Richard Kerr secures second spot in Pirelli National Superstock Championship

Richard Kerr secured second spot in the Pirelli National Superstock Championship at Brands Hatch at the weekend.

Kilmacrennan rider, on the AMD Motorsport Honda Fireblade, had second and sixth-place finished this weekend to tie up an excellent Championship season.

The weekend’s performances also mean that 23-year-old Kerr, for the second year in a row, is the only rider to have scored points in every race.

The weekend started with an extremely wet day on Friday meaning limited track time seeing Kerr down in an extremely unfamiliar 25th place. As a result, the Donegal man had to go into Q1 for Saturday’s qualifying session although it proved to be invaluable as the extra track time helped his challenge. Topping Q1, a time of 1’28.495 in Q2 put him in seventh place and at the head of the third row.

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Heavy rain returned later on Saturday which saw the opening race of the weekend cut from 14 laps to 12 with the race starting on a wet track. Sixth on the opening lap, the Kerr shadowed arch rival and Championship leader Dan Linfoot for much of the way. Although he slipped back to seventh at one stage, Kerr dug deep in the closing stages and a final corner, final lap manoeuvre saw him overhaul Linfoot and take sixth place.

That cut the deficit to 31 points and ensured the championship went to the final race of the season.

Starting from eighth on the grid, one place ahead of Linfoot, on Sunday, Kerr moved into fifth on the opening lap. Linfoot worked his way through the pack slightly quicker, taking the lead on the sixth of 14 laps, but Kerr put in another superb ride to take second place and his ninth podium of the season.

It meant he ended the year with 341 points, 36 adrift of former British Superbike Championship race winner Linfoot, and three places higher up in the championship standings than in 2022.

Kerr said: “I’m happy with that second place and second overall in the championship is amazing. Saturday’s race was tough and, for whatever reason, I’ve found the going difficult in the damp races lately and just haven’t been able to get the drive or grip when I needed it. Sunday’s race was a lot better and it’s brilliant to end the season with another podium, especially as it’s my first ever one here at Brands.”

“Second overall in the championship is another big step forward.”

Fraser Dykes, the team owner, hailed Kerr’s consistency as ‘absolutely phenomenal, an attribute that few riders can match’.