The Swan Yamaha team secured the opening race win of the weekend at the final round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch as Michael Laverty celebrated his third victory of the season as Tommy Hill just missed out on a podium finish.

Laverty and Hill qualified second and fourth respectively and in the race Laverty took the lead on the opening lap which he held until the chequered flag. Hill had dropped to sixth at the end of the opening lap but a determined performance saw him fight his way through to fourth before he challenged championship leader John Hopkins for the final podium position. Hill had edged ahead on the final lap but Hopkins took the advantage to the line. Hill is now eleven points adrift of his title rival ahead of tomorrow's championship-deciding races.

Hill said:

"I rode hard and did the best I could. We had to change the engine before the race which is not the best of things to happen but we had to do it as we had a bit of an issue. We are going back to the original for tomorrow's races so I will have to get used to that in the warm-up session. I'm a bit frustrated after that race as I needed to beat Hopper but now I have to get out there and stop him in tomorrow's races. That will not be easy as everyone is riding at the top of their game. I have to go out there and get wins and there is no reason why I cannot do that as I have a good team behind me."

Laverty said:

"I got the start I needed and tried to get my head down. I edged out maybe a second and then I saw the gap disappearing on my pit board and knew someone was catching me. I watched the lap timer and just tried to stay smooth and consistent to maintain my position. I rode a good race and it was nice to pull off the win. I knew Josh was close to me as I could hear him so I didn't leave him any room and we were so closely matched. It is going to make it interesting for tomorrow as we are all going for it."

Team Manager Gary Ekerold concluded:

"It was a fantastic race for Michael and demonstrates that he can convert raw pace into a result which he has worked all season on. Tommy came close to beating John Hopkins but just didn't have the right set up today. There are eleven points between them now but there are still 50 points available tomorrow so Tommy needs to go out and win. The two races will separate the men from the boys."

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