Dixon masters wet opener, Haslam recovers to third
Full BSB race one results from Oulton Park
Jake Dixon has produced a flawless start to his Bennetts British Superbike Showdown with victory in the wet opener at Oulton Park, with championship leader Leon Haslam charging from the back of the grid to finish to take third place.
Full BSB race one results from Oulton Park
Jake Dixon has produced a flawless start to his Bennetts British Superbike Showdown with victory in the wet opener at Oulton Park, with championship leader Leon Haslam charging from the back of the grid to finish to take third place.
The RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki rider bolted clear of the chasing pack along with Moto Rapido Ducati’s Tommy Bridewell in very wet conditions at the Cheshire track.
Haslam, starting from the back of the grid after effectively missing qualifying with a broken engine cylinder, made his way up to 11th at the end of lap one before making further light work of the BSB midfield to take fifth place by two-third race distance.
Dixon nipped back into the lead by passing Bridewell at the start of lap eight at Old Hall and with the leading duo comfortably ahead, Haslam duly targeted third place as damage limitation to his points lead.
At the end of lap 15 Haslam on the JG Speedfit Kawasaki dived up the inside of Jason O’Halloran at Lodge corner to claim the final podium place, before the Honda rider faded late on as both Be Wiser Ducati’s Andrew Irwin and Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty passed the Australian on the final lap.
With Irwin fourth, Laverty fifth and O’Halloran sixth, McAMS Yamaha’s Tarran Mackenzie grabbed a solid seventh place after team-mate and BSB Showdown fighter Josh Brookes crashed out on lap seven at Knickerbrook.
Fellow top six fighter Peter Hickman grabbed eighth place for Smiths Racing BMW with James Ellison (Anvil Hire Yamaha) and Dan Linfoot (Honda) rounding out the top ten.
Bradley Ray, making his BSB Showdown debut this year, could only manage 11th place in the wet conditions after a hairy moment under braking at Lodge corner caused him to go off track on the Buildbase Suzuki.
Fellow Showdown rookie Glenn Irwin followed in 12th place after he was forced to start from last place following a dramatic issue on the initial starting grid which forced a new race start much to the Be Wiser Ducati rider’s frustration.
Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki), Gino Rea (OMG Racing Suzuki) and Fraser Rodgers (Gearlink Kawasaki) completed the points places.
