Mason takes Stobart Honda to points ending.

The Stobart Honda Team rounded off a difficult season by packing out the points at the final round of the Bennetts British Superbike championship at a bright and sunny Brands Hatch.

In front of another massive crowd Gary Mason came out on top of the three team riders by posting a pair of battling seventh places.

In the opening race Mason battled his way through traffic to score more points and then in the second race he was in with a shout of the podium as half a dozen riders battled it out for the rostrum before finally settling for another seventh place.

"I'm really happy. I rode my butt off and while I was only seventh I am really pleased that I beat one of the factory bikes. It's nice to race up there with them and prove a point - give me the right boots (tyres) and I can do it. I really enjoyed it," said Mason who ended up in eighth in the championship.

Mason's fellow VK, Vent Axia and The Mob backed Stobart Honda team mate Michael Laverty bounced back to something like his old form with a pair of eleventh place finishes after a disastrous qualifying session had him down in 23rd on the grid.

The young Ulsterman ended up inside the points after a couple of spirited rides to round off the season in a positive mood.

"I'm reasonably happy considering where I started from, I had a lot of ground to make up so two elevenths will have to do. I'm feeling comfortable again and it's the first time I've enjoyed it since my accident. It's been a hard couple of weeks and my confidence was on the floor," said Laverty.

Meanwhile comeback rider Jeremy McWilliams battled to ninth in race one but mechanical problems forced him out of race two whilst well placed in the early stages.

"I'm just going to mark this year down as a non starter. I felt I was an easy podium in the second race and had loads in reserve. The clutch was slipping from the very first lap and I was trying to nurse it and stay with them. If it had stayed as it was I would have been OK but it when it went completely the race was over. Just how unlucky can you be?" said McWilliams.

Team boss Paul Bird remained philosophical despite his team not managing a race win for the first time in his Superbike career.

"It wasn't a bad day," said Bird. "I thought we were on for a good race there until Jeremy had a problem with the clutch. All the bikes are in one piece and we were competitive. That's finished off a hard trying year for us. Michael is now nearly back to full fitness and we will see how he goes next weekend at the Sunflower meeting in Ireland, but we know we'll be competitive. We've had no dramas, no injuries and no crashes today and it's good to finish off well for our friends, family and sponsors to thank them for their support."