Haslam does the British Superbike double at Oulton Park

Leon Haslam takes the double win

O’Halloran second in R2 – Brookes sixth both races

Ben Currie takes a 1-2 in British Supersport

McConnell 5th, Clarke 10th in Superstock 1000

Images by Dave Yeomans

Leon Haslam made the Bank Holiday one to remember at the third round of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, celebrating an opening race win before following it up with a hard-fought race two victory and holding off Jason O’Halloran by just 0.086s to grab the standings lead.

Race 1

In the opening race of the day Jake Dixon was the rider who grabbed the advantage in the launch off the line ahead of Haslam, Glenn Irwin and Jason O’Halloran. However, with some of the leading contenders crashing out including Irwin from third place and Peter Hickman in the early stages of the race, it soon became a two-way battle for the lead between Dixon and Haslam.

Haslam made his move on the seventh lap at Lodge to hit the front of the pack and though Dixon tried to fight back, the ‘Pocket Rocket’ had the edge, despite intense pressure from his Kawasaki rival.

Dixon’s podium finish makes him the ninth different podium finisher from the opening six races ahead of the Kawasaki team’s home round at Snetterton.

Championship leader Ray was desperate to carve up the order and he made a move on O’Halloran to lead the chasing trio with Byrne also pushing to climb positions. The defending champion made a move on O’Halloran on lap 12 at Hizzys to move ahead and then he later dispensed with Ray at Lodge.

Byrne held off Ray and O’Halloran over the final five laps, as Josh Brookes moved up the order to claim sixth place for McAMS Yamaha to stay ahead of Danny Buchan and Tommy Bridewell, who bounced back from a warm-up crash.

Tarran Mackenzie and Richard Cooper completed the top ten ahead of James Ellison and the returning triple champion Ryuichi Kiyonari.

British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, R1 result

1. Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
2. Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +1.624s
3. Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +6.224s
4. Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +10.170s
5. Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +14.699s
6. Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) +15.786s
7. Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +18.745s
8. Tommy Bridewell (Movuno.com Halsall Racing Suzuki) +21.043s
9. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +21.290s
10. Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki) +21.568s
    …19. David Johnson

Race 2

Haslam was fired up for a repeat performance in race two, but it didn’t come easily as the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider was hounded all the way by a determined O’Halloran.

At the start of the race Dixon had taken the initial advantage for the second time today ahead of Ray, Irwin and Haslam.

As Haslam moved into third, O’Halloran was also pushing hard and he moved into fourth, but the Honda Racing contender was eyeing a move on his JG Speedfit Kawasaki rival and made a dive down the inside into Old Hall on the third lap.

Ray was soon the next target for O’Halloran and the Australian moved into second at Lodge a lap later and then a move on Dixon put him into the lead, with Haslam pushing to follow in his wheel tracks.

On lap seven Haslam had moved into second with a lunge down the inside into Lodge corner to push Dixon back into third place and then hunt down O’Halloran ahead of him. The leading pack of six riders was rounded out by defending champion Byrne and he was soon ahead of Ray and pushing his Be Wiser Ducati team-mate.

At the front the leading pair had edged a gap on the field and Haslam finally was able to make a move on O’Halloran that stuck on lap 12 and despite the best efforts from O’Halloran, he was forced to settle for second after an incredibly close drag to the finish line.

Leon Haslam

“It has been a great weekend for myself and the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team and it was fantastic to do it in front of so many fans at Oulton Park. We have been pushing hard all weekend so to win race one was great.Then in race two I thought I’d timed it perfectly, I sat behind Jason and he had really good pace. My pit board kept going up and up and up so I knew it was just me and him. I thought ‘this is perfect’, made my move, upped the pace by half a second nut he never went away! It’s really hard, you never know how hard to push, and I thought if keep this rhythm then hopefully I’ll break him and I never did but I managed to make it stick anyway. I was happy when I crossed the line and it feels good to lead the standings.”

Dixon had held off Byrne on the final lap to claim a double podium finish and push himself up the standings into the top six with Irwin completing the top five.

