Noriyuki Haga has apologised to his team for crashing out of a podium position in the first MCE British Superbike race at Brands Hatch yesterday, saying it was a 'stupid mistake'.

The Samurai of Slide was odds-on to take his first second rostrum position of the season and boost his chances of remaining in the Showdown top six but lost the front into Graham Hill on the last lap and receiving nil points, Switzerland. He now has a seven-point cushion over seventh-placed man Ian Lowry, who also fell.

“First of all I would like to say sorry to the Swan Yamaha team for the crash in the first race. I had an advantage to Tommy and I didn’t have as much grip at the end but I made a stupid mistake to lose the front and crash," said Haga.

"My crew worked really hard and I thank them for getting me out for race two as they repaired the bike fast but it didn’t feel the same as race one, because we didn’t have time to make changes. This track I have more experience so we have learnt a lot this week