HM Plant Honda's Josh Brookes will not be riding at Brands Hatch British Superbike opening round this weekend as he was refused entry into the UK this morning.

Brookes did not have the correct immigration paperwork when he arrived and was subsequently put on a plane straight back to Australia. He will be replaced by Steve Plater just for this round.

"It's devastating for Josh and devastating for the team for this to happen now," said team boss Havier Beltran. "The laws have changed regarding visas and it has caused huge problems. Steve Plater will ride for us at Brands."
“It is going to be a busy weekend in the office for me,” said Plater. “But I thrive on being kept busy so am sure I can do justice to both classes. I haven’t actually ridden the bike as yet but have been on a similar Honda Fireblade this week as I have been in France testing for the Le Mans 24-hour race. I was called up to ride for the Honda France team after Jean-Michael Bayle was sidelined with a knee injury that prevents him racing at Le Mans.”