JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Leon Haslam had a dominant MCE British Superbike weekend at Oulton Park, and completed a hat-trick of victories at the Cheshire track, after finishing the final race on the top step of the podium.
Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey bagged his place in the Showdown after holding on to take second, with Bennetts Suzuki’s Tommy Bridewell completing the rostrum in third.
Mossey, who just became a dad for the first time this morning was not the only rider who confirmed his place in the Showdown, as Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot made it in by the skin of his teeth.
The Northerner took a tumble at Hizzy’s while in fifth on lap twelve of eighteen and he had an agonising wait to see if other results would go his way, and to see if he would secure his Showdown position. In the end he managed to cling on to the top six in the overall standings.
With Mossey taking second place it meant that Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty missed out on a place in the Showdown and the opportunity to challenge for the title. The Wales-based rider missed out by four points, to crashing Linfoot.
When the chequered flag appeared Laverty and Be Wiser Ducati’s Shane Byrne completed the top five, but the solid points were still not strong enough for the S1000RR racer to progress into the Showdown, even after a good battle on track.
Buildbase BMW’s Richard Cooper and JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Peter Hickman were in Showdown contention going into the race, but a sixth and seventh place finishes respectively meant they missed out.
Initially it was pole-setter and Showdown confirmee Jason O’Halloran who got the hole-shot, but that was only to last half a lap as Ellison soared into the lead with the Aussie, Haslam and Mossey in tow.
But on lap five race-leader, Ellison experienced a technical problem coming into Old Hall and came to a halt at the side of the track, but his place in the Showdown had already been confirmed.
Elsewhere twenty-year-old Jake Dixon experienced an enormous crash coming out of Britten’s, and the safety car came out with fourteen laps to go, and Dixon was taken to the medical centre for further assessment.
With Ellison out of podium contention it paved the way for O’Halloran to retake the lead with the entire racing field behind him. On lap eight the safety car went in and Haslam lunged to go in front on the opening corner, but the Fireblade bit back, with Mossey right in the mix.
Meanwhile O’Halloran looked like he had a problem going through the straight at the start of lap fourteen and stopped with a technical problem at Old Hall, allowing Haslam, Mossey, Bridewell and Laverty to go past him.
In a repeat of the first two races, Haslam again opted for the harder front and rear tyres, with Mossey deciding to go for the harder rear too. Byrne and Hopkins rode with the harder front.
At the flag Iddon and Parkes rounded up the top ten. Be Wiser Ducati's Glenn Irwin experienced a ride through penalty after jumping the start spectacularly.
He finished the final race in eleventh. ePayMe Yamaha’s John Hopkins experienced a technical problem with his R1 after only four laps. McConnell, Seeley, Buchan, Kiyo and Easton finished the race rounding off the top sixteen.