Jake Dixon

“It was really warm out there today but from where we were on Saturday morning to where we were today, I’m very pleased with the results. I’ve struggled in the dry so far this season but we found something in qualifying and although Leon was stronger in the second half of the first race, particularly on corner entry, the team gave me a great bike today and one that I felt comfortable on. For some reason though, the bike, especially the front end, didn’t feel the same in the second race and from lap one onwards, it was a battle not to lose the front. I could hear Shakey coming but knew if I hit all my markers and apexes, it would be difficult for him to get by so to come away with two podiums is fantastic. The whole team have done a mega job and it’s great to get our season firmly up and running.”

Shane Byrne

“It’s been a difficult weekend and after practice and qualifying went so well, with fast, consistent lap times, race day proved to be hard going and I’m sitting here now wondering what went wrong. We had a problem in morning warm-up and suffered with a bit of chatter on corner entry during the first race, so it was a struggle although I managed to salvage a podium which was a solid enough result all things considered. We made some changes for race two which definitely improved the bike, but it took me a while to get by Peter and then Glenn as he was very strong on the brakes and getting back on the gas. I made inroads into Jake but couldn’t get close enough to pass so it was quite a frustrating race as I felt I had the pace to go with the leaders. I wish we could race again tomorrow but we’ll regroup for the next round.”

Glenn Irwin

“It’s been frustrating today and after being fast here in testing and in qualifying, the Glenn Irwinpotential was high, and I felt sure we’d be contesting the podiums. In race one, I was just sitting there behind the front two and could see they were using more rubber than me, but the crash came out of nowhere and I’m mystified as to what happened. It made me ride tense for the second race and not at all in my usual rhythm. I suffered with bad arm pump due to riding tense so fifth isn’t too bad from what was a pretty poor race. The weekend promised so much but we’re still in the top six with a good buffer to the riders behind us, so I’ll look forward to the North West 200 where I’ll be looking to be back on the top step once more.”

Brookes had managed to snatch sixth place away from Ray on the final lap with Buchan, Cooper and Bridewell completing the top ten. The returning Kiyonari finished in 15th place.

Josh Brookes

“We came into this meeting thinking we would be battling for podiums but that wasn’t the case, everyone upped their pace on race day and the high temperatures definitely had an effect on our settings. Our pace towards the end of the races was strong but it’s those initial, early laps and of course being hampered by bad qualifying grid positions that punished us. We have made some good progression but need some more testing now we have a good direction.”

South Australian David Johnson was a DNF in the second race.

British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, R2 result

1. Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
2. Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +0.086s
3. Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +2.923s
4. Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +3.235s
5. Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +9.952s
6. Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) +10.963s
7. Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +11.532s
8. Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +11.582s
9. Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki) +14.938s
10. Tommy Bridewell (Movuno.com Halsall Racing Suzuki) +14.938s

British Superbike Championship standings after Oulton Park

1. Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 115
2. Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) 101
3. Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 98
4. Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) 63
5. Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) 59
6. Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) 55

Dickies Supersport

Jack Kennedy took victory in the opening Dickies British Supersport race at Oulton Park, leading from the opening lap to the flag. The Integro Yamaha rider faced stiff competition from Gearlink Kawasaki’s Ben Currie however, who followed Kennedy for much of the race. A string of fast laps at the end saw the Yamaha rider extend his lead to eventually take the win by 6.647s.

It was an intense battle for the final rostrum position as Jamie Perrin, James Rispoli and James Westmoreland fought over the closing laps with Perrin eventually taking third place. Brad Jones claimed sixth ahead of David Allingham and Tom Oliver whilst Josh Owens was the first of the GP2 in ninth.

Dickies British Supersport Championship, Oulton Park, R1

1. Jack Kennedy (Integro Yamaha)
2. Ben Currie (Gearlink Kawasaki) +6.647s
3. Jamie Perrin (Slidecodor/Go Racing Developments) +12.629s
4. James Rispoli (Everquip Racing Yamaha) +12.814s
5. James Westmoreland (Gearlink Kawasaki) +13.019s
6. Bradley Jones (Integro Yamaha) +17.576s

Jack Kennedy proved unstoppable in the second Dickies British Supersport race, cruising to his second win of the weekend by 3.040s. In a repeat of yesterday’s race, Kennedy and Ben Currie pulled away at the front running a tense game of follow the leader. However a string of fast laps towards the end was enough to take his fourth win of the season.

