After a slow start to the weekend, the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team made a welcome return to the MCE British Superbike Championship podium, with Leon Haslam taking a brace of second places around the iconic Brands Hatch circuit

Having had a difficult time at Snetterton and Thruxton, the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team worked tirelessly ahead of Brands Hatch to solve the problems they were experiencing and heading into the weekend Leon Haslam, James Ellison and Peter Hickman were confident of a better showing. It was a relatively slow start for all three riders during practice, as they continued to work through the various new components and settings.

Continuing to take steps forward with every session, the trio were able to steadily improve during qualifying, with Peter securing twelfth on the grid for the opening race, James in tenth and Leon progressing through to Superpole to secure sixth place.

With warm and sunny conditions gracing race day, the Brands Hatch circuit was packed with fans and it was a fantastic start for Haslam in the opening race, as he leapt off the second row to run second into the first corner. Fighting with the front three throughout the twenty lap race, Leon challenged eventual winner Byrne right to the very end, securing a well-earned second place and his first podium since Knockhill. It was a different story for James and Peter however, who both struggled during the race but were able to still bring it home to secure tenth and 11th.

With their fastest laps from the opening race setting their grid positions for race two, Leon was promoted to third, James sixth whilst Peter slipped back to 14th. Getting a fantastic start both Leon and James were running in the leading group throughout the race, with Leon going on to claim another podium with second. Unable to match his initial pace as the tyres wore, James slipped back to ninth whilst Peter was narrowly pipped to a top ten, claiming 11th again.

The Brands Hatch round also saw the GBmoto Racing team launch a brand new app, designed specifically to bring its fans closer to the action. To download it, simply search ‘GBmoto’ in the App store or Google Play.


Pleased with a return to the podium, Leon Haslam said 

“After first practice I would have jumped at the chance for two podiums! It’s been a bit of a tough weekend, and we’ve have kind of been on the back foot a little but full credit to the team for turning it around for today.

I honestly expected a little more from that second race and thought we might have been able to get the win, but we just had a small problem during the opening half but luckily it cleared. The bike was handling fantastic, and although we didn’t have an answer for Shakey I think we took a big step forward this weekend. We need to go away and assess a few things to fix the small issues we had, so we can head to Cadwell and fight for the win!”

Disappointed with a tough weekend, James Ellison added 

“I’m gutted really. The tests we had earlier this week were really positive and it felt like we had made a big step forward but it just didn’t seem to translate to this weekend. The bike is clearly capable of winning and I know we can do it, but we just had a few problems this weekend overall which prevented us from really showing what we can do. It’s definitely disappointing to be leaving here back out of the Showdown but I’m certain we’ll bounce back at Cadwell Park.”

Equally disappointed after a tough weekend, Peter Hickman added 

“This was definitely one of our weakest rounds of the year, which is a real shame. It was certainly a big learning curve for us, we tried something for race two but it didn’t really work and we just can’t seem to make use of the bike on a new tyre. It’s certainly something we need to look at but we’re still not a million miles away from the Showdown and Cadwell is one of my favourite rounds so I’m confident we’ll be back in the mix over the Bank Holiday weekend!”

New GBmoto Racing Team Manager Terry Rymer joined the team for the first time this weekend, 

“It’s been a really great weekend joining the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team, obviously coming into a team mid-way through a season can be daunting but everyone has made me feel really welcome and they’re a great bunch of really professional guys and girls. It’s been a mixed weekend, on one hand we’ve had our backs to the wall slightly and have really been up against it – the team have been working non-stop after Thruxton so there was certainly a bit of pressure on us this weekend. But on the other, Leon had a fantastic day and rode the wheels off the bike and to walk away with two podiums is a real credit to him and the team in the garage. James and Peter had some issues and weren’t able to show what they can really do but we know how fast they are.

We now move onto Cadwell Park, where we’ll be aiming to get both James and Peter back into the mix, they’re not far outside the Showdown and I’m not giving up on getting them in! Overall, it’s been brilliant to join a high profile team such as JG Speedfit Kawasaki, and I’ve really enjoyed the weekend and being back in green and can’t wait for the next round!”