Airwaves Yamaha's Leon Camier has taken victory in an incident-packed first British Superbike race at Donington Park which started without series second-placed man Sylvain Guintoli or HM Plant Honda's Josh Brookes.
The pair were in collision with each other on the out-lap (click here) and neither made the start. It looks as if Guintoli may have fractured his leg and will not take part in the second race.
As the lights went out, Camier's team-mate James Ellison got the holeshot followed by a storming start from Chris Walker who held off Stuart Easton and Glen Richards on the first run through Redgate with Simon Andrews holding onto the tail.
Camier began his charge towards the front, first going past Richards and then Easton at the Foggy Esses on the second lap and putting the same move on Chris Walker at the same place one lap later. Andrews, meanwhile was also moving forward, going underneath Easton at McLeans for fourth place.
Ellison was mugged by his team-mate with 16 laps to go and then got his head down to pull away and eventually take the chequered flag by just over three and half seconds with Easton in third.
As Camier was doing his disappdearing act, Andrews began his scrap with Walker for the final podium place as Easton was waiting to pick up the pieces.
The MSS Kawasaki man was lapping three-tenths faster than Walker and, with 15 laps to go, Andrews put a move on the former World Superbike man at the Old Hairpin which stuck after he tried a lap before but Walker came back into McLeans.
Easton followed Andrews through at the Foggy Esses and then went up the inside of Andrews at the Melbourne Loop but the Evesham man then lifted Easton up at Goddards to re-take the last podium place. Andrews held it for a lap before he lost the front going into Goddards.
Richards got past Walker with a handful of laps to go to secure fourth place with Karl Harris, who ran straight on at Foggy's with four laps to go, in sixth and Andrews' team-mate Julien Da Costa in seventh.
Relentless Suzuki's Ian Lowry came through from dead last to finish in eighth place with Michael Laverty in ninth and the injured Graeme Gowland rounding out the top ten.
