Swan Yamaha's Tommy Hill knocked out his rivals again for the second race in succession with a sensational victory to become the first rider to double up in this year's MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season.

Hill said:

"It is unbelievable to have won both races today for Swan Yamaha and I have to thank them for their hard work to get us up there where we needed to be. After some hard rounds it has been fantastic to get the sweep of pole and two race wins today. We knew we could push but it is just great for our championship; more points and more podium credits was what we needed and that is what we got and that will prove so important later in the season ahead of the Showdown."

John Hopkins took the lead into the first turn off the front row from Shane 'Shakey' Byrne, Tommy Hill and Michael Rutter, whilst Gary Mason looked to move up the order at Scotsman but went wide and was forced to rejoin down the order.

Byrne took the lead at Butchers from Hill to put the HM Plant Honda at the front of the pack with Hopkins still third, but it was Michael Laverty on the charge forward on the second lap. The Swan Yamaha rider moved from sixth to fourth after passing Ryuichi Kiyonari and Rutter at Leslies and then the Hairpin respectively.

On the third lap Tommy Bridewell, Glen Richards and Loris Baz all crashed at Leslies, avoiding the stricken Tyco Honda. The debris on track caused the Nissan GTR Safety Car to be deployed and at the start of the fourth lap they lined up behind the car Byrne led from Hill, Laverty, Hopkins and Rutter.

The race resumed at the start of the seventh lap but it was a dramatic lap for the Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki team as Hopkins went wide at Leslies and crashed out, collecting team-mate Jon Kirkham who was able to rejoin. The Californian's hopes of a double podium though were ended and he was forced to watch the remainder from the sidelines.

Hopkins' crash meant the Nissan GTR safety car was once again deployed and then when the race resumed on lap 12 Byrne and Hill began their fairing bashing for the lead. The HM Plant Honda had the initial advantage but just two laps later Hill forced by at the Hairpin to lead the race. The pair were almost touching handlebars as they crossed the line and it was Hill who seemed to have the edge, but it was the battle of the late brakers as Byrne took the lead back at Leslies.

A lap later Hill was ahead again, but Byrne fought back to retake the position again. Hill was piling on the pressure and with eight laps remaining he stole the lead and then fended off the series leader until the chequered flag.

Laverty was shadowing the leading pair but he was not able to take advantage of the dicing pair and he took a third place finish after missing out in race one. Ryuichi Kiyonari put in a resurgent performance to finish fourth after carving his way through from sixth in the early stages to put himself back where he needed to be to salvage his title fight.

James Westmoreland had his best performance of the season; dicing with Kiyonari and Mason to finish fifth with the MSS Colchester Kawasaki rider able to regain positions after his first lap off track excursion to finish sixth ahead of Chris Walker who just missed out on the top five as the pack continued to switch places in the closing stages. Tyco Honda's Peter Hickman was eighth for the Tyco Honda team ahead of Rutter who dropped to ninth despite a promising start and Simon Andrews had an impressive ride to finish inside the top ten and win the Mirror.co.uk BSB Evo race.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, race two result:

Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha)
Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +2.464s
Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +2.728s
Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +10.983s
James Westmoreland (Motorpoint Yamaha) +17.370s
Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +18.557s
Chris Walker (Pr1mo Racing Kawasaki) +19.955s
Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +20.201s
Michael Rutter (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) +21.351s
Simon Andrews (Buy-Force.com Kawasaki) +23.787s

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Knockhill:

Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 172
John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki) 141
Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 120
Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 95
Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 89
Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 84