Leon Haslam wins Superbike Races 2 & 3
Ben Currie wins Supersport main event
Billy McConnell fourth in Superstock 1000
Images by David Yeomans
Leon Haslam held off rivals Josh Brookes and Tarran Mackenzie at the Silverstone BSB Showdown decider to take a hat track of wins, which would also see Peter Hickman hold on to the final Title Fighter position. The Showdown Six are Leon Haslam, Jake Dixon, Josh Brookes, Bradley Ray, Glenn Irwin and Peter Hickman.
Superbikes Race 2
Leon Haslam added to his winning tally to secure the second Bennetts British Superbike Championship win of the weekend at Silverstone, despite a clash with Bradley Ray who secured his place in the Showdown with one race to decide the final Title Fighter.
At the start of the race Ray again got off to a lightning start on the Buildbase Suzuki ahead of Jake Dixon and Tarran Mackenzie with Haslam and Josh Brookes next in line. Further down the order Glenn Irwin had a huge moment that put him further down the field on the leading Be Wiser Ducati and he had to climb his way back up the order.
By lap seven the lead had changed as Mackenzie again hit the front of the field at Copse on the McAMS Yamaha as he aimed to add to his debut podium finish yesterday. Ray then was under fire from Dixon and he made a move to move into second on lap 15, pushing the Buildbase Suzuki rider to third and in striking distance for Haslam.
A lap later and as Haslam went for a move on Ray the pair collided, sending Ray completely off line, rejoining in eighth and the championship leader was issued a drop of position penalty for the incident.
Dixon had pushed his way through to the lead with a move on Mackenzie at Brooklands and the leading quartet then duelled for the position as Dixon led Mackenzie, Haslam and Brookes.
Haslam was instantly back on the attack after completing his penalty and he recaptured the lead, but there was drama for Peter Hickman as the Smiths Racing BMW rider was sidelined with just three laps to go with a technical problem.
Hickman’s retirement has closed up the battle for the final place in the Showdown with now just eight points to Danny Buchan, who ended race two in 12th and eleven points to Christian Iddon who heroically finished in fifth despite his collarbone fracture.
The battle for the win was going down to the wire on the final lap but Dixon and Mackenzie both crashed out at Brooklands, handing the podium positions to Brookes and Glenn Irwin.
Jason O’Halloran secured a fourth place for Honda Racing but he crashed after crossing the line ahead of Iddon and Tommy Bridewell on the Moto Rapido Ducati. Gino Rea held seventh place for OMG Suzuki with Luke Mossey, Andrew Irwin and Richard Cooper completing the top ten.
British Superbike Championship – Silverstone, Race 2
- Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
- Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) +1.472s
- Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +1.863s
- Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +2.694s
- Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +4.988s
- Tommy Bridewell (Moto Rapido Ducati) +7.467s
- Gino Rea (OMG Suzuki) +7.607s
- Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +7.610s
- Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +12.695s
- Richard Copper (Buildbase Suzuki) +12.817s
Superbikes Race 3
All eyes were on the riders battling for the final Showdown spot and at the start Jason O’Halloran fired himself into the lead of the race, which gave him a chance of making the cut for Honda Racing, holding off Haslam and Jake Dixon behind him initially.
There was high drama for the Smiths Racing BMW team as Peter Hickman encountered a technical problem on the sighting lap and was forced to start the race from pitlane.
The race was red flagged on the second lap though when Luke Mossey crashed out at Copse, he was later able to walk away from the incident, before the race was restarted shortly afterwards.
Again O’Halloran got the jump off the line ahead of Haslam and Australian rival Josh Brookes with Mackenzie also in the pack. Remarkably Christian Iddon was holding fourth on the Tyco BMW as he fought back from injury in a determined bid to make the Showdown.
At the front Brookes captured the lead on lap five which put O’Halloran back out of Showdown contention and Iddon back in the Showdown game as Hickman held a position outside the top ten.
