After setting the fastest ever British Superbike Championship lap of Donington Park during qualifying yesterday, race day proved a disappointing outcome for JG Speedfit Kawasaki as Leon Haslam crashed out of contention whilst tyre issues prevented James Ellison from showing his true potential. It was a different story on the other side of the garage as Peter Hickman had a strong day, claiming fifth and fourth.  

With strong pace during practice, and a dominant display during qualifying, confidence was high coming into the opening two Showdown races at Donington Park today. With track temperatures increasing, Leon gambled on running the harder front and rear options during the opening race, however he just could not match the pace of eventual leader Byrne and crossed the line in second. A strong start from James saw him lead the opening half of the race, however he had slipped back to fourth by the flag. Continuing to show strong pace throughout, Pete took a strong fifth place.

Race two looked set to be a thriller as again Leon and James ran at the front, however disaster first struck James as a problem with his rear tyre saw him lose grip and drop back through the pack whilst only laps later Leon crashed out of second place. Hicky ensured spirits remained high in the JG Speedfit camp however by claiming a hard fought fourth place finish, moving him up to seventh in the Championship standings and leading the Riders Cup.

A rare mistake from Leon Haslam has seen him drop 27 points behind Byrne 

“I’m gutted! Our pace all weekend was really strong and the bike was working really well – unfortunately that crash in race two has left us with a lot of work to do for the Championship. It was our first racing crash of the year, it was my fault I just ran in a little too hot and down we went. Of course it’s disappointing to have crashed out, especially during the Showdown but there’s still two rounds and five races to go so our aim is to head out and win as many races as possible.”

After leading both races, James Ellison is disappointed to not have achieved a podium 

“I’m not really sure what to say! All weekend we’ve had really strong pace and have been running at the front and we even led both races. Unfortunately in that final race we had a problem with our tyre around lap six and I just couldn’t turn or keep the pace. It’s really disappointing if I’m honest, I felt really strong and thought we could definitely have been fighting for the podium. It was a bad end to the weekend, and although some of the other Showdown guys had difficult races we shouldn’t be finishing in seventh.”

Two strong races has seen Peter Hickman move to seventh in the Championship standings and lead the Riders Cup 

“It’s been a really good weekend for us! We’ve been pushing at the front in every practice session and we’re walking away with some great results. For some reason in that opening race I couldn’t quite get the feeling I wanted from the bike and we’re not sure why as we didn’t make any changes for race two but it felt like a different machine. I’m really happy though, it’s been a very strong round for us and we’re now leading the Riders Cup.”

GBmoto Racing Team Principal, Mark Smith-Halvorsen concluded, 

“To have lost so much ground in the Showdown is very disappointingThat said though it was a fantastic days racing for Peter Hickman who has done his bid for the 2016 Riders Cup a world of good. James had great pace all weekend but was unfortunately let down by a fault outside of our control. Whilst it’s disappointing, the war isn’t over and we’ve seen today that anything can happen so we’re going to keep battling until the very end and will be aiming to get the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team back on top.”

James Ellison leading the race at one point.