Easton started from 6th position but moved up through the field, soon shadowing Suzuki rider Cameron Donald who was in the lead. But Donald’s Suzuki developed mechanical problems on lap five, forcing his retirement, leaving Easton in the lead.

Michael Rutter on a Ducati then harried Easton all the way to the flag, but the 24 year old Scot was delighted to take the win;

“It was fairly even between myself and Michael,” said Easton, ” and I have to admit I felt the pressure of being in the lead. Near the end of the race we had to pass backmarkers, which focussed my mind and I realised I could win, although I had to dig deep to do it.”

It was an all-British podium, with Easton on the top step, Rutter second and  Vent Axia Honda rider John McGuinness in third place.

The 22-year-old will upgrade from Supersport competition to Superbike racing for the new season, with Omagh rider BJ Toal taking his place in Supersport class.

The team’s Superstock ride will be occupied by Cameron Donald next season.

Speaking at the announcement, Lowry claimed that he could deliver on the privateer Suzuki in elite domestic competition having enjoyed some success in the support classes.

“I am delighted to be staying with Relentless TAS Suzuki, and to get a crack at the British Superbike class,” said Lowry.

“I watched BSB on TV as a kid and to be racing in it next year is unbelievable. I believe I can deliver.”

Philip Neill, team principal, said Lowry would undergo an extensive training and testing programme.

“We want to give Ian the best opportunity to succeed at the highest level of British championship racing,” said Neill.

“After three successful supersport campaigns for Relentless Suzuki, I believe Ian has a bright future in the superbike class.”

The race takes place on the streets of the former Portuguese colony and always attracts some top names from UK road racing like Michael Rutter, Steve Plater and others.

Martin is determined to go all out for a win this year at Macau, after a practice crash put him out of contention last year. The 2008 BSB season hasn’t been kind to Martin either, plus he retired from both the TT and NW200 with mechanical gremlins.

” A win, nowt else will do,” commented Martin, “we’ve not had much success this year with the Bike Animal Honda, so I think I’m due some decent luck.”

Practice for the Macau GP Superbike event begins on Thursday 13th Movember, with the race scheduled for Saturday 15th November.

Race photo by Gavan Caldwell.

The Frenchman, who has a forgettable season with the Alice Ducati MotoGP team this year, will form half of the new Suzuki line-up after Tom Sykes and Atushi Watanabe both left the team at the end of the season.

After quitting the MotoGP paddock, Guintoli’s signature proved to be a big coup for the Suzuki factory team and the 26-year-old was impressed with the GSX-R1000 following an 88-lap session at Brands Hatch.

Talking about his first Superbike outing, Guintoli commented, “Today has been a very positive first ride for me. It was not about setting lap times, but more about getting used to the characteristics of a Superbike.

“Having not raced at Brands Hatch before there was quite a lot to take in, but I still managed to end the day feeling very comfortable.

“The GSX-R1000 is an impressive package and I’m now very eager to start the new season with Crescent Suzuki.”

Crescent Suzuki Team Manager, Jack Valentine added, “We’ve all been impressed by Sylvain’s attitude and ability to switch so easily to the Superbike today.

“While he’s had to ride the 2008 model, it gives us all a good base to start with, before we commence track tests on the 2009 bike.”

The British Superbikes Championship runner-up warmed up for his move to World Superbikes next season with a wild-card ride at the all-new Portimao circuit this weekend and his new employers at Stiggy Honda will be more than happy with the early promise shown by Haslam as he recorded a podium finish in race two.

Riding a BSB spec Honda CBR, Haslam was just 0.718 of a second behind Ducati rider Michel Fabrizio in second place as Troy Bayliss recorded a double win on his last ever WSB appearance.

Earlier in race one, Haslam finished ninth - the position that teammate and fellow wildcard Cal Crutchlow recorded in the second outing having failed to finish in race one.

Crutchlow will also leave the BSB championship to move to World Supersport, with Tom Sykes and Shayne Byrne also making the move from BSB to WSB with Yamaha and Sterilgarda Ducati respectively.

For Haslam, the result gave him a taste of his ambitions for 2009 and the 25-year-old is eyeing more podium finishes next season.

