Shane Byrne has taken the British Superbike double win at Oulton Park this afternoon after two crashes allowed him to move up the field and then take the win by a clear four seconds.
Byrne missed a gear midway through the race which dropped him to 13th position and he fought bravely to get back up to the top five. The lead was being contested by Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes, but the former nerfed the latter off going into Hizzy’s, which left Cal Crutchlow and Byrne to battle for the lead.
It was deja vu from Thruxton as these two riders came together again and Tom Sykes hits the tarmac. Haslam ran across the grass and was able to rejoin in fifth and come across the line in fourth. The incident is under investigation by race control.
The luckless Karl Harris crashed at Druids with a handful of laps to go, and Crutchlow followed him a lap later. It’s not yet known if there was some fluid on the track, but Crutchlow looked to be in pain and the race was stopped.
Ride of the Day came from James Ellison who had shadowed the leading group for most of the race. Despite being dropped towards the end, he kept his pace and was rewarded with a second place. Leon Camier was third, taking his second podium of the day.
There was also a big shunt between Steve Mercer and Dean Ellison, the cause and result of this crash is also unknown as focus at the time was on Cal Crutchlow.
Byrne leaves Oulton with a 39-point lead, so he has two race wins in hand.
The cup championship win was taken by John Laverty, a much more successful race for him followed by Luke Quigley and Chris Burns, who took his second cup of the day.
Bennetts British Superbikes race two - conditions dry
1 Shane Byrne Airwaves Ducati 21.13.862
2 James Ellison Hydrex Honda 21.18.109
3 Leon Camier Airwaves Ducati 21.21.889
4 Leon Haslam HM Plant Honda 21.22.014
5 Michael Laverty Relentless Suzuki 1 lap
6 Stuart Easton MSS Kawaskai 1 lap
7 Michael Rutter NW200 Ducati 1 lap
8 Simon Andrews Jentin Yamaha 1 lap
9 Scott Smart Hwk Kawasaki 1 lap
10 Atsushi Watanabe Rizla Suzuki 1 lap
11 Billy McConnell MSS Kawasaki 1 lap
12 Tristan Palmer Tena Honda 1 lap
13 Steve Plater AIM Yamaha 1 lap
14 John Laverty NW200 Ducati 1 lap
15 Luke Quigley PDM Honda 1 lap
