O’Halloran shines at sun drenched Brands SMT Honda’s Jason O’Halloran put in two sizzling rides at a sun-drenched Brands Hatch on Sunday, overcoming a lowly qualifying spot to finish 12th and 15th in the final rounds of the 2008 British Superbike Championship. Despite overtaking being extremely difficult around the 1.198-mile Indy circuit, the young Australian fought his way through from 21st on the grid to pick up more championship points and further add to his ever growing credentials. All three days of action were blessed with clear blue skies and warm sunshine yet grip was proving difficult to find in the practice sessions. Although he had been running consistently in the top 15 in free practice, Jason paid for a lack of grip in the qualifying session and could only manage 21st place meaning he was knocked out after the first phase and would have to settle for a sixth row start. A much hoped for good start disappeared as the lights turned green at the start of the opening race and Jason found himself in a lowly 26th place at the end of the opening lap. However, with a brilliant display of controlled, clinical racing, Jason continued to overtake those riders in front of him and had made up a staggering 11 places at the chequered flag. Especially good through the Surtees and McLaren sections, Jason and the team were rewarded at the end of the 30 laps with 15th place and a hard earned, and deserved, point. A better start in the second race saw him consolidate his start position but he soon got into his stride and began to move through the pack, in a similar vein to that of race 2. A superb double overtaking manoeuvre on Guy Martin and Atsushi Watanabe at McLaren on lap 9 saw Jason jump up to 14th place and he continued on his way eventually crossing the line in an excellent 12th place to make it five points scoring finishes from six races. The result ensured a strong end of the season for SMT Honda and team owner Robin Croft said: “We really struggled for grip during all of practice and qualifying and with us only starting on 21st on the grid, it’s fair to say I woke up on Sunday with a lot of trepidation! With a 46-secpnd lap, it’s incredibly hard to find room to pass around the Brands Indy circuit so for Jason to finish with 12th and 15th speaks volumes of how excellent he rode and I’m very happy with how the day has gone.” “It’s been a mixed season and we’ve had some bad luck along the way but we’ve come through it and have finished strongly with Jason so I’m extremely happy with how the season’s ended. We can all look forward to a good break now and we’ll start planning soon for 2009 so it’s a big thank you to all of our sponsors and to everyone that’s been involved this season.” More, from a press release issued by Guy Martin’s publicist: Martin battles hard at Brands Guy Martin put in two battling performances at Brands Hatch on Sunday when he was competing in the final round of the 2008 British Superbike Championship and the Hydrex Bibe Animal Honda rider was ultimately rewarded with 15th in the 2nd race for a hard earned championship point. The Kent venue was bathed in glorious sunshine all weekend but Guy, like many others, found a distinct lack of grip around the Indy circuit. Despite pushing hard, his best qualifying time of 47.082s left him in 20th place overall, albeit just one second off the pole position time, and so he started the two races on the fifth row of the grid. A good start in the first 30-lap race saw him slot into 17th at the end of the first lap but despite the fast pace, very few places were exchanged and it was only on the 28th lap, when Stuart Easton and Michael Laverty dropped out that the order was shuffled. Their demise promoted Guy up to 15th but on the penultimate corner on the final lap fellow Honda rider Jason O’Halloran found a way by and he knocked Guy out of the points, leaving him in a frustrated 16th. In the 2nd race, the last one of the season, an even better start saw Guy up into 15th and on lap 3 he overhauled the factory Suzuki of Atsushi Watanabe to move up to 14th. Here he stayed until the 11th lap when he was pushed back to 15th and this was where he finished to add one more point to his championship tally. Speaking afterwards Guy commented: “It’s been a long hard slog on the short circuits this year but we’ve made it to the end and it’s good to end the year with a couple of finishes and another point. Obviously, I’d like to be higher up, particularly as the season started so promisingly, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be and with not picking up many points in the middle third of the year, I finished the season in the position I warranted.” “Everyone’s worked really hard during the year and I’ve enjoyed it as I’m always happy when I’m out there racing on my bike! We’ve still got Macau to look forward to in November but a big thank you to everyone that has supported me this season and to the boys in the team especially Shaun, Warren, James, Andy and Kate, the token girl!” Guy ended his first full season in the British Superbike Championship with 28 points, placing 18th overall. His final race of the year comes at the Macau Grand Prix, which takes place from November 13-15. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: STEVE PLATER SCORES ANOTHER PODIUM FINISH AT BRANDS HATCH Woodhall Spa ace Steve Plater extended his run of podium finishes when he scored a fine second place in the final round of the British Supersport championship at Brands Hatch on Sunday to end his season with AIM Yamaha in an overall position of fifth. Having secured a podium finish in every British Supersport race he has completed this season, Plater was determined to end his year with another top three finish and, after qualifying in third place on Saturday, lined up for Sunday’s final 25-lap encounter on the front row alongside pole setter Josh Brookes and new champion Glen Richards. As the lights went out for the start of the final race it was Plater who got the hole shot through Paddock but his lead was short-lived as Richards took command on lap two. The pair battled for position with Plater regaining the lead on lap eight and beginning to pull a gap between himself and Richards. But the newly crowned champion was determined to go out with a win and forged back ahead at the half way stage. Although the pair pulled well