Riding a bit of a lonely race was James Rispoli, who completed the podium with a third place whilst James Westmoreland took fourth and Brad Jones fifth. Jorel Boerboom was the first of the GP2 machines, securing 17th overall ahead of the first of the Superstock machines.

Dickies British Supersport Championship, Oulton Park, R2

1. Jack Kennedy (Integro Yamaha)
2. Ben Currie (Gearlink Kawasaki) +3.040s
3. James Rispoli (Everquip Racing Yamaha) +18.278s
4. James Westmoreland (Gearlink Kawasaki) +22.151s
5. Bradley Jones (Integro Yamaha) +26.327s
6. Ross Twyman (EHA Racing Yamaha) +28.063s

Dickies British Supersport Championship Standings

1. Jack Kennedy (Integro Yamaha) 140
2. Ben Currie (Gearlink Kawasaki) 126
3. James Rispoli (Everquip Racing Yamaha) 69
4. Ross Twyman (EHA Racing Yamaha) 64
5. James Westmoreland (Gearlink Kawasaki) 59
6. Tom Oliver (SGR Racing – Go Racing Developments Yamaha) 54

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup

Despite problems whilst lining up 5th on the grid, it was Lewis Rollo who made one of the best starts to Race 1, with the Highsparks Motorsport racer soon leading the opening lap around Oulton Park after passing pole-sitter Levi Day (Boast Racing).

As the race progressed it was Rollo and local racer Sean Neary (Zoek Racing Team) who were battling it out at the front, having swapped positions several times. Neary was leading in the latter stages but on the final lap, Rollo lost the front of his bike and crashed out, allowing Neary to go on and claim his first victory of the year.

Rob Guiver (Ducati Romford / Hyside Racing) who had been posting fastest lap after fast lap, fought through the pain barrier to bring his 959 Panigale home in 2nd place. Rollo’s last-lap retirement promoted Sam Middlemas (Salus Improved Inspectors / Albany Shed Co) into the final podium position, his best finish of the season to date.

Sam Coventry (AOR/YESSS Electrical Racing) scored an impressive 6th placed finish having started from the very back of the grid. But it was another race to forget for pole-sitter Levi Day (Boast Plumbing), brake issues resulting in his 3rd consecutive non-points finish.

Rob Guiver’s fastest lap of 1:41.187 sees him line up for Race 2 tomorrow at the front of the grid, with race winner Neary in 2nd and Phil Atkinson (Highsparks Motorsport) 3rd.

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Race 1

1. Sean NEARY
2. Rob GUIVER
3. Sam MIDDLEMAS
4. Joe MORPHETT
5. Dijon COMPTON
6. Sam COVENTRY
7. Taryn SKINNER
8. Nicky WILSON
9. Mark CHEETHAM
10. Josh WAINWRIGHT
    …29. Levi DAY (brake issues)

Levi Day (Boast Plumbing) made up for Saturday’s brake woes and three consecutive non-points finishes to take a well-deserved win in Race 2 at Oulton Park.

Starting from the front of Row 2, Day had a fantastic start to take the lead on the opening lap, one he did not relinquish until he crossed the chequered flag, in a big boost to his championship standing and his team’s morale.

Pole-sitter Rob Guiver (Ducati Romford / Hyside Racing) failed to get off the line well but battled back into contention from 5th. Guiver closed down on Day in the closing stages of the race, only to have back-markers deny any chance of challenging for the win.

Sean Neary (Zoek Racing Team) put in another strong ride to claim the final podium position, with Highspark Motorsports’ Lewis Rollo and Phil Atkinson claiming 4th and 5th respectively.

Neary’s two podium finishes see him leave Oulton Park leading the championship with 95 points. Guiver now sits 2nd with 86 points and Wainwright 3rd with 78.

