Haslam ends Snetterton duck in opener

Full BSB race one results at Snetterton

Leon Haslam has stormed to victory in the opening Snetterton race to break his winless run at the track in the Bennetts British Superbike championship.

The BSB standings’ leader held off Be Wiser Ducati’s Glenn Irwin for victory while an early pile-up saw four riders crash out including early leader Bradley Ray on the Buildbase Suzuki.

BSB debutant Andrew Irwin made a bold move up the inside at Wilson’s but became tangled with both Honda riders Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran while also collecting Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty. The incident triggered a safety car period which saw Ray lead the early running before being reeled in by Irwin.

With Ray pushing to fight back he crashed out on lap 10 at Agostini’s to allow the Northern Irish rider to escape but couldn’t prevent Haslam from dicing his way up the order to catch the Be Wiser Ducati rider. Haslam made the move for the lead with two laps to go with a decisive pass at the Bombhole before pushing ahead to take a first BSB win at Snetterton.

With Irwin forced to settle for second, Jake Dixon won a race-long fight with Josh Brookes to claim the final podium place for RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki in front of the McAMS Yamaha rider.

Danny Buchan secured a solid fifth place for FS-3 Racing Kawasaki ahead of Tarran Mackenzine on the McAMS Yamaha who led home Smiths Racing BMW’s Peter Hickman.

Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha’s James Ellison clinched eighth place ahead of Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon as Richard Cooper rounded out the top 10 on the Buildbase Suzuki.