away from World Supersport rider Josh Brookes, Plater was unable to get past the determined Glen Richards and finally settled for a close second place and crossed the finish line a fraction of a second behind to claim his fifth podium finish of the season. With two wins, two second places and a third under his belt Steve ends his season in fifth place. Having only moved into the championship after the TT and missing a few rounds because of world endurance duties he has made a big impression on the championship and if he had contested every round would almost certainly have been a championship title contender. “I am not really worried about my championship position although it’s nice to have finished fifth overall after only finishing five races. I am happy enough with second place today, I struggled a little bit with rear grip and of course Glen was riding very, very well again today so the combination of the two meant that I was second. We were both consistently running at lap record pace and both of us beat Josh Hayes who is a World Supersport rider so I am very happy! But I am content that I have been on the podium each time and I would like to thank Alistair Flanagan and everyone in the AIM Yamaha team for their hard work and support again this year.” Steve has found great success this season with AIM Yamaha taking three wins at the North West 200 races and a win in the Junior TT at the Isle of Man TT races plus a top five end to his British Supersport campaign. He is due to race just once more this season and will fly out to Losail, Doha for the final round of the World Endurance championship with Yamaha Austria on November 8. The team currently hold the runner up spot and a good result in the final outing could clinch the second place for YART. More, from a press release issued by AIM Yamaha: PODIUM FOR AIM YAMAHA AT BRANDS HATCH FINALE Steve Plater rode to his fifth podium finish for AIM Yamaha in the final round of the British Supersport championship at Brands Hatch on Sunday to claim an amazing fifth place end to his season after contesting only five rounds of the series. Having secured a podium finish in every British Supersport race he has completed this season, Plater was determined to end his year with another top three finish and, after qualifying in third place on Saturday, lined up for Sunday’s final 25-lap encounter on the front row alongside pole setter Josh Brookes and new champion Glen Richards. As the lights went out for the start of the final race it was Plater who got the hole shot through Paddock but his lead was short-lived as Richards took command on lap two. The pair battled for position with Plater regaining the lead on lap eight and beginning to pull a gap between himself and Richards. But the newly crowned champion was determined to go out with a win and forged back ahead at the half way stage. Although the pair pulled well away from World Supersport rider Josh Brookes, Plater was unable to get past the determined Glen Richards and finally settled for a close second place and crossed the finish line a fraction of a second behind to claim his fifth podium finish of the season. With two wins, two second places and a third under his belt Steve ends his season in fifth place. Having only moved into the championship after the TT and missing a few rounds because of world endurance duties he has made a big impression on the championship and if he had contested every round would almost certainly have been a championship title contender. STEVE PLATER I am not really worried about my championship position although it’s nice to have finished fifth overall after only finishing five races. I am happy enough with second place today, I struggled a little bit with rear grip and of course Glen was riding very, very well again today so the combination of the two meant that I was second. We were both consistently running at lap record pace and both of us beat Josh Brookes who is a World Supersport rider so I am very happy! But I am content that I have been on the podium each time and I would like to thank Alistair Flanagan and everyone in the AIM Yamaha team for their hard work and support again this year Steve has found great success this season with AIM Yamaha taking three wins at the North West 200 races and a win in the Junior TT at the Isle of Man TT races plus two wins and a top five end to his British Supersport campaign. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: Brands blow for McGuinness John McGuinness’ short circuit season ended in a disappointing fashion at Brands Hatch on Sunday when he was forced to retire from the final round of the British Supersport Championship. The Morecambe ace had been hoping to end the year on a high note but a 6th lap retirement denied him. Saturday’s opening qualifying session was held under clear blue skies but with the track still damp due to the morning dew, conditions were extremely slippy. With the 6th fastest time, John headed in to the afternoon session where conditions were a lot more condusive to some fast laps. A time of 47.700seconds saw him shuffled back to a slightly disappointing 16th place although he was only 0.573s adrift of pole position. A good start was always going to be crucial and John just did that, catapulting himself forward, but all the good work was undone when a slipping clutch saw him overhauled. Relegated to 24th at the end of the first lap, John had a lot of work to do and although the clutch problem disappeared, a slight misfire now hindered him. The problem refused to go away and although John battled manfully for a few more laps, he had little option other than to retire. Speaking later, the TT legend said: ‘It’s a real shame to end the season with a retirement but that sums up my luck on the circuits this year. Things just haven’t worked out for me but it certainly hasn’t been through lack of trying – I’ve given my all at each and every round and the team have been behind me 110%. I’m sorry I couldn’t give them a decent result today as their support has been superb.’ ‘It’s been a tough year but I’ll be back so I’ll knuckle down over winter and work even harder to get back at the sharp end. I’ll look forward to Macau now and will look for a strong final race of the 2008 season.’ John’s final outing comes at the Macau Grand Prix with the race taking place on Saturday November 15th.