Southampton boasts a new British motorcycle road racing champion after Kenny Tibble coolly did what he had to do to clinch the 125cc crown at Donington Park.

The 20-year-old rider from Swanwick went into the last round 14 points ahead of Irishman Kenny Robinson.

And to ensure that Robbo didn't steal a march on him at Donington, Tibble sat on his tail, finishing fourth to Robinson's third while Stuart Easton cleared off to win.

It gave Tibble a title-winning margin of 11 points over the brilliant young Irishman who is the nephew of motor bike racing legend Joey Dunlop who lost his life in Estonia in July.

Tibble, who moved to Southampton from his native Yorkshire two years ago, is a worthy champion.

He has led the series since the second round at Donington which he won in great style and he followed up with a heart-stopping success in a race thriller in front of his own fans at Thruxton.

When he took the chequered flag at Snetterton, he had built a big lead which cushioned him through a difficult second half of the season when injury and mechanical problems with his Rheos Helmets Honda 125 pushed him out of the podium places.

Tibble's title win confirms the promise he showed in his early teens when he won the national junior Championship then the Greenjackets Cup as the most promising newcomer in the national 125cc series.

He emerged as a genuine candidate for the British title when a switch of tyres towards the end of last season helped propel him to the front of the grid. Victory in the last round of last season's championship suggested he would be a force to be reckoned with in the millennium.

This year Tibble has physically outgrown the tiddler 125cc machines and 2001 will see him him step up into the four-stroke category, possibly to do the SuperSport Championship or maybe even the superbikes. The Tibble team is very much family effort led by his father Steve who is his mechanic. Steve knew that for Kenny to win the title he just had to finish the race at Donington and his preparation of the bike was apparently meticulous down to the last detail.