MCE British Superbike Championship
TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands
October 2, 2016
Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 18 laps, Total Race Time 29:33.969, Best Lap Time 1:37.390
2. Shane Byrne, UK (Duc Panigale R), -0.270 second, 1:37.149
3. Jason O’Halloran, Australia (Hon CBR1000RR SP), -1.447, seconds, 1:37.668
4. Dan Linfoot, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP), -3.796, 1:37.751
5. Luke Mossey, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), -3.831, 1:37.632
6. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW S1000RR), -3.898, 1:37.442
7. James Ellison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), -3.950, 1:37.758
8. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW S1000RR), -4.067, 1:37.482
9. Broc Parkes, Australia (Yam YZF-R1), -5.324, 1:37.453
10. Richard Cooper, UK (BMW S1000RR), -5.604, 1:37.797
11. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), -7.265, 1:37.862
12. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), -10.377, 1:37.906
13. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), -10.409, 1:37.790
14. Peter Hickman, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), -10.508, 1:37.824
15. John Hopkins, USA (Yam YZF-R1), -10.657, 1:37.935
16. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), -11.748, 1:38.108
17. Billy McConnell, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), -13.059, 1:38.445
18. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (BMW S1000RR), -25.142, 1:38.464
19. Alex Polita, Italy (Duc Panigale R), -25.669, 1:38.733
20. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Italy (Kaw ZX-10R), -27.417, 1:38.825
22. James Rispoli, USA (Yam YZF-R1), -30.378, 1:39.083
Championship Point Standings (after 23 of 26 races):
1. Byrne, 633 points
2. Haslam, 616
3. Linfoot, 566
4. Ellison, 560
5. O’Halloran, 556
6. Mossey, 534
7. Laverty, 197
8. Cooper, 192
9. Hickman, 188
10. Iddon, 168
14. Hopkins, 56
27. Rispoli, 3
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Double delight for Haslam at Assen ahead of Brands Hatch decider
Leon Haslam is ready to take the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship title fight down to the wire at Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time (October 14/15/16) after the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider scored a double victory at Assen to move to within 17 points of Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne.
In an incredible opening race Haslam beat his MCE BSB rival Byrne to the finish line by just 0.010s in a hard-fought contest which opened the penultimate round of the season at Assen.
At the start of the race James Ellison initially led the pack from pole-sitter Byrne with Luke Mossey, Jason O’Halloran and Haslam all in close contention. Mossey was instantly on the move and the young contender dived through ahead of Ellison to lead mid-way through the opening lap, but as they crossed the line he had repaid the move to regain the position.
By lap three Mossey was leading the field from Ellison and Byrne, but the pair were pushing him hard and both went for a move within three corners a few laps later to push him back into third place. Byrne then was hounding Ellison and made a decisive move on lap seven to take the advantage.
Byrne led the pack as they streamed across the line to start the eighth lap, but Haslam was then the rider moving through the field as he first attacked Mossey and then moved second with a dive on his team-mate.
By lap ten Byrne and Haslam were dicing intensely for the advantage, Haslam hit the front of the front of the pack with Ellison making it a JG Speedfit Kawasaki one-two as they pushed Byrne back into third place.
Ellison then traded blows with his team-mate as he made a big move on the eleventh lap to lead the field, but Haslam fought back to lead with a move at the chicane.
A lap later and Byrne was ready for retaliation; he moved around the outside of Ellison and then made a move on Haslam at the front to move back into the lead. On the penultimate lap though Haslam and Byrne were pushing each other all the way to the finish, with multiple passes before the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider narrowly won the drag to the line, with Ellison completing the podium.
Haslam was determined to maintain his momentum into race two in his bid to close Byrne in the standings and keep the Be Wiser Ducati in his wheel tracks.
At the start pole-sitter Jason O’Halloran fired the Honda Fireblade to the front of the field from Dan Linfoot, James Ellison and Haslam. Meanwhile championship leader Byrne was languishing outside the top ten in twelfth place after a bad start off the second row.
