A third place for James Ellison in today's opening British Superbike race at Oulton Park has sealed his second place in the championship standings and given GSE Racing, in the Airwaves Yamaha guise, their first ever one-two despite riding his spare bike.

Ellison had to have a more than 25-point lead over Hydrex Honda's Stuart Easton in order to claim second place and as team-mate Leon Camier crossed to the line to win, the Kendal man's third was enough to put him 35 points in front.

As the lights went out on a drying track, Easton got the holeshot but wayward team-mate Tommy Hill almost put an end to both their races as he went in very hot on the brakes into Old Hall. The mistake enabled Ellison to go past the Lingfield man through Cascades as Camier settled into fourth with HM Plant Honda's Josh Brookes in fifth. Ellison then put a move on Easton to take the lead just before the end of lap one.

Worx Suzuki's Sylvain Guintoli managed to get onto Brookes' rear wheel on lap two as Hill looked to be holding Camier up but Hill hasn't had much wet-weather riding in the past three years. Ellison and Easton, meanwhile had already pulled a half-second gap.

On lap three, Brookes managed to get back up to Guintoli after the Frenchman went past on the previous circuit as Camier went underneath Hill into Lodge Corner. Further down the order, Relentless Suzuki's Ian Lowry, after one of his trademark poor starts, started to look for a way past MSS Colchester Kawasaki's Simon Andrews.

Lap five saw Ellison begin to creep away at the front as Lowry got past Andrews. Motorpoint Yamaha's Chris Walker outbraked himself into Hizzy's and had to put all his motocross skills as his YZF-R1 skidded across the grass.

BY lap seven, Guintoli had got past Hill and Camier made his way past Easton with a block pass into Lodge and set off in pursuit of his team-mate. A lap later, Camier passed Easton through Island Bend but the safety car came out after the second MSS Kawasaki of Julien Da Costa went bang in a spectacular way.

It stayed out for one lap but the front four bunched up again and, on lap 13, Easton managed to re-pass Ellison for second on the brakes into Hizzy's while Buildbase Kawasaki's John Laverty went under Brookes into Lodge.

Now Easton could hold on to the rear wheel of Camier and spent two laps building up to either a pass at Hizzy's or into the final corner at Lodge. The young Scotsman got great drive out of the Britten's Chicane and looked like he might go past Camier on the brakes, but the Kent youngster defended his line and Easton couldn't make it around the outside.

Camier got a great drive out and edged a slight gap on the exit of Druids which was enough to ensure Easton wasn't close enough for a last-lap Lodge lunge (I'm a poet, etc).

Hill held on for fourth while Guintoli, Laverty, Brookes and Michael Rutter on the Bathams Ducati was eighth. Andrews will be unhappy with his ninth, just in front of HM Plant Honda's Glen Richards. Lowry's bike blew with a handful of laps to go.

NB Suzuki's Tommy Bridewell took the Superbike Cup win ahead of Gary Mason on the Quay Garage Honda and Tom Tunstall in third.
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