Steve Plater had five top-three finishes in six British Supersport races in 2008

Lincolnshire racer Steve Plater will contest the 2009 British Supersport championship with the Louth-based HM Plant Honda team.

Plater, fifth overall in 2008 with AIM Yamaha, had already announced that he would race at the Isle of Man TT and Northwest 200 with the team.

He said: "It's great to be back with a factory team, especially Honda."

Meanwhile Australians Glen Richards and Josh Brookes replace Cal Crutchlow and Leon Haslam in British Superbikes.

Richards, who has previously raced in BSB with Hawk Kawasaki and Hydrex Honda, returns to the premier class after becoming British Supersport champion in 2008 with the now-disbanded Embassy Racing, while Brookes spent last season in World Supersport with the Stiggy Motorsport team.

Haslam, who was BSB runner-up to Shane Byrne in 2008, moves in the opposite direction to Brookes to race in World Superbikes for Stiggy Motorsport, while Crutchlow, who finished third in the standings, has signed for the factory Yamaha World Supersport outfit.

HM Plant Honda's line-up for next season also includes Steve Brogan, who will be looking to retain his Superstock title with the team.

Team manager Havier Beltran said: "We've got a very strong rider line-up for 2009 across each of the classes."