The British Superbike meeting at Oulton Park was about as dramatic as you get in a Superbike series. The top six are now all locked in, with Haslam leading Byrne, O’Halloran, Ellison, Mossey and Linfoot to Donington Park where the final 7 races will explode into life. The question is: Who will take the championship?
The first race of the triple header was as fast and furious as every other race this year! James Ellison made the best start of everyone, erupting through into 2nd position before taking the lead from teammate Haslam, Byrne, Bridewell and Hickman.
However, Tommy Bridewell would be the one who stole all the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A horrendous accident saw the Wiltshireman tuck the front just before turn 6. The bike cartwheeled through the air and into the crowd, leading to 2 spectators falling over as they made a run for the flying Suzuki.
With just two laps to go, Shane Byrne made a mistake on the exit to Hizzy’s chicane and went off track, leaving Hickman to take third.
Haslam also got passed Ellison at Lodge with a lap to go and that was how it remained. Race one saw Haslam beat both his teammates – Ellison then Hickman – which was the first time in BSB history that one team has packed out the podium.
Race two was less dramatic, but the first two were the same. Haslam once again took the win ahead of Ellison, but this time it was Dan Linfoot who took third position ahead of his Honda racing teammate Jason O’Halloran. There was drama for Shane Byrne who crashed out early doors and also Michael Laverty who crashed out on the last lap, which turned out to be a very costly mistake. John Hopkins had a big crash down at the Shell Oil’s Hairpin.
Race Three was next up and once again, it was the all-conquering JG Speedfit Kawasakis of Haslam and Ellison who hit the front. Byrne was picking his way through from well down the grid, as was Laverty, who needed to beat Mossey, Hickman and Cooper to remain in the showdown.
The safety car was deployed after a horrific accident involving Jake Dixon. The Briggs Equipment BMW rider suffered what looked like to be either a stuck throttle or brake failure. The BMW smashed into the tyre wall before mounting the fence and leaving people running for cover for the 2nd time this weekend. Dixon is in hospital with serious hip injuries.
The race restarted but this time, without James Ellison who suffered mechanical gremlins during the pace car period. Haslam went on to win the race from Luke Mossey and Tommy Bridewell. Michael Laverty managed a heroic 4th but that wasn’t enough, meaning it would be Luke Mossey who got through to the Showdown for Pete Extance’s team. Neither Tyco BMW rider made it into the top six.
The good news is that this coming weekend we have a massive bumper edition of BSB as the crew heads track side! We will have exclusive news, interviews and pictures every hour and on top of that, we may even have a competition for you to enter after the event! Follow me @MotoGPKiko and @PitCrew_Online for more! Once more, thanks to Gareth Davies for continuing to supply us with great images from the BSB paddock!
Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko