As the Lincolnshire rider powered away from the start line the front wheel of his Kawasaki ZX-9R pawed the air and he had to back off the throttle to bring the bike back under control. "That left me in around fifth place at the end of the first lap and though I picked them off one by one and got through to second place Matt Llewellyn was too far ahead for me to stand a chance of catching him," said Steve.

Plater and the ZX-9R were in great form as they muscled their way through the field in a thrilling charge that eventually took its toll on tyres. "I had to rev the bike hard out of the corners and the tyres began to go off at around half distance. Apart from the poor start and the tyre problem everything was fine and I enjoyed myself with a few good scraps." Plater's second successive runner-up placing boosts him to sixth in the championship after just two appearances.

Results:
1 Matt Llewellyn (Yamaha) 22m 20.817s - 100.33mph,
2 Steve Plater (Team Kawasaki),
3 Rob Frost (Yamaha),
4 Chris Vermeulen (Honda),
5 David Jefferies (Yamaha),
6 Steve Brogan (Honda),
7 Gus Scott (Yamaha),
8 Jamie Morley (Suzuki),
9 Jago Chapman (Yamaha),
10 Ian Campbell (Honda).

Championship points:
Llewellyn 104,
Jefferies 85,
Vermeulen 67,
Richards 51,
Frost 47,
Plater 40,
Brogan 40