aiming firmly at the number one spot. The duo have both enjoyed open test days at Oulton Park, twice, and Donington Park with both riders getting to grips with the 2009 Honda Fireblades in their respective Superbike and Superstock trim. Talking about the new season, team owner Robin Croft said: “2009 will be our third season in the British Superbike Championship and, having served our apprenticeship, we’re now aiming to make a serious impression on the results in both classes. We’ve managed to get some time out on the bikes at a few track days and both of the riders are happy with the bikes so we’re just going through our final preparations for the first round.” “Jason is really fired up for a full season of BSB racing and I’ve seen nothing that suggests he won’t be running consistently inside the top ten. He knows the team and looks very sharp so we’re extremely hopeful of some strong results from him. As for Adam, he’s looking fitter and stronger than ever before. His injuries from 2008 have totally healed and he’s showing no ill effects from them so both he and I have extremely high hopes for the season and we want to be challenging for the Superstock title from the very first round.” “The two riders are getting on extremely well and working well together whilst the whole team is gelling nicely, which can only be beneficial. We’ve also got a new team member in Warren Bardsley who has considerable experience with Hydrex Honda and Vivaldi Racing so, overall, we’re feeling very confident about the new season and can’t wait to get started.” The opening round of the British Superbike Championship takes place at Brands Hatch, Kent from April 10-13. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: BUSY WEEKEND FOR STEVE PLATER AT BRANDS HATCH It will be a busy weekend for Woodhall Spa star Steve Plater as he has been drafted into the HM Plant British Superbike squad to deputise for Josh Brookes who was not permitted to enter the UK from his native Australia because of visa problems. Plater will contest both 30-lap Superbike races at the Kent circuit for the team plus campaign his regular championship with HM Plant Honda in the opening round of the British Supersport championship. “It is going to be a busy weekend in the office for me,” said Plater. “But I thrive on being kept busy so am sure I can do justice to both classes. I haven’t actually ridden the bike as yet but have been on a similar Honda Fireblade this week as I have been in France testing for the Le Mans 24-hour race. I was called up to ride for the Honda France team after Jean-Michael Bayle was sidelined with a knee injury that prevents him racing at Le Mans.” Josh Brookes flew into the UK early today (Tuesday) but was refused entry at immigration, as he did not have the correct paperwork. He is now on his way back to Australia and is to be replaced by Plater who will contest the Brands Hatch races. It is hoped the matter will be resolved before the second round at Oulton Park at the beginning of May. HM Plant team manager Havier Beltran said: “The laws have changed regarding visas and this is where the problem lies. It is devastating that this should happen just prior to the first round but our British Supersport rider Steve Plater is to ride in both series for us this weekend.” The campaign begins with two days of testing at Brands Hatch on Good Friday and Easter Saturday followed by qualifying on Sunday. The first leg of the British Superbike championship will set off at 1pm with the second 30-lap race due at 4pm. The Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport race, run over 25 laps of the Indy circuit is set to begin at 3.15pm and both classes will benefit from live television coverage on British Eurosport with the broadcast window being 12.30pm 5.15pm on race day.