Riding for Yamaha Austria again after a successful outing at the Suzuka 8 Hour two weeks ago, Steve and team mates Igor Jerman - another SBK old-hand - and fellow Aussie Damian Cudlin rode their Yamaha YZF-R1 onto third place.

Despite making a poor tyre choice at the start of the race and Igor Jerman suffering a minor crash, the team made its way to second place with four hours of the race left to run.

A tense final few hours of racing followed however when the bike began to overheat, forcing the team to slow up to preserve the engine and settle for third place behind winners SERT Suzuki and second placed team Kawasaki France.

Steve commented, "I really enjoyed the whole twenty four hours but it was especially exciting for the last few hours. We made the decision to back our pace off a little as the engine was overheating but we were still holding our own against Kawasaki. All was under control until all the water spat out with one hour to go but the team did a great job at fitting a new radiator and getting us back on the track in only a few minutes. The suspense of whether we would make the finish or not then had everyone hooked but it all worked out ok. Many thanks to the team, Damian and Igor for a great weekend."

Steve now returns to his European base in Switzerland following a hectic month of back to back testing, racing and commentating across various championships, to further consider the options available to him over the next few months.