TO LEAD BY THREE POINTS INTO THE SHOWDOWN
Leon Haslam completed an incredible hat trick of victories in the triple-header event at Oulton Park to move to the top of the standings by just three points ahead of Shane 'Shakey' Byrne as the opening Showdown round beckons at Donington Park next weekend (September 16/17/18).
The final race of the weekend produced incredible amounts of drama as Jason O'Halloran hit the lead on the opening lap before James Ellison stormed to the front with Haslam in third and Luke Mossey in close contention as he battled for his Showdown position.
The five riders fighting for the final two places in the Showdown were scrapping intensely for the positions, but a huge crash for Jake Dixon at Hizzys meant the Nissan GT-R Safety Car was deployed.
O’Halloran had taken the lead, but when the race resumed the Honda Racing rider suffered a technical issue and was forced to retire, with James Ellison also experiencing a problem with the JG Speedfit Kawasaki, with the pair sidelined in the closing stages.
Dan Linfoot was holding fifth position when the Honda Racing rider crashed out, the Honda Racing rider got to his feet in despair but with Michael Laverty only holding fourth place and Mossey moving into a podium position, his place was safe in the Showdown by just four points.
Haslam was holding off Mossey at the front and with O’Halloran and Ellison sidelined Tommy Bridewell was promoted to third as the gritty contender bounced back from his huge crash yesterday. Laverty held off Byrne for fourth place with Richard Cooper finishing sixth to also miss out on a Showdown place.
Peter Hickman got ahead of Lee Jackson for seventh position with Christian Iddon and Broc Parkes completing the top ten for ePayMe Yamaha.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, race three result:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +1.336sTommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +2.654sMichael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +4.594sShane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +4.657sRichard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) +5.423sPeter Hickman (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +8.784sLee Jackson (Buildbase BMW) +8.880sChristian Iddon (Tyco BMW)+9.591sBroc Parkes (ePayMe Yamaha) +9.752s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings ahead of the Showdown:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 546Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 543Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) 513James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 513Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 511Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) 506
The next round of the MCE British Superbike Championship takes place at Donington Park for the opening round of the Showdown this weekend (September 16/17/18), for more information and to book please visit www.donington-park.co.uk
