The Sendo Superbike team faced another tough round as the Bennett's British Superbike Championship h⛎eaded to Ireland for the fifth round of the series.

🉐The tight and twisty circuit of Mondello Park was to prove challenging for team riders Steve Plater and Jon Kirkham. After finding extra power in the Kawasaki ZX10-R's the Sendo Superbike Team gained more valuable cha🔯mpionship points.

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

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

The end of the sessions saw Kirkham qualifyi🉐ng in 16th and Plater, 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 Thomas. He managed to bring his bike home in 12th place, equalling his best finish and gaining the Sendo Superbike Team൩ more championship points.

"I had a real moment high-siding the bike and ending up on the grass," explained Kirkham, "I mana𒅌ged to sa🅰ve 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, Plate𒁏r brought his bike home in fourteenth place and k🍃eeping him in the points.

Race Two at the County Kildare circuit 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 Kirkh💙am adding another solid 12th place to his tally.

"It's been a really tough weekend aꦕnd 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 scoringꦏ over the last five rounds has seen him💫 move up another place in the championship table to 12th overall.