Ellison inherits win after Camier exclusion

James Ellison has been gifted a surprise MCE British Superbike Championship win at Cadwell Park after Leon Camier was excluded for not adhering to black/orange flags on the final lap.

Camier was the dominant force throughout the race, snatching the lead on lap two and shrugging off a safety car period to cross the line more than four seconds ahead of Airwaves Yamaha team-mate Ellison.

However, Camier's joy was to be short lived when he was disqualified for not stopping immediately at the deployment of black/orange flags as he entered the 18th and final lap, prompted by his Yamaha R1 apparently leaking fluid onto the circuit.

Missing out on a 16th win of the season - and a sixth clean sweep over a single weekend -, Camier's loss would be Ellison's gain, the 28-year-old scoring his third BSB victory in the process.

A strong ride for Ellison, who keeps his slim title hopes alive with victory, although he wasn't a match for Camier as the race progressed, he was comfortably faster than the remaining competition once he had battled his way up to second position from eighth on the grid.

Even so, Camier was always the quicker rider, pushing past initial leader Stuart Easton - who, yet again, was masterful off the line to move ahead into turn one from fourth on the grid - and sprinting away into a lead of more than two seconds over Ellison, who had also gotten the better of the Scot on lap three.

A safety car period on lap six, prompted by an oil spill for Michael Howarth's ailing STP-JHS MV Agusta, closed things up again and Ellison briefly rallied during the opening few turns at the restart. However, Camier was able to stretch the lead back out again over the remaining laps before puffs of smoke began emerging from the back of his bike.

Although seemingly not enough to slow Camier as he rounded the final lap, the frequent marshal posts around the lengthy Cadwell Park circuit were enough to convince race officials that he had received enough warning to leave the track before he eventually did so - albeit only after he had taken the chequered flag.

While the result marks Camier's first failure to score of the season, Airwaves Yamaha could still celebrate Ellison's feat, even if this is the second occasion this year that he has inherited a victory.

Camier's disqualification is also crucial in keeping the title race alive for at least one more event, with Easton claiming his second podium of the day to eke the battle out further, the Hydrex Honda man closing the gap slightly to 141.5 points, with a maximum of 175 remaining.

While he wasn't able to maintain his strong start to launch a challenge for victory, Easton nonetheless enjoyed an entertaining race-long dual with Simon Andrews over the final step of the podium, the pair both eventually being rewarded with a place on the rostrum following Camier's exclusion.

Signalling some retribution for Andrews, who was denied victory back at Mallory Park before being forced to miss the previous round at Brands Hatch through injury, third position marks his best ever result in the BSB and in turn moves him up to fifth in the overall standings.

A strong weekend all round for the newly rebranded Confused.com Kawasaki team, Andrews was shadowed all the way by team-mate Julien Da Costa, the Frenchman also scoring his finest finish at this level to just miss out on a podium finish for himself.

Buildbase rider John Laverty followed in fifth to make it a trio of ZX-10s, the Irishman making better use of his second place grid slot after finishing a disappointing ninth in race one. He was able to resist the attentions of Sylvain Guintoli, who brought a satisfying comeback weekend to a close with a solid points haul, the Frenchman getting the better of Chris Walker and Karl Harris, the latter lucky to finish where he did after going off the track under the safety car and being allowed by his rivals to resume his spot in the running order.

Gary Mason continued his march towards the Mirror.co.uk Cup with a strong ninth place finish overall, marginally ahead of Tommy Bridewell and Peter Hickman, the pair also impressing to end up tenth and eleventh on the road.

Although the attrition count was relatively low, HM Plant Honda still endured a shocking afternoon, with Karl Muggeridge finishing a lowly 13th after dropping to the back of the field mid-race, while John McGuinness also fell out of contention before eventually retiring.

There was also disappointment for race one star Ian Lowry. The Northern Irishman, who had moved into fourth in the overall standings with a fourth place finish during opening encounter, endured a dismal start to drop from fifth to 14th, but was making good progress when he was forced to retire two laps from the chequered flag.