Leon Haslam’s bid for the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship ended in heartache at Brands Hatch earlier today when bad luck saw him finish the season with a broken wrist and ankle and third place overall in the championship standings.

In what proved to be a disappointing weekend, Haslam posted the ninth fastest time overall across the free practice sessions, but a time of 1m 24.817s saw him jump up to fourth in qualifying on Saturday. Sadly, a low speed spill at Druids prevented him from climbing any higher.

Race one was red-flagged early on when Dan Linfoot suffered a technical problem which subsequently caused several riders to crash out of contention with Jake Dixon, Sylvain Guintoli, Michael Rutter and Martin Jessopp all involved. However, a good start in the re-run saw Haslam complete the opening lap in second place. Unfortunately, a few issues with the set-up of the Kawasaki ZX-10R saw him slip back to fifth at one stage although he re-grouped to take fourth at the chequered flag.

With Shane Byrne winning and Josh Brookes taking third, it meant his championship lead was cut from 33 points to 21 with two races on Sunday remaining. Starting the first race from the second row, the Derbyshire rider opted for the softer SC0 tyre for the warm, sunny conditions but a problem with the front tyre severely hindered his efforts and he slipped back to tenth by the conclusion of the race.

Byrne again won the race but the six points for tenth meant Leon still led the championship going into the final race of 2017, albeit by just two points. The race was very much a case of ‘winner takes all’ and despite starting from tenth on the grid, a brilliant start saw him complete the first lap in fifth place ahead of chief rival Byrne. However, on the sixth lap, he suffered a front brake problem going into the high-speed Hawthorn bend and he crashed heavily bringing his season to an abrupt end. With a broken ankle and wrist the outcome, it was a cruel way for both his and the team’s year to finish as they pushed for their first ever BSB crown.

Meanwhile, team-mate Luke Mossey qualified in 16th place for Saturday’s race and battled his way to 13th at the chequered flag starting Sunday’s opening encounter from the same place on the grid. Still working his way back up to full fitness, the Cambridgeshire rider finished in 14th place on this occasion and although he missed out on points in the final race, he still ended the season in ninth overall.

In the Hyundai Heavy Industries British Sidecar Championship, 2016 champions Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood were sadly unable to compete in the final round following their dramatic crash during the previous round at Assen.

Ryan sustained multiple fractures in his foot and wrist and is recovering following surgery. Ricky walked away relatively unscathed but the outfit took the brunt of the accident and needs extensive repair work.

Despite not racing in the season finale, the pair still managed to finish third in the championship behind Reeves/Reeves and Kershaw/Clark.

Similarly, all-female sidecar team Maria Costello and Kirsty Hauxwell were unable to compete in the last round after Maria was declared unfit to race owing to medical reasons.

Haslam said: “I’m not where I wanted to be on Sunday night after the race with a broken ankle and a broken wrist. It wasn’t my day; I had a few issues in race one which dropped me back and I had to jump off at the end of the straight in race two.

“I’m absolutely devastated for the team and the effort that everyone’s put in. However, it’s been a good year and I’d like to thank everyone for all their hard work. The season has not ended how I wanted it to but I don’t think we could have done much more and it’s only made me more determined to come back stronger.

“I’ve got an operation in the morning to get the ankle sorted and thankfully the wrist is a clean break so that shouldn’t take too long to heal. We’ve got a bit of a plan for winter testing and few areas we want to work on to make sure we’re rearing to go next year.”

Mossey said: “The second half of this season has been a total write off for me. Since the accident at Thruxton I have really have struggled with my confidence.

“I wanted to do my best at Brands Hatch and, according to some of the data, I’ve ridden better this weekend than I ever have here but I just struggled to put it all together to give me consistent fast laps.

“The start of the year was awesome and I proved that I could not only win races, but lead the championship. I know I have the pace to run at the front, I just need to build my confidence up again and refocus for 2018 so I can get back to winning ways.

“I’m sorry to the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team for the results in the last few races but also thankful to them for continuing to believe in me. I will put every effort into doing my best next season. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and my team of amazing mechanics.”

Team Manager Jack Valentine added: “It was a disappointing end to what could have been! We knew in the final race of the weekend that we had to finish in front of Shakey to win the title.

“Leon got an amazing start and was challenging for a podium when a brake issue at Hawthorn saw him crash out. We need to fully investigate what happened and we hope Leon makes a speedy recovery from the injuries he sustained in a very fast crash.

“It was all looking good and I think without that, the championship really would have gone down to the wire as we’ve seen in previous years.

“Luke is still rebuilding his confidence after the nasty crash he had at Thurxton and he had three finishes this weekend before we head into the off season. We know once we go testing he’ll knuckle down again and get back to the position he was in early to mid-season.

“It’s been a very mixed year for us and I can’t thank the team enough for all working so hard to push Leon and Luke forward. I’d also like to thank our sponsors who have backed us all season.  It’s a real shame we couldn’t reward them with the title but we’ll be back fighting hard in 2018 to win the championship.”

MCE British Superbike Championship race one (16 laps)

1. Shane Byrne (Ducati)
2. Christian Iddon (BMW)
3. Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
4. Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
5. James Ellison (Yamaha)
6. Jason O’Halloran (Honda)

12. Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

MCE British Superbike Championship race two (20 laps)

1. Shane Byrne (Ducati)
2. Christian Iddon (BMW)
3. James Ellison (Yamaha)
4. Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
5. Jason O’Halloran (Honda)
6. Peter Hickman (BMW)

10. Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

14. Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

MCE British Superbike Championship race three (20 laps)

1. Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2. Jason O’Halloran (Honda)
3. James Ellison (Yamaha)
4. Michael Laverty (Yamaha)
5. Christian Iddon (BMW)
6. Peter Hickman (BMW)

17. Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

DNF Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

Final Championship Standings (after 12 rounds)

1. Byrne 637 pts
2. Brookes 634
3. Haslam 631
4. Hickman 578
5. O’Halloran 567
6. Dixon 562

9. Mossey 186

Ends

Notes to Editors

• The line-up for JG Speedfit Kawasaki consists of British Superbike riders Leon Haslam and Luke Mossey, road racing specialist James Hillier, 2015 and 2016 sidecar champions Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood and all female sidecar team Maria Costello and Kirsty Hauxwell.
• The team is owned by Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing. Title sponsor for 2017 is British plumbing and heating engineering firm JG Speedfit which is a world leader in push-in fittings, as well as plastic plumbing systems and underfloor heating.
• Derbyshire-based Leon Haslam finished runner-up in the 2016 British Superbike Championship while Cambridgeshire-based Luke Mossey secured his highest ever British Superbike Championship season finish last year in sixth place.
• The team’s 2017 International Road racing events at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT will be contested by James Hillier. Last season, Hillier secured three podiums earning him fourth overall in the 2016 TT riders’ championship.
• 2016 British F1 Sidecar Champions Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood are being retained by Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing for a second year and will be going for their third championship win in a row this year.
• Road racer Maria Costello MBE and passenger Kirsty Hauxwell are the first ever all-female sidecar team to compete in the Hyundai Heavy Industries British Sidecar Championship and are a new addition to the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team.

For further information about this news release please contact:

Kate Strawson

Director, Shooting Star

kate@weareshootingstar.co.uk

01522 528540

07733 230293

@KateStrawson