EVESHAM ace Simon Andrews secured a podium finish in the Kings of Wanneroo race in Australia.

Jonathan Rea won the overall event, but Andrews put in a strong performance to secure joint third with Australian rider Daniel Stauffer and Suzuki’s Ian Lowry. British Superbikes star Andrews’ podium was all the more rewarding as it was the first time Kawasaki had finished on the podium in 10 years at the event.

Andrews said: “It was a lot of fun, although we struggled with the chassis in the first race. We changed it for race two but then the exhaust blew off.

“The third race went well but I couldn’t get the bike off the line so I dropped from fifth to at least 10th at the start in all three.

“I was surprised to finish joint third on points as I was sixth and seventh in the first two races, but it is a great result because it’s been 10 years since a Kawasaki was last on the podium here.”

Kings of Wanneroo, race one: 1 Jonathan Rea (Honda); 2 Ian Lowry (Suzuki); 3 Shannon Johnson (KTM); 4 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki); 5 Andrew Pitt (Honda).

Race two: 1 Rea; 2 Seeley; 3 Lowry; 4 Pitt; 5 Daniel Stauffer (Yamaha).

Race three: 1 Rea; 2 Pitt; 3 Simon Andrews (Kawasaki); 4 Stauffer; 5 Jeremy McWilliams (KTM).

Overall result: 1 Rea (75); 2 Pitt (53); 3= Andrews; Stauffer; Lowry (all 47).