“Everyone knows I’m moving to World Superbike in 2009 so I think this podium bodes well for me and 2009,” he claimed.

“I’m staying with the Honda family with Stiggy Honda - which is important to me - and I’m looking forward to next season.

“I’ve wanted to be back on the World scene for a while, so to podium here at the last race of the season and my final race for HM Plant Honda is just brilliant. It’s a fantastic finish to my season with HM Plant Honda - they’ve been awesome - and it’s great to finish the season on a high.”

HM Plant Honda are stepping up to the WSB championship for 2009, so Cal Crutchlow and Leon Haslam have `wild card’ entries in this last WSB race of the year. Both Haslam and Crutchlow will be keen to make an impression on the WSB front-runners, especially at a track where nobody has any real advantage in terms of track knowledge, tyre wear, or race set-up data.

” Grip was an issue during our test,” said Leon Haslam, “but we ended up going quicker and quicker during the day and I finished second fastest to Troy Bayliss, which was nice. We’ve fine-tuned a few things on the Fireblade, so I think we can have a good go at the regular WSB guys.”

Cal Crutchlow also felt the new track had some grip problems;

“If you went off-line then you lost so much time it was untrue. Hopefully in the race as rubber is laid down, the times will come tumbling down and grip will improve.  I’m hoping to repeat my podium result or better from Donington this weekend.”

More at; www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles

The duo, who both have experience of the British Supersport class, will replace Leon Haslam and Cal Crutchlow at the team after they both moved announced moves to the World Superbikes and World Supersport respectively.

Richards dominated the British Supersport category this season to take the title at the penultimate round at Silverstone, adding to his 2007 success in the same class and is relishing the opportunity to move up to Superbikes class.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity and want to give it 110%,” said Richards. “I’m well up for this challenge and I intend to give it my all!

“I’ve won two championships in a row with Superstock and now Supersport, so to make it three-in-a-row is the aim and to add a Superbike title would be awesome.

“I’ve never had a ‘factory’ ride as such in the BSB series, so I do feel I have unfinished business in the championship and something to prove.

“Modern Superbikes are smaller now, much like the 600-class machines I’ve been riding. I’ve also been used to big power before, I know the tracks and I’m used to the control tyre, so I’m looking forward to 2009!”

Fellow Aussie Josh Brookes is no stranger to Honda machinery or the HM Plant Honda team, having ridden in the World Supersport category on a Honda CBR600RR and also replacing the injured Steve Brogan at the final round of the British Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch, where he qualified on pole and finished in a fantastic third position.

“I’ve joined HM Plant Honda as I wanted to find a team which is a happy place to work and one with a good family, but also professional, atmosphere,” said Brookes. “When I did the one-off ride at Brands, it showed me how well the team worked together and although I was only with them for a few days, it felt like I’d been with them all season. That was important.

“They’ve got a straight-forward and effective way of working and I like that.

“The HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades have shown this season they can challenge for the title, so I think I can get the bike working well regardless of having not been to most of the tracks. The tracks themselves are quite similar to some of the ones I raced on in Australia, the only difference is the weather, but I’m good in the wet so that’s no bother either!”

HM Plant Honda Team Manager, Havier Beltran, added, “We’ve seen Glen in the paddock for many years and he’s been competitive on all sorts of machinery in all the classes he’s ridden in and 2009 will provide him with the support and equipment his talents deserve, as we know he can do well.

“Josh impressed when he rode for us at the final round at Brands Hatch. He’s experienced enough thanks to his time in international racing to get results and also young enough to learn with the team and learn the UK tracks. We’re looking forward to a strong and competitive 2009!”

The digital broadcaster held the exclusive live rights to the championship in 2008 as part of a motorcycle racing portfolio that included MotoGP and World Superbike championship racing and has agreed to extend its relationship with BSB organisers for the next two seasons.

The new two-year deal will continue to give the BSB series extensive TV airtime, with a 4-hour live show produced at each of the 12 rounds, featuring both BSB races, the British Supersport Championship and additional support races.

In addition to live broadcasts, Eurosport will also show primetime raceday highlights through the week as well as a Thursday night magazine show, “British Superbikes Extra”,  featuring the British 125 GP, National Superstock and KTM RC8 Championships.