Ellison was instantly attacking hard and he moved up into second to split the Honda Racing team-mates. Haslam was ready to follow Ellison up the order and a lap later he also moved ahead of Linfoot as O’Halloran was forced to surrender the lead to Ellison.
Ellison’s lead was short lived as Haslam dived ahead a lap later, only for Ellison to retaliate with a move which put him back at the front of the field. A few corners later though and the JG Speedfit Kawasaki paint-swapping continued as Ellison regained control.
Honda Racing’s O’Halloran then moved back into second on the fifth lap, with Haslam holding the lead ahead of the Australian and a chasing pack of Ellison, Linfoot, Luke Mossey and Richard Cooper.
By lap six Byrne was up to seventh and desperately trying to fight his way through the pack to regain the positions, but at the front O’Halloran retook the lead only for Haslam to instantly fire a counter attack just a few corners later but across the line the Honda Racing Fireblade was narrowly ahead.
O’Halloran was clinging onto the lead before Haslam once again hit the front with Ellison then also pushing him back a further place into third as Byrne surged up the pack to be fourth by the 14th lap.
The leading quartet was Haslam, Ellison, O’Halloran and Byrne with Linfoot, Mossey and Cooper pushing for any opportunity to make a move. O’Halloran was able to make another pass on lap 15 to split the JG Speedfit Kawasakis.
Ellison was then dropping down the order but at the front Haslam was holding off O’Halloran and an incoming Byrne who had clawed his way into contention for a podium finish and moved into third with two laps remaining.
On the penultimate lap Byrne was up to second and the last two laps came down to a fight between the pair, but the ‘Pocket Rocket’ had the edge at the finish despite the best efforts of his Be Wiser Ducati rival with O’Halloran completing the podium trio.
Linfoot held fourth place ahead of Mossey and Michael Laverty who pushed Ellison back into seventh.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Assen, race one result:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.010s
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +2.272s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +4.489s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +4.697s
Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +5.128s
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +5.128s
Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) +6.300s
Broc Parkes (ePayMe Yamaha) +6.440s
John Hopkins (ePayMe Yamaha) +6.957s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Assen, race two result:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.270s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +1.447s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +3.796s
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +3.831s
Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +3.898s
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +3.950s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +4.067s
Broc Parkes (ePayMe Yamaha) +5.324s
Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) +5.604s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Assen:
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 633
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 616
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 566
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 560
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) 556
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) 534
The final title-deciding round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship takes place at Brands Hatch on 14/15/16 October.
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)
Championship leader
“Race one was a good race for me; we used a different tyre and we had no idea what it would do over race distance. Honestly to have used that and raced Leon to the line like that gave me a lot of confidence. I was comfortable and at Assen it always goes down to the last few laps; I had looked at a couple of places to try and make a run but he was strong on the brakes. When he blocked the line at the chicane, I straightened it as best as I could and I came across the line like a jockey!
“I got the worst start I have probably ever had in my career in race two; I let go of the clutch and the bike just bogged. It meant I had to have another stab at it and then it just reared up and it was a disastrous.
“I made some passes and I saw how many laps there were to go and I could see there were still five or six guys ahead of me. I started moving up the order and into second but I think that it was a lap too late and Leon was incredibly strong into the chicane, which was my weakest point.
“We got to second and I am really happy and positive going into Brands Hatch for the final round. I am looking forward to the last three races of the season but I certainly don’t want to be finishing second in those!”
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Second in the standings
“This was a great weekend for me with two wins, especially after throwing it away in the race at Donington. I only have had one crash in a race this year and I waited until the first race in the Showdown so I am happy with this result and we keep our heads held high.
“We have a few areas we still need to work on; we had two seconds at Brands Hatch before even with some problems but I feel that we have moved on since then. I am feeling pretty good for the final round; from my perspective Shakey smoked me in my back yard at Donington Park and now I want to do the same to him at his! This is what the championship is all about – giving it everything we have got.”
