Hickman masters conditions to win as Haslam crashes out at Brands Hatch
Peter Hickman mastered the damp conditions to claim his second victory of the 2016 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, holding off Christian Iddon and Glenn Irwin over the closing stages as title contender Leon Haslam crashed out of the opening race at Brands Hatch.
At the start Iddon had launched himself into the lead for Tyco BMW as Tommy Bridewell and Jason O’Halloran tucked in behind, however the start of the race was incident packed, firstly when Broc Parkes crashed and collected James Rispoli on lap two, however both riders were able to walk away.
A lap later and the race was halted after a high-speed crash for Filip Backlund, who later walked away, and Howie Mainwaring-Smart who suffered a broken wrist and has been taken to hospital for a full assessment.
When the race resumed O’Halloran was the rider that instantly took the advantage from Iddon and Haslam who had carved his way up the order to run in third position. The race was then halted as rain began to fall and then was restarted in wet conditions.
Disaster struck for Haslam on the opening lap when he crashed on the exit of Druids, as he bid to close the points deficit to Byrne. The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider however has vowed to strike back in the final two races tomorrow.
Iddon had been holding the lead but soon Hickman and Ellison charged through to take the advantages at the front of the field. Ellison then captured the lead but he was another rider to get caught out by the conditions as he slid off at Graham Hill Bend a few laps later.
The Nissan GT-R Safety Car was deployed and when the race resumed Hickman made a lightening getaway to try and break Iddon, which he only executed over the final laps. Glenn Irwin meanwhile celebrated his second podium finish of the season as he made a move on Dan Linfoot with two laps to go to put the Be Wiser Ducati into third place.
Championship leader Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne had to settle for sixth place behind Bridewell, but still maintains a 27 point lead ahead of tomorrow’s final two races.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, race one result:
Peter Hickman (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +1.010s
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +4.634s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +5.638s
Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +5.686s
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +13.538s
John Hopkins (ePayMe Yamaha) +15.182s
Lee Jackson (Buildbase BMW) +15.245s
Alastair Seeley (Royal Airforce BMW) +16.818s
Jakub Smrz (Smiths Racing BMW) +20.548s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Brands Hatch race one:
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 643
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 616
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 579
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 560
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) 556
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) 537
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)
Sixth in MCE BSB Race 1
“The bike was really hard to ride and it took a lot of my concentration just to stay on the thing so I didn’t get chance to look at my pit board to know that Leon was out.
“The bike has been phenomenal in the dry and I felt really confident for the race when it started dry, but then the conditions changed and we just weren’t quite there.
“The bike felt like it had an intermediate tyre in, absolutely zero dig until way too late in the corner. It’s probably the most I’ve ever had to concentrate.”
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Crash in MCE BSB Race 1
“I feel more gutted than anything right now but I haven’t given up. I had come back from the crash we had this morning, to be pushing through the pack and was up to second before the rain came.
“On the restart it was tricky and I had a few moments so I eased off a little, but then it obviously wasn’t enough as it just threw me off and slapped me down pretty hard. I just feel a bit sore and stiff now so I have got some ice on it and I am going to be ready for tomorrow.
“For me the situation is the same as it was today; I have to win both races tomorrow and I have to hope that some of the other guys get between me and Shakey. But we saw today that anything can happen so I certainly haven’t given up on the title yet.”
More, from a press release issued by JG Speedfit Kawasaki:
DISASTER AND DELIGHT FOR JG SPEEDFIT KAWASAKI IN OPENING BRANDS RACE
15th October 2016 – The JG Speedfit Kawasaki team were able to turn disaster into delight on the opening race day at Brands Hatch, as despite both Leon Haslam and James Ellison crashing out of contention, Peter Hickman mastered the wet conditions to claim his second win of the season. Fortunately both riders escaped serious injury and will be looking to compete tomorrow.
Things started well for all three riders during opening practice on Friday, with Peter ending FP2 in second whilst Leon and James were comfortably in the top ten. With Saturday seeing final practice, qualifying and the opening race it was a busy day for the team. Disaster first struck in qualifying for Leon, as a snapped handlebar saw him crash out of contention in Q2 leaving him 17th on the grid. Peter would go on to qualify 11th whilst James would go through to the final session to secure a seventh place finish.
The opening race was punctuated by several accidents, rain, restarts and pace car interventions. In conditions that could only be described as a ‘lottery’ two riders lucked out and one had luck on his side.
After the first stoppage Leon battled up from his lowly grid position to get as far as second place before rain started falling, holding up proceedings, with wet practice and a further restart. In difficult conditions Leon set off strongly but was highsided on the very first lap. James then led from Peter but was incredibly unlucky to slip off on lap six. It was left to Peter to hold his nerve and take a popular win, his second of the season.
A disappointed Leon Haslam said “I feel more gutted than anything right now but I haven’t given up. I had come back from the crash we had this morning, to be pushing through the pack and was up to second before the rain came.
