Samsung Crescent Racing's Jon Kirkham took a debut victory in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Croft this afternoon in the opening race of the day at Croft, after barging ahead of his team-mate John Hopkins in changing conditions.

Kirkham said:

"I honestly can't believe it; that was the scariest race of my life in terms of deciding on tyres and the changing conditions but what a race! I was lucky to be fair with the pace car as it gave me the chance to close the gap up and it was pretty loose out there. I had a few moments and (John Hopkins) was riding amazingly, pushing me all the way. This was a fantastic result as we had such a hard start to the weekend, missing a lot of time with an issue but now I just want to get on with race two."

The start was delayed as the conditions continued to change at Croft and many of the teams gambled on tyre choice before the start. HM Plant Honda's Shane 'Shakey' Byrne powered off the line to lead into Clervaux on the opening lap from Michael Rutter and Michael Laverty.

Laverty moved up to second at Hawthorn as Hopkins moved third, pushing Rutter to fourth in a hectic opening lap. Jenny Tinmouth had a disappointing debut as she crashed out on lap two at Clervaux but at the front Hopkins was on an early charge and moved second at the Hairpin.

Byrne was leading the pack and edging out an advantage, but Kirkham was moving up the order from 16th on the grid, passing Tommy Hill for eighth after just five laps. By lap seven Hopkins was closing on race leader Byrne and on the start of the eighth lap there was disaster for the HM Plant Honda team as he was forced to retire with a technical problem. The incident bought out the Nissan GTR Safety car onto the circuit and with Byrne out it was Hopkins leading from Gary Mason, Kirkham, Glen Richards and Alex Lowes who were taking advantage of the conditions on the Evo WFR Hondas.

On lap eleven the race resumed and after the group had closed Kirkham saw his opportunity, passing Mason on the brakes into Clervaux, whilst Lowes behind repeated the same move on his team-mate Richards. Richards then dropped a further place as Loris Baz dived ahead at Hawthorn.

Kirkham then had his team-mate ahead of him and on the same lap made a move at the Jim Clark Esses to lead a BSB race for the first time. He then held off the attack from Hopkins over the final laps, despite some moments in the closing stages. Hopkins' attempt at regaining the lead came on the penultimate lap at the Chicane when he took the lead back only for Kirkham to regain the position at Tower Bend which he held to the line.

Mason had moved to third on the 13th lap after moving ahead of Lowes and Baz. Mason then held the position to take his first BSB podium for the MSS Colchester Kawasaki team, with Baz stealing fourth from Lowes in the final stages.

Stuart Easton held onto sixth on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki ahead of Peter Hickman who scored his best finish in seventh for the Tyco Honda team. Josh Brookes was eighth on the Relentless Suzuki as he worked his way up the order during the race, moving ahead of Richards in the closing stages as Tommy Bridewell rounded out the top ten.

The Swan Yamaha team had a tough opening race as Tommy Hill on wet tyres was forced to settle for 15th whilst Michael Laverty was 24th after a brief spell in pitlane during the race. It was also disappointment for Ryuichi Kiyonari, who had a similar experience as Laverty finishing 25th. Alex Lowes extended his lead in the Mirror.co.uk BSB Evo standings with his victory.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Croft, race one result:

Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing)
John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) +2.940s
Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +3.715s
Loris Baz (Motorpoint Yamaha) +13.335s
Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +14.699s
Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +19.433s
Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +22.455s
Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) +24.297s
Glen Richards (WFR Honda) +26.063s
Tommy Bridewell (Tyco Honda) +27.747s