Following yesterday’s history making ride which saw the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team secure all three spot on the MCE British Superbike Championship podium, Leon Haslam continued his imperious form to win both races today and reclaim the Championship lead ahead of the Showdown. Team mate James Ellison also secured his place in the all-important top six whilst Peter Hickman narrowly missed out making it through and will now fight for the Riders Cup over the remaining three rounds.  

With expectations high following yesterday’s remarkable showing, the three JG Speedfit Kawasaki riders utilised the short ten minute warm up to full effect, with Leon finishing top, James fifth and Peter 12th.

Starting from pole in the second of the weekend’s races, Haslam leapt into the lead but just as he did yesterday James took over running at the front as Leon slipped back to third. Using the harder of the Pirelli compounds, it was a waiting game for the race one winner as he first picked off Linfoot to move second on lap 10 before taking his team mate three laps later. Running each other close, Leon secured his second win of the weekend just 0.4s ahead of James, whose second place was enough to secure him in the all-important top six. For Hickman, a small problem with his seat unit meant he was unable to quite ride as hard as yesterday, however taking seventh place at the line was enough to see him close to within two points of the final Showdown spot.

By virtue of their fastest laps in race two, Leon started from second, James fifth and Peter 12th. Again grabbing a flying start, James led for the opening laps before disaster struck and he was forced out of the lead with a technical fault. With James out, Leon was left unchallenged for the lead, crossing the line 1.3s ahead of Mossey to claim his third win of the weekend, his fourth in a row. Unfortunately for Pete, his seventh place was not enough to clinch a Showdown spot and he will now battle for the Riders Cup over the remaining three rounds. 

               
Claiming his first ever triple win, Leon Haslam said 

“It’s been a dream weekend! To have a front row start in all three races was brilliant, and then adding the fastest lap in the first race and then claiming my first ever triple victory is incredible. I want to say a huge thanks to the team for giving us a bike we can fight for the Championship on, they’ve worked non-stop to solve the problems we were experiencing and to make history yesterday with a podium lockout is mega. I’m so excited for the Showdown now, we’re leading the standings again and Donington is one of my favourite tracks so I’m so glad we don’t have to wait long to get going again!”

Securing his spot in the Showdown and making a welcome return to the podium, James Ellison said 

“This weekend has really been one of highs and lows! It started off really well and we were instantly fast, which is great as the improvements we made at the test last week have really paid off. Qualifying went really well, the pace was so hot and the top seven were all under the lap record. Race one yesterday was awesome to be part of the first ever 1-2-3 on a podium and to be challenging for the win in the second race was really positive. Unfortunately that final race we had to retire from the lead which is gutting as we could have got some valuable points back on Shakey but that said, it’s been a great weekend and I’m looking forward to getting the Showdown started and fighting for the Championship."

Disappointed not to make the Showdown, Peter Hickman has his sights firmly set on securing the Riders Cup 

“It’s been a really good weekend, making history yesterday is certainly something we’ll remember for a long time! My pace yesterday was really strong but unfortunately I just couldn’t match that speed today. In the opening race a small problem with the seat unit just meant I struggled with feeling which certainly put me off. For race two the bike was absolutely mint but for some reason I just wasn’t fast. It’s certainly disappointing to be so close to the Showdown and miss out but our focus is now solely on being crowned the Riders Champion at the end of the season.”

GBmoto Racing Team Principal, Mark Smith-Halvorsen concluded, 

“The final round ahead of the Showdown has been a real rollercoaster of a weekend, but a very positive one for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team. We claimed our first ever triple win, with Leon in unbeatable form which sets him up really well for the rest of the season. Yesterday’s podium lockout was unbelievable and is a testament to just how hard the team has worked over the last few weeks to turnaround some of the problems we were suffering. The first race today was equally as impressive and to score another 1-2 in front of our sponsors was brilliant. Pete also rode a superb race to really put himself in with a shot of making the Showdown. Unfortunately the final race of the weekend was a little bit of a dampener as James was forced out of the lead with a mechanical whilst Hicky narrowly missed out on pipping his rivals to make the Showdown.

It’s been a fantastic effort all round though and I think we’ve delivered across the board for Kawasaki and our brilliant sponsors and suppliers. Our target now is simple, to win the MCE British Superbike Championship title and also secure the Riders Cup.”