More, from a press release issued by JG Speedfit Kawasaki:
DOUBLE DUTCH AT ASSEN AS HASLAM DOMINATES!
2nd October 2016 – Leon Haslam boosted his title aspirations at Assen by claiming a dominant double victory at the Dutch circuit to close to within 17 points of series leader Byrne, setting up a great finale in two weeks at Brands Hatch. It was mixed fortunes for his JG Speedfit Kawasaki team mates though as James Ellison took third and seventh whilst Peter Hickman had a 16th and 14th.
It was a good start to the Assen weekend for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki trio, with Leon finishing the opening day in third, James seventh and Peter 13th. With overnight rain drenching the circuit ahead of Saturday’s morning practice, James topped the final session with Leon and James further back. With a fully dry circuit for qualifying, James and Leon eased through to the final session to eventually secure second and third respectively for the opening race. Unfortunately for Pete, a technical problem meant he was unable to set a flying lap in Q1 and would start from 20th.
James launched off the line in the opening race to grab the holeshot, whilst Leon had slipped back to sixth. With no one able to break away it was a six rider fight for the lead for much of the race, with only race leader Byrne and Leon able to pull away during the closing stages. Making his way through to the lead on the penultimate lap, Leon was able to fend off Byrne’s charges to take a memorable race victory by just 0.01s. James made a welcome return to the podium in third whilst Peter was narrowly out of the points in 16th.
With the fastest lap times from the opening race setting the grid for race two, James would start from third, Leon fifth and Pete 15th. Again enjoying a great start, James and Leon ran second and fourth at the end of the opening lap and in a repeat of the opening encounter there was a gaggle of riders battling for the lead. Chipping his way through, Leon briefly held the lead early on before slipping back to second, but making a decisive move on lap nine he was able to fend off a late challenge from Byrne to claim his second win of the day and reduce the gap to the series lead to just 17 points with three races remaining. Suffering with slight chatter towards the end, James eventually crossed the line in seventh whilst Pete was 14th.
Over the moon to take the double, Leon Haslam said “It’s fantastic to be leaving here with the double. That second race I was watching Shakey’s pit board and could see him coming through the pack so I knew he was there and that last lap I rode defensively to get it done. A huge thanks to the team, we struggled a bit but they got it turned around and we can head to Brands with a chance. Shakey rode fantastically today and Brands is his home round so we know he’ll be fast, but I’m feeling good on the bike and we know our strengths so I’m looking forward to it!”
Disappointed his 2016 Championship challenge is over, James Ellison added “It’s been a bit of a gutting weekend if I’m honest. We came in thinking we had a chance to take the Championship to Brands but unfortunately it’s not meant to be. It’s certainly been a tough season, particularly with the mid-season issues we had, but since we got it fixed we’ve been pushing at the front these last few rounds and are running with Leon and Shane. I had a little bit of chatter towards the end in that second race which just meant the others were able to pass me but my plan is to go to Brands and the season on a high with some wins.”
Struggling with grip today, Peter Hickman said “It’s been the worst weekend of the year for me really. The problem in qualifying really hampered us, everyone is so, so fast this year you just can’t make your way forward. Warm up was great and felt really positive for race one but unfortunately I just didn’t have the same grip from the rear in the race which meant we were unable to improve our grid spot for race two. The team have worked so hard and leaving here with two points isn’t really what we want or where we should be!”
GBmoto Racing Team Manager, Terry Rymer concluded, “Wow! What a weekend. We had a few small issues to begin with but the guys worked exceptionally hard and we were able to turn it around today. Shakey was so strong yesterday but Leon pushed to the maximum in both races and to walk away with two wins is incredible. We’ve clawed back a few points in the Championship and although it’ll be tough at Brands we believe we can do it!
It was great to see James up on the podium again in that first race, whilst unfortunately for Pete the problem yesterday in qualifying really put him on the back foot for today. The JG Speedfit Kawasaki team leave Assen in a great mood though and we’ll be taking the fight to Brands Hatch in two weeks!”