Haslam takes the lead in Pirelli-backed British Superbikes
Leon Haslam and Shane Byrne have moved to the front of the British Superbike Championship title fight after taking thrilling victories at Brands Hatch.
Haslam sat fifth for most of the first race but used the stability of the harder SC2 Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike front tyre to charge to victory late on, beating JG Speedfit Kawasaki team-mate James Ellison to the win by just 0.057 seconds. In third was Tommy Bridewell, who scored a first podium of the season for Bennetts Suzuki.
Byrne also came from behind to win in race two on his Be Wiser Ducati, ahead of Richard Cooper’s Buildbase BMW. Haslam took third, and now leads Byrne by three points at the head of the standings moving onto Knockhill on June 26.
In the Pirelli National Superstock classes, Taylor Mackenzie and Carl Phillips took victories in the 1000 and 600 divisions respectively, while Pirelli rider Charlie Nesbitt leads the Moto3 category after another win.
Brands Hatch hosted thrilling action on Pirelli tyres
An ultra-close battle against the clock in Pirelli-supplied Time AttackThe second round of the Time Attack season at Pembrey saw a very tight battle for the fastest time in the Pirelli-supplied competition.
Pani Pastou followed up his success in the Cadwell Park opener by winning in the Pro category once more, but his time of 58.679 seconds in his Mitsubishi Evo VI was just 0.098s quicker than that of Noble M12 RSR driver Kevin Jones.
Dave Coe was quickest in Club Pro in his Subaru Impreza while Mitchell Sharp was the first Pro Extreme entry of the season in his Ford Escort RWD. Dalibor Kvasai led Club 4WD in another Subaru, with Darren Spooner setting the Club FWD benchmark in his Peugeot 205.
Alex Bones won Clubman+ in an Evo V and Honda Civic driver Jordan Carr was fastest in Clubman. The Pocket Rocket victory went to Stewart Summers in his Citroen Saxo, with Paul Finney winning Classic & Retro in his Ford Fiesta XR2.
Mason joins GT4 battle in Pirelli-backed British GT
Successful one-make racer Aaron Mason will compete in the British GT Championship for the first time at this weekend’s Oulton Park round.
Mason has joined RCIB Insurance Racing aboard one of its Team HARD-run Ginetta G55 cars in the GT4 class. Mason will join up with Rob Barrable, replacing Wilson Thompson in the #75 car. Mason is a two-time VW Racing Cup champion, competing against Barrable and his new team boss Tony Gilham last season.
“Racing on the same bill as British GT with the VWs means I’ve always kept an eye on the GT4 times,” said the Yorkshireman. “There’s not a huge difference, but having no experience of rear wheel-drive or the Ginetta, as well as going up against a very good field, obviously means we’ll have our work cut out. But I know Oulton like the back of my hand and the team has already performed well this season, so we’ll take it one step at a time.
“I also know what a good driver Rob is having raced against him in VWs, so I think we’ll be looking for a couple of solid results at Oulton.”
Oulton Park is the scene for round three of the British GT season, which is being exclusively supplied by Pirelli.
Pirelli-equipped GT Cup moves onto Silverstone for round three
Round three of the GT Cup takes place at Silverstone this weekend with Jordan Witt the driver to beat after his early-season victories in his Bentley Continental GT3.
Witt’s closest rivals so far have been Richard Chamberlain and his Porsche 935, as well as Lamborghini Huracan driver Darren Nelson, who will be paired with Stuart Moseley at Silverstone.
An exciting entry for this event is professional ace Craig Dolby, who will partnering Nigel Mustill in a Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX.
In the GTC group there is the addition of a McLaren 650S GT Sprint car for Stewart Proctor and his son Lewis, while Nick Staveley and Joe Tuckey will race a pair of In2Racing Porsches. Tom Webb leads the way in GTB, while one point separate Ian Anderson/Amanda Black and Daniel O’Brien in GTA.
British trio lead the way on Pirelli tyres as World Superbikes come to Donington
The Superbike World Championship comes to Britain this weekend for round seven at Donington Park with three home riders at the head of the Pirelli-supplied series.
Defending champion Jonathan Rea leads the standings having won five of the 12 races and been on the podium on all of them. The Northern Irish Kawasaki rider is 42 points ahead of Welsh Ducati racer Chaz Davies. The other Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes is third, 70 points away from team-mate Rea.
Leon Camier (MV Augusta) and Alex Lowes (Yamaha) are two other Brits who will enjoy home support at the Leicestershire circuit on May 28-29.
