BSB: Championship standings ahead of Assen

The 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship Showdown kicks off this weekend with six riders fighting for the title over the final three rounds. 

Just seven races stand between now and the crowing of the 2017 victor, but with the top four closer than ever before this year’s Showdown is shaping up to be one of the most exciting of all time. 

Shane Byrne leads the standings by just six points going into the Showdown with Leon Haslam in second, but after a win and second place in tricky conditions at Silverstone Josh Brookes is just a further four points back. 

Young gun Jake Dixon sits 14 points off Byrne as he looks to become BSB’s youngest ever champion, while Peter Hickman and Jason O’Halloran will also be keen to show what they can do. 

Here’s how it lies ahead of the weekend… 

1) Leon Haslam – JG Speedfit Kawasaki – 571 points 

Wins: 5
Podiums: 10
Best finish: 1st

Having taken control of the championship standings at Oulton Park, Haslam now leads Brookes by 22 points and holds what is his best chance yet of winning the crown. He’s shown to be strong at Assen in the past in both WSB and BSB, so this could be a deciding weekend for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki star. 

3) Josh Brookes – Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha – 549 points 

Wins: 2
Podiums: 7
Best finish: 1st 

Brookes was frightfully quick at Oulton, but when the wet weather came on race day he was almost caught off guard. He wasn’t able to replicate his pace from the practice sessions and while he was able to move into second in the series standings, he is 22 points behind Haslam. That being said, he was quick at Assen in 2015, so a resurgence isn’t off the cards. 

3) Shane Byrne – Be Wiser Ducati – 548 points 

Wins: 5
Podiums: 10
Best finish: 1st 

With no podiums in the opening Showdown round, Byrne is now 23 points behind series leader Haslam and needs to have a dramatic turn in fortunes if he’s to clinch his sixth BSB title in 2017.  

4) Jake Dixon – RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki – 541 points

Wins: 2
Podiums: 6
Best finish: 1st 

Things went wrong for Dixon at Oulton with a big crash in warm-up meaning he’d have to start the opening race from pit-lane. While he displayed pace that saw him storm to fourth place, a wrong tyre choice in race two would mean no podiums for him in Cheshire. His 30 point deficit isn’t insurmountable, but he’s riding injured this weekend after a crash testing Moto2 last week. 

5) Peter Hickman – Smiths BMW – 530 points

Wins: 1
Podiums: 3
Best finish: 1st

41 points off Haslam, Hickman’s chances of taking the 2017 BSB title are slim but he’s consistent as ever. He’ll no doubt be in the mix at Assen this weekend. 

6) Jason O’Halloran – Honda Racing – 517 points 

Wins: 0
Podiums: 3
Best finish: 3rd 

It was a tough weekend for O’Halloran at Oulton after a big crash in qualifying left him with his work cut out. 54 points off the title lead, his title chances are pretty much gone but he’ll be looking to end the season on a high. 

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