Glen Richards, British Supersport - Brands Hatch

2008 Supersport champion, Glen Richards, capped off the season with a hard-fought victory ahead of Steve Plater and Josh Brookes, at a packed Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

Josh Brookes, deputising on the HM Plant CBR600RR, started from pole but it was AIM Yamaha’s Steve Plater who stole the holeshot into the notoriously steep Paddock Hill. Plater’s lead was short-lived, as Richards moved ahead the following lap, the front three making a break from Rob Frost in fourth.

As the trio broke clear, the pace quickened to record levels, with all three ducking under Jay Vincent’s 2005 lap record. Honours went to Brookes in the end with a blistering lap time of 47.092s on lap 6.

The lead swapped hands yet again on lap 7 in favour of Plater, but Richards would not be denied a final victory for the outgoing MAP Embassy Triumph team. Out-braking Plater for the lead into Paddock on lap 12, Richards maintained the lead to the chequered flag, with Plater claiming his fifth podium of the season in second. Josh Brookes rounded out the podium with a solid third place.

Glen Richards, Race Winner: “ Unfortunately it’s come to an end with MAP Embassy, we weren’t going to come this weekend but it’s great that we did and that we went out in style. That was a hard fought win, Steve rode really well and Josh was pushing hard in the first part. I want to say a big thanks to everyone who helped get us on the grid this round by digging deep into their pockets, and to the crew who worked for free this weekend. I want to say a big thanks to MAP and to Triumph for all their hard work and support this year. This result has made everything worthwhile, I’m over the moon and very, very happy with the result.”

British Supersport – Brands Hatch Race Result

Pos – Rider – Bike – Team - Time

1 - Glen Richards - Triumph - MAP Embassy Racing - 19:49.632
2 - Steve Plater - Yamaha - AIM Racing - 19:50.341
3 - Josh Brookes - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 19:57.902
4 - James Westmoreland - Honda - Centurion Racing - 20:06.992
5 - Rob Frost - Triumph - Team Buff - 20:07.065
6 - James Webb - Honda - Padgetts Motorcycles - 20:07.266
7 - Daniel Cooper - Honda - Centurion Racing - 20:07.477
8 - Ian Lowry - Suzuki - Relentless Suzuki by TAS - 20:07.727
9 - Chris Martin - Kawasaki - Gearlink Kawasaki - 20:09.287
10 - Hudson Kennaugh - Yamaha - Raceways Yamaha - 20:09.432
11 - Craig Fitzpatrick - Yamaha - BLDS Couriers - 20:09.767
12 - Dean Hipwell - Yamaha - Atherton Godfrey Solicitors - 20:10.328
13 - Marty Nutt - Yamaha - Nutt Travel / T+G - 20:11.060
14 - Steven Neate - Kawasaki - Gearlink Kawasaki - 20:18.173
15 - Jack Kennedy - Yamaha - Rob Mac Proride - 20:18.367
16 - Sam Owens - Honda - Premier Motorsport - 20:18.747
17 - Andy Weymouth - Yamaha - Linxcel / Seton Tuning - 20:21.564
18 - Ben Wylie - Yamaha - Wylie & Holland Racing - 20:21.684
19 - David Hallett - Triumph - Ross Aldridge Racing - 20:22.146
20 - Ronan Quarmby - Yamaha - Raceways Yamaha - 20:22.599
21 - Paul Veazey - Yamaha - Storm Motorsport - 20:22.609
22 - Ross Walter - Triumph - Interserve Racing - 20:23.380
23 - Joe Dickinson - Yamaha - Trucklinks Yamaha - 20:24.467
24 - Max Hunt - Yamaha - Race Lab - 20:34.406
25 - James Hillier - Suzuki - JMH Racing/Jackson Racing - 20:34.696
26 - Pete Spalding - Yamaha - Linxcel / Seton Tuning - 20:34.891
27 - Nick Medd - Yamaha - Virgin Media Yamaha - 20:37.374
28 - Jenny Tinmouth - Honda - JennyTinmouth.com/Hollins M’spor - 19:56.755

Not Classified

DNF - BJ Toal - Yamaha - Virgin Media Yamaha - 16:57.325
DNF - Alistair Fagan - Triumph - JHS Racing - 8:45.400
DNF - Conor O’Brien - Honda - Arkwood Honda - 5:07.511
DNF - John McGuinness - Honda - Padgetts Batley Ltd - 5:01.787

Championship Points

1 - Glen Richards - 240
2 - Hudson Kennaugh - 187
3 - Ian Lowry - 146
4 - J Westmoreland - 136
5 - Steve Plater - 106
6 - Chris Martin - 99
7 - James Webb - 87
8 - Steve Brogan - 85
9 - Paul Young - 68
10 - Rob Frost - 63