As O’Halloran dropped back to fifth it dashed his top six hopes despite his ambition to still make the cut despite his mid-season injury, but Hickman was soon back in contention as he climbed inside the top ten and Iddon ran on at Brooklands on the eleventh lap.
Brookes was holding the lead from Haslam and Mackenzie until lap 19 when Haslam made his move; diving down the inside at Copse and the pair were inseparable!
Haslam’s lead didn’t last long though as Mackenzie hit the front for McAMS Yamaha on lap 21 as Brookes dropped back to sixth. The fight for the win went down to the wire though as Mackenzie held the lead on the penultimate lap, but Haslam was back ahead at Brooklands.
The Championship leader held the position to the line to win race three, but only just from Mackenzie, with Dixon adding to his Podium Points in third.
Tarran Mackenzie
“We made a really good step forward this weekend and I felt good straight away from FP1. I was disappointed to crash out in race two, so really wanted to make amends in that final race and get back on the podium. I’m really happy with the way I’m riding at the moment and am now looking forward to the final three rounds and getting into the mix with the showdown boys!”
Jake Dixon
“It’s been quite a tough weekend as although our one lap pace was excellent, we couldn’t string it all together for the full race distance. We were struggling in a few areas at a circuit which probably didn’t suit the Kawasaki as well as some of the other bikes. Fifth in race one was ok but the crash was completely out of hands due to the oil and it was disappointing that there weren’t any oil flags being displayed. The penalty that Leon received didn’t seem to be executed very well and going from first to second didn;t hinder him at all. It is what it is so I had to come out fighting in the third and final race to try and salvage something from the weekend which I did with third place. The team have done a great job all weekend but we just need to improve in a few areas to give ourselves the best chance possible of winning the title.”
Glenn Irwin just missed out on a podium finish in fourth.
Glenn Irwin
“I had a few moments in the early laps of race one, but I soon regrouped although I was gifted the podium when two riders crashed in front of me. I worked really hard to fight my way through the pack so whilst disappointed with third, it was another podium credit to my total. I struggled a bit in the second race and I was using a lot of the tyre to get by a number of riders so that when I’d got to the leading pack, I didn’t have much left to push on again. I had a few moments at the end so settled for fourth place and I’m pleased to have achieved the objective of making it into the Showdown. We now need to make sure we don’t sit on our laurels and whilst there’s a lot of work to do to close the gap to Leon, two of the three Showdown circuits are strong for us, so we’ll give it our all.”
O’Halloran held onto fifth ahead of Brookes with Richard Cooper and Tommy Bridewell adding another top ten to their tally this weekend.
Jason O’Halloran
“It’s been a positive day we’ve had a fourth and fifth, and the second race we were just 1.495s off the winner, we led for a few laps and it was nice to be back running at the front. I also started on the front row, so we have plenty of positives to take from today. It’s been a challenging year so far, but I feel we’ve made a step forward and it’s now time to start challenging for podiums again, where we were before my injury and this weekend has been a good step towards that. We’ve been up front all weekend and the results this round are the best since my injury. We were six points shy of the top six, so considering the races I missed through injury and the struggle we had in the middle part of the season, we’ve done a pretty good job to even be in with a shout of it! Thanks to all the guys for all their hard work and faith, I’m disappointed to have got injured, which derailed our year, but we have three rounds left and still plenty of races to try and grab a win or two! This weekend was a good push towards that and I’m looking forward to Oulton Park.”
Josh Brookes
“Some days come easy and some are hard, that’s racing. Today was a hard day. We did have grip issues over the weekend despite some changes. Ultimately we have to dig in at Oulton and go for the wins.”
Iddon meanwhile held on to tenth place to miss out by just five points on a Showdown position with Hickman still suffering with a problem which put him 19th but still the final rider in the standings top six.
Peter Hickman
“It’s been a dramatic weekend that’s for sure so to make it into the Showdown for the second year running and again as the only BMW rider to do so feels fantastic. We improved the bike all weekend and eighth place in Saturday’s race gave me a little bit of breathing space over my main Showdown rivals which ultimately proved vital. Today started well with second place in morning warm-up but after that it was a nerve-wracking affair as firstly the oil pressure sensor and then the broken gear lever left me pointless. I had an idea in my head what the other riders needed to do and, thankfully, that little bit of luck came our way this weekend.”
