18 year old Australian sensation Chris Vermeulen rode a near perfect race when he took a start to finish victory aboard the Sanyo First National Fireblade in round 8 of the British Superstock Championship at Knockhill, Scotland today.

In difficult wet conditions, Dunlop shod Vermeulen led from Pole position into the first turn and proceeded to extend his lead over team mate and fellow Aussie Glen Richards who followed him home.

"The bike was working really well and was set up great. I lost the back end a couple of times because it was really slippery but I'm delighted," said the rider from Yandina, near Brisbane.

Richards rammed home the Fireblade’s advantage with a solid second place to bolster the team’s Championship bid.

"It was a bit of a lonely ride and there was a lot of lapped traffic. All credit to Chris, he rode great and its opened the Championship up again" said the 26 year old from Adelaide.

Jago Chapman came in 3^rd with Championship rivals David Jefferies 4^th and Matt Llewellyn 5^th and Rob Frost rounding out the Yamahas in the top six.

The result sees Vermeulen strengthen his 3^rd position in the Championship with Richards remaining in 4th. Llewellyn still leads the Championship from Jefferies going into round 9 at Cadwell Park in two weeks time.

Race Result: 1 Chris Vermeulen (Honda), 2 Glen Richards (Honda), 3 Jago Chapman (Yamaha), 4 David Jefferies (Yamaha), 5 Matt Llewellyn (Yamaha), 6 Rob Frost (Yamaha), 7 Mark Wright (Suzuki), 8 Ian Campbell (Honda), 9 Steve Allan (Yamaha), 10 Jonti Hobday (Honda), 11 Andy Tinsley (Honda).

Championship points: Llewellyn 148, Jefferies 139, Vermeulen 125, Richards 112