Double Podium For Steve At Brands Hatch Season Opener

Steve impressed the Bank Holiday crowd by posting some quick lap times during qualifying to earn himself a front row start to all three races.

In the first of the two 30-lap British Superbike events Steve maintained his starting position of second for the first few laps before taking over at the front on lap 13.

But his dreams of victory were left in tatters when he slipped off into the gravel at Druids on lap 16.

“I’m so disappointed as I’d got into a good pace and was feeling very comfortable and in control, so to lose the front when I was in the lead is gutting. I was actually trying not to push too hard as I wasn’t sure how long the rear tyre would last, but a bit too much brake and lean angle put me in the gravel,” explained Steve.

Steve rode to a fine second place in the British Supersport season opener, he started from fourth place but took a couple of laps to adjust from the Superbike. Once he found his rhythm he edged his way through from fifth place to eventually move into second on the final lap, setting a new lap record of 47.047s – 91.71mph on lap 20 of 25.

“From the outset we set about trying some different settings in the differing weather conditions, which were good enough for me to put the CBR600RR on the front row and also lap faster on the Honda than at this circuit at the first round than I did during the whole of last year – so I’m happy about that.”

“I had a good start in the race but it took me a few laps to get back into Supersport head mode and riding style so I gave myself a bit of a job to do to pull back a few places. With about 10 laps to go I got my head down and tried keep it as smooth as possible and thought about trying to challenge for the lead, but decided to play it safe and take a solid second place, so I’ll just have to go one better at Oulton Park.”

Leg two was directly after the British Supersport race, meaning a quick changeover for Steve who had to adjust from the 600cc machine to the more powerful 1000cc Honda Fireblade. But Steve is adaptable and settled straight into his race, battling it out for a podium finish. The pace was hot but Steve remained cool and this time made no mistake. He claimed a close third place behind Sylvain Guintoli and race winner Leon Camier to pick up 16 championship points for HM Plant Honda.

“I had to switch my head into Superbike mode pretty quickly for race two as I’d just stepped off my Supersport bike. I had a good start and just made a charge for the first corner and tried to get into a rhythm as quickly as possible, which I did. I did have a few issues with front end chatter but I was still able to make up time and make the gains necessary to take third place for a podium finish.”

As soon as the podium celebrations were over Steve left the circuit, heading for the ferry to France where he is to contest the Le Mans 24-hour World Endurance race for Honda France over next weekend (April 18/19.) He then returns to the UK to attend the Isle of Man TT press launch the following week before travelling to Oulton Park for the second round of the British Supersport championship where he will be challenging for his first race win of the new campaign.