JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey secured two fastest laps at Thruxton this weekend (3rd to 5th August) while Leon Haslam finally claimed his first win at this particular circuit, during round 7 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

After taking first place in the opening race and fourth in the second race, Leon has maintained his championship lead and with team-mate Luke getting close to his best form once more in seventh and eighth, today’s results rounded off a superb meeting for the team.

Competing at the team’s local venue, Luke initially gave them plenty to cheer about during qualifying on Saturday when he recorded the second quickest time just 0.032s adrift of pole position, and that put him in the middle of the front row for the opening 20-lap race on Sunday. Leon, meanwhile, was slightly further back in eighth.

The conditions were sweltering at the Hampshire venue for race one and after finishing first and second quickest in morning warm-up, Luke, Leon and the team were more than ready for the afternoon’s opening encounter where they completed the first lap in first and sixth place respectively.

Taking full advantage of the clear road in front of him, Luke quickly opened up a sizeable lead with the gap to second place up to 2.8 seconds by lap five but from that moment on, the group behind began to reel him in, one of whom was Leon who had fought his way up to third place behind fellow Kawasaki rider Jake Dixon.

Luke continued to lead at half-race distance but this changed on lap 13 when Dixon took over at the front and Leon quickly relegated his team-mate to third. Indeed, from that moment on, Luke was battling for grip and having run on at the chicane near the end he eventually had to settle for seventh place.

At the head of the field though, Leon was still vying for the win and although it was a five-rider battle for the lead, it was predominantly the Derbyshire rider and Dixon that led the way. With five laps to go, the 35-year-old took over the lead and although he was under stiff pressure all the way to the end, he duly took his seventh win of the season which was also his first ever BSB win at the Thruxton circuit.

For race two, Luke again lined up in pole position with Leon beside him in second but, on this occasion, it was Josh Brookes who put together the strongest race with the Australian taking his third win of the season.

For the two JG Speedfit Kawasaki riders, it was a more challenging affair and although Leon was in contention for a podium position throughout, he just missed out finishing in fourth place with Luke three further places back in seventh.

In the Hyundai Construction Equipment British Sidecar Championship races there was joy for Ricky Stevens/Ryan Charlwood with the Hampshire pairing taking a trio of third-place finishes at their local circuit.

They were also the second 600cc sidecar over the line in each race to wrap up a highly successful weekend.

Leon Haslam said:

“It was a good weekend, we extended the championship lead and the podium credits, and I got my first ever win at Thruxton, so all of that is really positive.

“In race two we really struggled, the temperature was a bit higher and so was the pace and the tyres just dropped off. I wasn’t on the SC0 so couldn’t push as hard as I would have liked and lost the podium place on the last lap.

“We will walk away from our worst circuit of the year and move onto my favourite which is Cadwell next. Thanks to all the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team for all their hard work this weekend.”

Luke Mossey said:

“I know the results don’t reflect it, but I am really pleased with how this weekend went at Thruxton. As most people know I’ve had a tough year so far but I really felt that we turned a corner here and I hope the rest of the season will continue to get better.

“I managed the fastest lap in both races and it felt great to be out at the front again. I pushed too hard in race one and lost the lead I had but I’m really pleased to be back in that position and it was nice to lead a race again.

“It’s the best I’ve felt all year and hope this will continue for the rest of the season.”

Ricky Stevens said:

“Our whole team is on cloud nine after securing three thirds this weekend!

“We’re disappointed to have been involved in an incident in which we out-braked another outfit which ran into the back of us at the last Club Chicane. Having lost two or three places, we fought back, but by the time we got near the front the top two teams had gone.

“We now have some bodywork to repair, but we’re looking forward to heading to Cadwell in a couple of weeks to overcome the ‘Cadwell jinx’!”

Team Manager Jack Valentine added:

“It was a good weekend for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team. It was great to see Luke back where he should be, second on the grid for the first race, pole for the second race and achieving the fastest laps in both. He went a bit hard in the first race and lost the grip in the closing laps. In the second race he didn’t manage to get away with them.

“I couldn’t fault Leon in the opening race, he’s never won around Thruxton so it was great to do that at the JG Speedfit supported round. He was struggling in the second race for grip and missed a few gears on the last lap which cost him the podium.

“We can’t complain, it’s been a really strong weekend and feel that we have both riders back in a good position. It’s great for all the sponsors.

“We had a good test at Cadwell so we should be strong from the off when we go there in a few weeks.”


Round 8 will take the team to Cadwell Park from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th August. Ricky and Ryan have already visited the Lincolnshire circuit, for what turned out to be a challenging round 4 of their championship.