The new deal will also continue the championship’s global exposure, with the BSB series broadcast live and exclusively across Europe on Eurosport 2 to approximately 32 million homes in 46 countries.

In addition, Eurosport Asia-Pacific will cover live the whole season across the region, reaching fans in 9 further countries, while there will be live streaming of all races on all Eurosport’s websites.

The announcement of the deal comes after it was confirmed that Eurosport will lose the rights to broadcast the MotoGP championship at the end of the current season.

Dave Kerr, Director of British Eurosport said: “This season has proved what an excellent series BSB is, with great racing and spectacle for fans to enjoy.

“We are delighted therefore to extend our relationship with MSV and retain the British Superbike Championship on Eurosport for a further two seasons. It is great news for us and for fans and we are confident the quality of racing and our coverage will go from strength to strength.”

Jonathan Palmer, MSV Chief Executive added: ‘’Television coverage is extremely important to MSV as the promoters of BSB and Eurosport has done a super job in our first year working together. It is so important for bike racing fans to know where to find BSB on television and Eurosport is the obvious place, covering so much.

“I have no doubt we will have an even more exciting year of BSB in 2009 and with Eurosport we have a hugely experienced partner which is committed to making the coverage even better and even more extensive across the world.”

Ellison, who announced his decision to quit the Hydrex Animal Bike Honda team on Sunday, will partner Leon Camier as the Airwaves Ducati team adopts a new sponsor and a new bike for the new season.

GSE announced last month that they would be running with the all-new Yamaha YZF-R1 for the new season after announcing a partnership with the Japanese marque, replacing the current Ducati 1098.

In addition, GSE Racing’s partnership with lead sponsor Airwaves has just concluded its final season and the team are expected to announce a new title sponsor in the coming weeks.

Ellison, a former MotoGP rider and winner of the British Superbike Cup on a Yamaha in 2004, joins the team after a hugely impressive season in 2008 which saw him finish seventh in the championship.

“To be riding for the most successful team in the paddock represents a fantastic opportunity for me and I’m ecstatic,” said Ellison. “I came close to signing with the team in 2005 and kept in contact with Colin Wright ever since just in case another chance came up and now finally, here I am!

“I’m really looking forward to riding a Yamaha once again and hopefully repeating the success I had with them back in 2004.”

Haslam, who joined GSE Racing for the just-completed 2008 season, scored a total of three wins and a further five podium places on his way to 5th in the championship and believes that he can push on in 2008 and emulate current champion and former teammate Byrne.

“I’m delighted to be staying with GSE Racing for 2009, said Haslam. “Having already spent a season working so well together, we can focus on building on our results from this year and fighting for the title right from the start.

“The new partnership with Yamaha signals an exciting new era for GSE Racing and one that I am really pleased to be a part of. Now I can’t wait to begin testing the YZF-R1!”

Ellison, who has impressed in the British Superbikes Championship this year with a seventh-place finish, announced his decision at the final round of the season at Brands Hatch Indy on Sunday, amid rumours of a move to the Airwaves Ducati team for 2009.

The 28-year-old, who is yet to confirm his future plans, has recorded 20 top-ten finishes and four podiums this season.

Speaking on the announcement, Ellison said: “It’s been a fantastic year and it’s been a lot more than I expected from the team, they’ve been like a family and it’s a bit emotional leaving this weekend.

“They have taken me from the brink of extinction and put me back on the map again and I really wanted to get a couple of wins for them.

“I’d like to thank Shaun and the whole team for a mega job in looking after me and wish them well in the future.”

Ellison’s team manager, Sean Muir, was sorry to be losing the former Tech-3 Moto GP rider, adding:

“We’d like to thank James for his efforts this year; it’s been a pleasure working with him.

“He’s brought a great deal of professionalism into the team.

“We struggled with the new bike set-up and suspension but James buckled down and got on with the job.

“He’s come from a MotoGP and AMA background and he’s brought that professionalism with him and it’s been a real pleasure.

“Both myself, the team and sponsors wish him all the best in the future.

“He will remain a great part of our development and we’ll look forward to battling against him next year!”