METZELER NATIONAL SUPERSTOCK 1000 CHAMPIONSHIP

Alastair Seeley lined up for his first pole position of the season, breaking the season-long domination of Kirkham and Brogan. With Kirkham withdrawing from the class overnight to concentrate on an unexpected call-up to the Rob Mac Racing Superbike team, Adrian Coates was elevated forward for a front row start.

Brogan led the freight train through Paddock Hill and up into Druids, as a startline incident with Howie Mainwaring stalling and being clipped by two riders, saw first the safety car deployed, then the red flag signalling a swift end to proceedings. An 18-lap restart was called with original grid positions, minus the unfortunate Mainwaring.

Alastair Seeley took the holeshot on the restart to lead for the opening few corners. Brogan slipped the Honda UK Racing CBR1000RR deftly underneath at Clearways, for a lead that he would only momentarily relinquish over the following 17 laps.

Peter Hickman took second spot into Paddock Hill at the start of lap 7, as Brogan headed a five-bike break. By two-thirds distance, Marshall Neill was the man in ascendency, posting a new lap record (47.834), before unceremoniously being dumped into the Paddock Hill gravel on lap 17.

Hickman made a move for the lead into Druids but ran deep allowing Brogan back to the front. Finally, it all came down to the drag out of the final corner, with Brogan holding firm at the flag by just 0.004s from the Ultimate Racing Yamaha.

Steve Brogan, Race Winner: “The injury to my foot wasn’t too bad once the race was finally underway and the adrenalin had kicked in. It was more a case of trying to reposition my foot on the peg that proved the problem. Honda has developed a fantastic package in the new Fireblade this season, and 8 wins speaks for that. A big thanks to Honda UK and to HM Plant for all their hard work this year. To be honest, I’m more nervous about my meeting with Honda in a minute about next season than I was about this race!”

Race Result

1. Brogan (Honda)
2. Hickman (Yamaha)
3. Seeley (Yamaha)
4. Wilson (Yamaha)
5. Coates (Yamaha)

Final Championship Points

1. Brogan 273
2. Kirkham 215
3. Hickman 125
4. Seeley 108
5. Wilson 103