KINGSWINFORD'S Michel Rutter was happy with his start to the season after the opening round of the 2014 British Superbike Championships.

Rutter, riding for the Bathams Prizewinning Ales team, which has made a move from last year's Honda machinery to BMW, qualified in an impressive eighth place at Brands Hatch during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

He went on to secure a 12th place finish in race one before a bad tyre choice saw him drop back in race two to only manage a 17th place finish.

He said: "Overall I'm very pleased with the weekend, qualifying eighth and a 12th place finish in the first race was positive. We tried some new electronic settings for race two and went for a soft rear tyre - we made a mistake with that, but overall for how many days testing we've had I think we've done well.

"We're on new machinery this year and it's a good start to the season - it's so competitive out there this year. I'm looking forward to Oulton Park in two weeks time. We've got loads of things we want to try."

Rutter's new team mate, accomplished Swiss rider Patrick Muff, finished in a respectable 14th place in both races.

Rutter will head to Oulton Park in Cheshire for round two of the British Superbike Championship from May 3 to 5.