Levi Day

“I’m glad to be back on the podium. I would have been happy with a top 3, we have had a few minor glitches during races which are hard to rectify. It’s nice to get another race under our belts and claw back championship points. The pace is there. We just need to keep working hard for Snetterton and hope we can get back on the podium again.”

Rob Guiver

“I ain’t got a clue how to start these things, I need to really work on my starts! I gave myself loads of work to do. To be fair, the pain started a lot earlier, about 4 or 5 laps into it. Mid-race I was trying to dig in, trying to pass people but really struggling. I see Levi, got a rhythm together, I was catching, catching. I got caught up with the back markers real bad, it sort of sealed the deal with the race really. But if you’d have told me two 2nd places coming into this round I’d have took that all-day long. So, really, really pleased and I’ve moved up the championship. Roll on Snetterton.”

Sean Neary

“That’ll do to be fair. Levi got away, set a really good pace and it took me a while to get through and I was chasing down Rob. But fair play to him, he can’t even open a bottle of champagne and I still couldn’t catch him! Massive thank you to the Zoek Racing Team. You know I’m happy with third. A great weekend.”

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Race 2

1. Levi DAY
2. Rob GUIVER
3. Sean NEARY
4. Lewis ROLLO
5. Phil ATKINSON
6. Joe MORPHETT
7. Taryn SKINNER
8. Sam MIDDLEMAS
9. Josh WAINWRIGHT
10. Dijon COMPTON

HEL Performance Motostar

Jake Archer took victory in the opening Hel Performance British Motostar race after an almost race long battle with team mate Jack Scott. Archer had grabbed the holeshot to lead at the end of the opening lap, with Scott in close contention and Storm Stacey third.

With the City Lifting/RS Racing duo pulling away at the front, it was a tense game of follow the leader before Scott made his move into the lead on lap seven – however a mistake a few laps later saw him run on at the chicane leaving Archer unchallenged for the win.

Stacey narrowly claimed second place ahead of Asher Durham whilst Scott eventually secured sixth. In the Standard class, it was Victor Rodriguez who took victory ahead of Seabright and Horsman.

Australian Sharni Pinfold was 30th.

HEL Performance Motostar Race 1

1. Jake ARCHER KTM
2. Storm STACEY KTM
3. Asher DURHAM Mahindra
4. Edward RENDELL KTM
5. Elliot LODGE FTR
6. Jack SCOTT KTM
7. Eugene McMANUS KTM
8. Taz TAYLOR Kalex KTM
9. Liam DELVES DR-Moto
10. Edmund BEST
    …30. Sharni Pinfold

It was a case of double delight for Jake Archer at Oulton Park as the City Lifting/RS Racing star held off a last lap charge from Storm Stacey to claim victory in the second race by just 0.044s.

Despite running on at the chicane on the opening lap, Archer was able to fight his way back through to take the lead by lap three. Holding position, Archer and Stacey continuously swapped fastest lap after fastest lap however despite a last lap charge to the line, it was Archer who was able to hold on to claim his third win of the season.

Completing the podium in third was Jack Scott whilst in the Standard class it was Fenton Seabright who took the win.

Sharni Pinfold posted a DNF result in Race 2.

Sharni Pinfold

“I took an unfortunate fall in the second race this afternoon. Overall a very positive and progressive weekend. Concussed and a sore hand but that’s a small price to pay in this situation. Thankful for the riders that managed to miss me. Thank you to everyone that helped and supported over the weekend and this year. I’m very grateful.”