On the restart it was tricky and I had a few moments so I eased off a little, but then it obviously wasn’t enough as it just threw me off and slapped me down pretty hard. I just feel a bit sore and stiff now so I have got some ice on it and I am going to be ready for tomorrow.
For me the situation is the same as it was today; I have to win both races tomorrow and I have to hope that some of the other guys get between me and Shakey. But we saw today that anything can happen so I certainly haven’t given up on the title yet.”
Having his first victory snatched from his hands, James Ellison explained, “That was such a difficult race and to be honest it felt like an ice rink out there, it was a bit of a lottery. The problem with leading in those conditions is you have to try and work out the pace and how far you can push, so when I hit the front that became my job and I just hit a really slippery patch. Its gutting but that’s racing! We try again tomorrow!”
Taking his second win of the season and leading the Riders Cup, Peter Hickman said “People were saying at the start of the race it was my kind of conditions but to be honest just to finish the race was a hard thing! I’m not sure if you could see it on the TV but my bike was moving around a lot and the two left handers on the Indy circuit were like ice. When James came through I was quite happy as it meant he could test the conditions but when I saw him go down he did absolutely nothing wrong so I panicked a bit more! From that point my plan was just to keep going, being cautious and if someone came by me I would then change tactics. Thankfully we were able to manage from the front and the bike was working fantastically so a huge thank you to the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team!”
GBmoto Racing Team Principal, Mark Smith-Halvorsen concluded, “It’s been a disastrous day for the Championship and I’m really sorry to see both Leon and James take knocks. Thankfully they have both been declared fit to ride which is good news for tomorrow but the odds are really stacked against us now. The silver lining to an otherwise dark cloud of a day was Peter, who rode a fantastic race in what everyone could see was treacherous conditions. He really was the man of the race and the man of the moment so I’m really pleased for him and for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team who claimed another race victory!”
More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:
Byrne Increases Championship Lead And Irwin On Podium
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and the Be Wiser Ducati Team took a step closer to winning the 2016 MCE Shane ByrneBritish Superbike Championship after taking sixth place in a dramatic opening race at Brands Hatch this afternoon as main rival Leon Haslam crashed out.
The 39-year-old four-times champion from nearby Sittingbourne qualified the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R in fifth place for the 20-lap race after rain fell in the final part of the Datatag Extreme Qualifying session but the first staging of the race was stopped after three laps due to an incident. The re-start was only a lap old when the rain started to fall again and it was stopped again before the race was eventually re-started for a third time over 15 laps.
On this occasion it was wet tyres all round and it was a race of attrition as simply staying upright proved difficult. Both Byrne and team-mate Glenn Irwin struggled in the early stages of the race and on lap three they found themselves in eighth and seventh respectively. Byrne remained in that position until lap six when he moved back up to sixth which he held until the chequered flag. However, with main series rival Leon Haslam crashing out on the opening lap, it saw his championship lead increase to 27 points for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team.
Carrickfergus rider Irwin revelled in the conditions as the race wore on and by lap nine, he was up to fourth with hopes of taking third. It was lap 13 that proved lucky for the 26 year old as he overhauled Dan Linfoot to move into the final podium position and he duly held on for third and his second podium finish of the season.
With 50 points up for grabs in tomorrow’s two races, Byrne needs 24 points over the two races, which equates to a fourth and fifth place finish, to guarantee his fifth title and that is providing Haslam wins both races, but Shakey is taking nothing for granted.
Shane Byrne: “That was a difficult race and although Leon crashing out has given me a few more points lead in the championship table, it’s certainly not a done deal and I’m fully aware anything can still happen. The bike has been phenomenal in the dry but whilst I’ve won a race in the wet, it’s a lot harder to get the set up right in the wet conditions today. I was trying my absolute hardest just to stay on the bike as the balance wasn’t quite right and if I’d have tried to have gone with the riders ahead of me, I’d have been down. We got more points which was what we needed, and whilst I’m hoping for two dry races tomorrow, if it’s wet I know we’ll have a much better package.”
Glenn Irwin: “It was a really good race for me but just to get to the finish was very tricky as conditions were difficult. There was no way you could tour round to get to the finish and we were having to take Glenn Irwinsome of the corners like in Supermoto whilst people were also crashing in a straight line. It was difficult in the middle of the race trying to pass Shakey as I obviously didn’t want to make any mistakes and the safety car period also helped me. I got to the front of the group I was battling with and brought the bike home. With Shakey extending his lead in the championship and my podium, it’s been a good day for the team.”
Phil Borley, Technical Director: “I really hope tomorrow is less stressful! Shakey looked really strong in the dry and we were disappointed the race got stopped although, of course, safety is paramount and we wish the injured riders well. The wet race was certainly tough to negotiate but with Leon crashing it worked out in our favour today in terms of Shakey extending his title lead. It was a very good day too for Glenn and although he didn’t have the best of times in qualifying, the wet weather gave him the opportunity to take a few more risks which he took with both hands and it was a great ride.”