BSB: Haslam wins as Dixon & Mackenzie crash out

Leon Haslam further extended his lead in the Bennetts British Superbike championship with his second win of the weekend in a dramatic race at Silverstone.

The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider was able to notch up his tenth victory despite being handed a penalty during the race for an incident involving Bradley Ray.

Suzuki’s Ray once again bolted off the line to lean into turn one ahead of polesitter and Tarran Mackenzie.

Finding his rhythm, the young McAMS Yamaha rider made his way past Dixon and then Ray to take the lead on lap six.

Ducati’s Glenn Irwin was the man on the move on lap ten until a moment coming out of Luffield saw him drop back through the field.

Overnight changes seemed to have made the difference for RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki’s Dixon who made his way past Brad Ray to take second before moving into the lead at Brooklands on lap 17.

Race one winner Haslam caused controversy as he slammed into the side of Ray to move third. The series leader would later be instructed to drop a position, but before he’d seen the board he had moved into the lead ahead of Mackenzie and Brookes.

Acknowleding the penalty, Haslam moved over along the start finish straight to allow Dixon back, but lost out to Mackenzie too with just a handful of laps left.
Recovering well, Haslam charged into the lead at Brooklands on the penultimate lap.

Looking for a way back past the JG Speedfit Kawasaki star on the final lap, Dixon ran slightly wide and crashed out at Brooklands on what later became clear was oil dropped by Peter Hickman’s expired Smiths BMW.

Third-placed Mackenzie also crashed out, promoting team-mate Josh Brookes and Ducati’s Glenn Irwin to the podium.

Jason O’Halloran finished fourth despite sustaining a puncture across the line and crashing at turn one after the flag.

A heroic Christian Iddon finished fifth despite riding with a collarbone broken in three places with Tommy Bridewell completing the top six.

Gino Rea took a career-best seventh place for OMG Racing Suzuki ahead of Luke Mossey with Andrew Irwin and Richard Cooper rounding out the top ten.

Danny Buchan’s dismal weekend continued as he finished 12^th for FS-3 Racing Kawasaki’s, but Hickman’s retirement means he sits just eight points off a Showdown spot while Iddon’s heroics see him close the gap to just 11 points.

After losing places in the Haslam incident, Ray ended up suffering a problem with his gear selector and was forced to spent the remainder of the race in third gear. Despite finishing 14^th, the Buildbase Suzuki rider confirmed his position in the Showdown.

Picture: Jamie Morris