Leon Haslam bounced back from a disappointing opening race day at Snetterton to take two third place finishes on the second, keeping himself very much in contention for this year’s British Superbike Championship [BSB].

The ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider was quick out the blocks on Friday, running inside the top three in both practice sessions, but was hit with numerous technical issues on Saturday, missing most of FP3 and then retiring from Saturday’s Sprint race on the fourth lap.

“Friday went well, and I was quick on used tyres without really trying but Saturday was a disaster,” he said. “We had a technical issue in FP3, a problem in qualifying and then another technical fault in the race. It was a day to forget.”

Retiring early left him back in 15^th on the grid for Sunday’s opener but had worked his way up to sixth by the time red flags came out after fellow BMW rider Danny Buchan crashed out. On the second row for the restart, he took full advantage to finish third in the eight-lap dash behind race winner Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes.

>>> UPDATED: 2023 BSB Championship Standings <<<

“It wasn’t easy coming from 15^th, but I made up a lot of places early on and felt comfortable sat behind Josh but not quite able not make a pass.”

The final race followed a similar pattern for the 2018 Champion as he ran in the leading pack throughout without being able to lead but another third place made it six podiums for the season so far.

“The Ducati’s were super strong in some areas but I was able to gain back ground in others so it was a bit of a yo-yo effect. There were a few places where I couldn’t match them especially in the last few laps when the tyre dropped off.”

“Tommy and Glenn were riding mega though but my team did a great job this weekend so we’ll take another podium.”

Haslam sits in fifth place in the standings, 53 points behind leader Bridewell.