The next round of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship is the opening round of the Showdown at Oulton Park next weekend (September 14/15/16).
British Superbike Championship Silverstone Race 3
- Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.075s
- Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +0.274s
- Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.822s
- Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +1.495s
- Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) +1.630s
- Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +3.700s
- Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki) +10.649s
- Tommy Bridewell (Moto Rapido Ducati) +10.777s
- Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +11.228
British Superbike Championship Standings
- Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 568
- Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) 523
- Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) 519
- Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) 519
- Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) 516
- Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) 504
Supersport
Ben Currie claimed victory in an action-packed Dickies British Supersport Feature race, that saw a six rider battle for the lead. It was Currie who grabbed the holeshot initially, however Jack Kennedy had moved into the lead just one lap later.
Joined by Alastair Seeley, James Rispoli, Sam Wilford and Josh Owens the six riders traded places on almost every corner.
It was bad luck for Rispoli who crashed out mid-race, however as the riders started the last lap Currie was able to break away from the pursuing pack to take victory ahead of Wilford and Owens, who was the first of the GP2 machines.
Jack Kennedy finished fourth on the track to complete the Supersport podium ahead of Seeley, Kyle Ryde and David Allingham.
Currie’s victory sees him close Kennedy’s lead at the top of the standings to 31 points with three rounds remaining.
Supersport Silverstone Feature Race
- Ben Currie (Gearlink Kawasaki)
- Sam Wilford (IDWe Racing Yamaha) +1.194s
- Josh Owens (RS Racing Kalex GP2) +1.266s
- Jack Kennedy (Integro Yamaha) +2.228s
- Alastair Seeley (EHA Racing Yamaha) +7.667s
- Kyle Ryde (Kovara Projects Racing Kalex +11.873s
Supersport Championship Standings after Silverstone
- Jack Kennedy (Integro Yamaha) 366
- Ben Currie (Gearlink Kawasaki) 335
- James Rispoli (Everquip Racing Yamaha) 191
- James Westmoreland (Gearlink Kawasaki) 181
- David Allingham (EHA Racing Yamaha) 152
- Bradley Jones (Integro Yamaha) 145
Pirelli National Superstock 1000
Alex Olsen claimed victory in a dramatic Pirelli National Superstock 1000 race, taking the win by just 0.1s. Josh Elliott grabbed the holeshot, leading across the line ahead of Olsen and Billy McConnell.
Olsen moved ahead on lap two, however a red flag on lap seven saw the race stopped. It was a carbon copy on the restart for Olsen before Olsen took over front running on lap three with Taylor Mackenzie sitting in third.
A technical problem just a few laps later saw Mackenzie forced to retire as McConnell fought his way up to third. Maintaining positions over the final stages, Olsen was able to fend off Elliott to claim the victory whilst a fast charging Keith Farmer beat McConnell over the line to claim the final rostrum position and close the Championship gap to just 0.5 points.
Superstock 1000 Results
- Alex OLSEN BMW – 14:00.157
- Josh ELLIOTT Suzuki +0.187
- Keith FARMER BMW +1.425
- Billy MCCONNELL Suzuki +1.464
- Claudio CORTI Kawasaki +2.132
- Joe COLLIER Aprilia +4.041
- Matt TRUELOVE Yamaha +7.463
- Kevin MANFREDI Kawasaki +11.222
- Tim NEAVE Suzuki +13.413
- Johnny BLACKSHAW Aprilia +13.528
Superstock 1000 Standings
- Billy McCONNELL 214
- Keith FARMER 213.5
- Joe COLLIER 207.5
- Josh ELLIOTT 167.5
- Alex OLSEN 150
- Lee JACKSON 138
- Andy REID 79
- Alastair SEELEY 69
- Chrissy ROUSE 68
- Leon JEACOCK 52
