Richard Kerr has been belatedly awarded the 2023 National Superstock Championship title after a tribunal of the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board disqualified erstwhile title-winner Dan Linfoot from the results of the Brands Hatch finale.

Linfoot was initially crowned champion during the final round after his ninth victory of the season ensured an insurmountable advantage over rival Kerr in the overall classification.

However, after a protest was mounted against his Optimum Motorbikes team regarding the brake master cylinder on its Honda CBR1000RR-R, the result was made provisional and an investigation formally launched by the governing body.

The MCRCB have now returned a verdict that Optimum Motorbikes were in breach of the Sporting Code and, as a result, the team and Linfoot have been excluded from both races held at Brands Hatch.

With the results - which at the finale were subject to a higher value in-keeping with the BSB Title Showdown format - revised to reflect the disqualification, AMD Motorsport’s Kerr moves ahead of Linfoot in the standings is thus the National SSTK Champion.

Findings of the MCRCB from official statement:

“The Tribunal convened on Thursday 23rd November by electronic meeting, and has decided that #4 Dan Linfoot (Optimum Bikes Honda) should be excluded from the results of the Pirelli National Superstock races at Brands Hatch on 14th & 15th October (Article B 4.5.1.2).

“The Tribunal has based its decision on reports received from three independent technical consultants that the front brake master cylinder on the motorcycle of #4 was not as originally produced by the manufacturers for the homologated machine - see Article 5.2.7.10.7 of the MCRCB Sporting Code (2023) and the failure of the team of #4 to prove otherwise. 

“The Tribunal acknowledges that the decision was arrived at despite a consensus that the use of the component was not likely to be performance-enhancing, and despite the failure of the post-race technical control procedures and the absence of an appropriate protest against the eligibility of the motorcycle (see above).

“There is no right of appeal against this decision - see Article A6 a) of the MCRCB Sporting Code (2023).”

CLICK HERE for the full report from the MCRCB