The S𓄧endo Superbike team faced another tough round as the Bennett's British Superbike Championship headed to Irela꧃nd for the fifth round of the series.

The tight and twisty cir♎cuit of Mondello Park was to prove challenging 𒅌for team riders Steve Plater and Jon Kirkham. After finding extra power in the Kawasaki ZX10-R's the Sendo Superbike Team gained more valuable championship points.

Qualifying for the fifth round was close with very little splitting the top twentyꩵ riders. 🌌Both Plater and Kirkham struggled to cope with the extra power found after development work between rounds.

"The bike feeꦺls considerably stronger, so much so that it wanted to lift the front wheel all weekend," commented Kirkham.

The end of the sessions saw Kirkham qualifying in 16t൩h and Plate💧r, one place behind him in 17th.

The opening race saw Kirkham high-side on the first lap and hit the grass. But once back on the tarmac he moved his way up the field, passing fellow Kawasaki riders Ben Wilson and Dean Thomasꦜ. He managed to bring his bike home in 12th place, equalling his best finish and gaining the Sendo Superbike Team more championship points.

"I had a real moment high-s🍰iding the bike and ending up on the grass," explained Kirkham, "I managed to save it but must have lost a good four or five places. It was then a case of working my way back through the field."

Meanwhile, Plater brought his bike home in fourteenth place a🍎nd keeping him in the points.

Race Two at the🌳 County Kildare cꦜircuit saw both riders making a solid start to the race. Kirkham settled in behind Plater as they both went on to pass Ben Wilson. With only a few laps to go both riders battled past Dean Thomas and Tommy Hill.

The race ♒finished with Plater in 11th and Kirkham adding another solid 12th place toಌ his tally.

"It's been a really tough 🐟weekend and the circuit is particularly difficult to pass on," commented Plater. "However, our bikes have now got extra power and with testing coming up at Croft I'm sure we can get a good set up for the next round."

Plater's consistent point scoring ov🅺er the last five roun🌃ds has seen him move up another place in the championship table to 12th overall.