HEL Performance Motostar Race 2

1. Jake ARCHER KTM
2. Storm STACEY KTM
3. Jack SCOTT KTM
4. Edward RENDELL KTM
5. Asher DURHAM Mahindra
6. Brandon PAASCH Mahindra
7. Eugene McMANUS KTM
8. Taz TAYLOR Kalex KTM
9. Elliot LODGE FTR
10. Liam DELVES DR-Moto

HEL Performance Motostar Standings

1. Jake ARCHER 95
2. Storm STACEY 64
3. Jack SCOTT 62
4. Asher DURHAM 60
5. Edward RENDELL 50
6. Brandon PAASCH 35
7. Elliot LODGE 28
8. Eugene McMANUS 28
9. Liam DELVES 25
10. Taz TAYLOR 25

Pirelli Superstock 1000

It was an action-packed Pirelli National Superstock 1000 race at Oulton Park, with Keith Farmer claiming victory over Joe Collier by just 0.062s. It was Chrissy Rouse who led the way after the opening lap, just ahead of the EHA Racing Aprilia’s of Andy Reid and Joe Collier with the Tyco BMW of Farmer sitting fourth.

Swapping places throughout the 15 lap race, drama struck on lap eight when Reid was forced to retire to leave it a three way battle for victory. Coming down to the final lap, it was Farmer who was able to clinch the win ahead of Collier and Rouse.

Chrissy Rouse

“After the crashes on Saturday, I’m more than pleased with the outcome and given how long the boys had worked to get the bike ready for qualifying, I was pleased with fourth on the grid. Obviously, I would have liked the front row but given the circumstances, P4 was a good place to start from and I felt confident we’d be there or thereabouts come race day. I made a great start and made a few mistakes during the race but given the problems, I’m pleased to have been challenging for the win and to have taken some more strong points. A big thanks to the team and Phil Crowe for getting me back on track and it felt good to be on the podium again.”

Alex Olson took fourth place with Championship leader Billy McConnell taking fifth.

Lee Jackson secured sixth ahead of Alastair Seeley, Josh Elliott, Leon Jeacock and Sam Clarke.

Sam Clarke

“I haven’t done many laps around Oulton Park and it’s certainly a challenging circuit so, overall, I’m pleased with another top ten finish, particularly from the lowly position I started in. I’m still having a few issues with the gearshifter as the bike was spinning up each time I changed a gear and it got slightly worse as the race wore on. Top ten finishes are always my aim and with Oulton being a very technical circuit, I’m pleased with the result and if we get the little niggles ironed out, I’m confident we’ll be further up the timesheets.”

Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship Race

1. Keith Farmer (BMW)
2. Joe Collier (Aprilia)
3. Chrissy Rouse (BMW)
4. Alex Olsen (BMW)
5. Billy McConnell (Suzuki)
6. Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
   …8. Josh Elliott (Kawasaki)
   …10. Sam Clarke (Kawasaki)

Championship Standings (after three rounds)

1. McConnell 93 pts
2. Farmer 82
3. Collier 75
4. Rouse 68
5. Reid 66
6. Elliott 45
   …10. Clarke 26

Pirelli Superstock 600

Ryan Vickers continued his dominance of the Pirelli National Superstock 600 series, taking his third consecutive victory of the season to maintain his 100% win rate. Launching off pole position, the Mototechniks Yamaha rider led from the opening corner to the flag.

There was drama behind him however, with a safety car deployed on lap three as the race resumed it was Aaron Clarke running second ahead of Kevin Keyes, however Clarke would crash out just two laps later leaving Keyes to take second place whilst Joe Sheldon-Shaw was able to clinch the final rostrum position by just 0.043s.

Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship Race

1. Ryan VICKERS Yamaha
2. Kevin KEYES Kawasaki
3. Joe SHELDON-SHAW Kawasaki
4. Aaron CLIFFORD Kawasaki
5. Grant NEWSTEAD Yamaha
6. Zak CORDEROY Kawasaki
7. Mark CLAYTON Yamaha
8. Aaron WRIGHT Yamaha
9. Luke HOPKINS Yamaha
10. Louis VALLELEY Kawasaki

Pirelli National Superstock 600 Standings

1. Ryan VICKERS 75
2. Kevin KEYES 51
3. Joe SHELDON-SHAW 45
4. Grant NEWSTEAD 40
5. Aaron CLIFFORD 26
6. Luke HOPKINS 21
7. Zak CORDEROY 20
8. Aaron CLARKE 19
9. Adam McLEAN 16
10. Caolán IRWIN 13