Josh Brookes secured his BSB maiden victory at Thruxton today with the HM Plant Honda team in race two by just 0.391 seconds, on the back of running a close second to the series leader Tommy Hill in the opening race.

Team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari, on the second HM Plant Honda Fireblade, had a more challenging time. The Japanese race ace started from 13th on the grid following a red flag filled qualifying, but made his way up to ninth at the chequered flag of race one.

In race two, Josh and Kiyo were elevated to third and fifth on the grid following their healthy race one lap times. Kiyo was also able to better his position in race two to finish just outside a podium place in fourth.

Steve Plater took the top step of the podium for a second consecutive race in the National Superstock 1000 Championship to further extend his series lead.

Josh’s win gave the HM Plant Honda team its first BSB race victory since the penultimate round in 2008, with Josh also becoming the first Australian to win a BSB race since Troy Bayliss at Cadwell Park during the 1999 season. He had previously secured his first podium position of the season with a second place in the opening race after an epic five-way battle for supremacy following some sensational passes and having led the race.

Josh said,

"I was feeling confident for the races, I didn't quite get qualifying right but I knew we would have the pace to be up there in the races as I know the HM Plant Honda Fireblade has the speed. There were some tough moves out there in the first race but I made them stick and when I got in the lead I had plus zero on my board and I knew it was going to be close. BSB is so competitive this season so I was expecting someone to have a go back at me. I was happy for second though and my first podium of the year, I just wanted to go one better in the second race.

"To win the second race felt good as I have been waiting a long time to win a BSB race. In race one I rode the best I could and finished second and I proved I could be consistent and not make mistakes. It was great for me to lead the race from the start to the finish and I know Tommy was breathing down my neck and was right on my tail so I just got my head down and stayed consistent. It’s amazing to have finished the day like this and I hadn't put any pressure on myself to win as I knew I was capable of it, but at least now I have a trophy to prove it."

Kiyo said,

“I am still having some set-up issues but we are trying to improve certain areas to help me feel more confident and push harder. We made a few changes for race two which helped a lot. I wanted podiums so I am disappointed today, but it has been challenging as we also lost time during qualifying when we could have made some more progress. It was important to score some good points here and we did that, I just want to improve my position now at Oulton Park.”

Steve said,

“That was a tough race and I had to put in some hard moves after I didn’t make the best of starts off the line, but we got there and another win is good for me and the HM Plant Honda team. We put in a lot of hard work during practice and qualifying and that definitely paid dividends today. I am happy to leave Thruxton with the championship lead and I am now looking forward to Oulton Park.”

Team Manager, Havier Beltran said,

“We are pleased to have finished on the top step of the podium twice today with Josh and Steve winning a race each. For Josh he is ecstatic to take the BSB win and for the team we are pleased to be celebrating a victory for the first time in 18 months. He knew he had the pace and it has come together for him today so he is now feeling very confident.

“For Kiyo it has been a challenging weekend and there are areas we need to improve to make him feel more comfortable as he lost some confidence at the start of the weekend in the front of the bike, but we saw him really show fighting spirit in the second race. It was unfortunate that we lost some time, especially during qualifying where we could have possibly made further progress. We made some changes between the races and we saw a real change in Kiyo and a fourth place gave him some good points after a difficult start.

“Steve did another fantastic job and despite not getting a good start, really battled his way though and that race definitely made for some good viewing! He showed good race pace and another win is a great result for the whole team and his championship lead.”