Haslam breaks Thruxton duck
Full BSB race one results from Thruxton
Leon Haslam has ended his miserable run at Thruxton with a maiden victory in the opening race ahead of Jake Dixon with Peter Hickman going from a hospital bed to the podium.
Full BSB race one results from Thruxton
Leon Haslam has ended his miserable run at Thruxton with a maiden victory in the opening race ahead of Jake Dixon with Peter Hickman going from a hospital bed to the podium.
The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider got the better of his RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki rival on the final lap by fending off the 22-year-old who squeezed him from the outside around the Village and Church corner to elbow his way to victory.
The win marks Haslam’s first-ever BSB race win at the Hampshire circuit and cements his BSB championship lead after losing out to double Brands Hatch winner Josh Brookes last time out.
Brookes was involved in the thick of the action at the Club chicane on the final lap when he pushed Honda’s Jason O’Halloran wide battling for the final podium place, with both riders going over the kerbs on the exit, which allowed Hickman to charge through into third place.
Hickman’s rostrum feat has been made all the more remarkable as the Smiths Racing BMW rider spent the night at Winchester hospital with a kidney injection – only making it to the track less than two hours before the start of race one.
With Brookes scampering to the chequered flag in fourth place for McAMS Yamaha ahead of pole-sitter Glenn Irwin, having to settle for fifth place for Be Wiser Ducati, it saw O’Halloran in sixth place after his moment at the chicane with Brookes.
Despite leading the majority of the race and setting the fastest lap of the race, to bag pole position for race two, Luke Mossey faded in the closing stages to seventh place for JG Speedfit Kawasaki with Mason Law impressing in eighth place for Team WD-40 Kawasaki – his best BSB career result.
Tarran Mackenzie fought back from a back of the grid start after missing qualifying with a mechanical issue to take ninth place for McAMS Yamaha with Movuno.com Halsall Racing Suzuki’s Chrissy Rouse in 10th place.
Local favourite Tommy Bridewell just missed out to Rouse in 11th place for Moto Rapido Ducati but comfortably ahead of Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha’s James Ellison as Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW), Sylvain Barrier (Smiths Racing BMW) and Martin Jessopp (Ridersmotorcycles.com BMW) rounded out the points places.
BSB showdown contenders Bradley Ray and Danny Buchan were involved in a third-lap tangle at the chicane which also collected the luckless Michael Laverty to see the trio crash out.
Front-row starter Andrew Irwin was another to crash in the opening race with the Be Wiser Ducati rider falling out on lap four tucking into a low-side fall at Cobb corner.
