Honda rider Brendan Clarke has been crowned the inaugural Australian Superstock 1000 A Champion after wrapping up the title in difficult conditions at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains Raceway on the weekend.

Contesting the newly-introduced Superstock 1000 A Championship aboard a Honda CBR1000RR, Clarke’s consistency proved key in securing the title for the Champion’s Ride Days Race Team.

For Clarke, racing his first full season back in Australia after two years in England made his achievement even bigger as he re-acquainted himself with the circuits and his competition.

“It’s a great result – we’re quite relieved to wrap it up,” Clarke said. “We went in to the last round with a lot of pressure on ourselves and the Tasmanian weather didn’t make it any easier with the rain on Sunday.

“We really wanted to get a couple of good results and when that rain came it was a little bit of a curve ball. For us, we just needed to finish the race upright to wrap up the title. When we did it we were extremely happy and relieved that all the hard work had paid off.

“We started the year quite slowly, after round two we sorted a few things out with the bike and from there on we were in really good shape to be right at the front of the field for the rest of the season.

“In the end, it definitely was about consistency. We finished every race and pretty much every round we were on the podium.

“It’s the first year that I’ve raced Hondas in the ASBK, and my first impressions were fantastic. I loved the bike straight away and with the suspension and the slick racing tyres – the bike was just so forgiving and I think that’s what allowed us to be at the front of the field for the entire year.”

Honda general manager Motorcycles Tony Hinton was pleased to add the result to Honda’s clean-sweep of the Superbike podium in 2010.

“Well done to Brendan and the Champion’s Ride Days Race Team,” Hinton remarked. “They have worked hard and been consistent all season to earn a well-deserved win – congratulations!

“Together with our Superbike 1-2-3 championship dominance and manufacturer’s title, this win in the new Superstock 1000 A Championship is an outstanding result for the Honda CBR1000RR.

“Topping both of the premier litre classes, the Honda is clearly the motorcycle to ride.”