Shane 'Shakey' Byrne claimed the opening MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race win at Cadwell Park, forcing his way through on Leon Haslam at Chris Curve on the final lap to emerge victorious by just 0.272s.
Byrne had initially hit the lead on the opening lap but only marginally from Haslam with Richard Cooper and Jason O'Halloran tucked in behind. The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider wasn’t prepared to sit in second place though and made a dive down the inside at Park to take the lead on lap one.
The battle for third was intense between Cooper and O’Halloran and on the third lap the pair traded places three times before the Honda Racing rider emerged ahead. The Australian then had his sights set on the pair ahead and he hunted them as he bid for a podium finish at the team’s home round.
Lee Jackson was running inside the top six when he crashed out unhurt at Charlies, but at the front Haslam had a moment which dropped him back behind Byrne and O’Halloran. He was soon fighting back though and moved back into second just two laps later.
Dan Linfoot had his race ended prematurely when he crashed out at the Chicane unhurt, losing ground in the battle for the top six in the Showdown as the chasing pack bid to catch up ahead of the Oulton Park decider.
Tommy Bridewell was carving his way through the field and by the end of lap eight he had made a move on Cooper with a decisive move through Hall Bends.
Haslam regained the lead on the ninth lap and he held the advantage from Byrne and a gaining O’Halloran, but the championship leader was pushing to make a move. He waited until the final lap and made a lunge down the inside at Chris Curve which was enough to move to the front and then fend off the counter attack until the finish. O’Halloran scored a podium finish at his local round after defending hard against Bennetts Suzuki’s Bridewell.
Glenn Irwin had another strong performance to finish in fifth place ahead of James Ellison and JG Speedfit Kawasaki team-mate Peter Hickman with Cooper dropping to eighth at the chequered flag.
Rookie Jake Dixon was back inside the top ten, forging ahead of Michael Laverty on the sole Tyco BMW after Christian Iddon crashed out unhurt at the top of the Mountain.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, race one result:
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.272sJason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +2.534Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +2.862sGlenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +9.362sJames Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +10.330sPeter Hickman (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +10.557sRichard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) +14.185sJake Dixon (Briggs Equipment BMW) +14.430sMichael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +15.126s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Cadwell Park:
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 256Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 226Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) 191Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) 143Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 135Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) 133
