Leon Haslam returned to winning ways in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship for the first time since 2018 to celebrate his first victory with the Moto Rapido Ducati Racing team, holding off the pressure from both Bradley Ray and Glenn Irwin on the final lap.
At the start of the race, Ray launched into the lead off the Omologato Pole Position to lead Storm Stacey and Leon Haslam as Glenn Irwin dropped to fourth off the line, before regaining a position at Island on lap two.
Haslam moved into second at Lodge with a dive down the inside on the Bathams AJN Racing BMW ahead of him and then he had Ray in his sights.
The Moto Rapido Ducati Racing rider was pushing hard and then at the start of lap five he made a strong move at Old Hall to capture the lead, but he couldn’t bridge the gap and had to hold off yesterday’s race winner to the finish.
Irwin meanwhile had given himself work to do and despite the advantage to the leading pair, the Hager PBM Ducati rider closed the gap over the final laps and then he was able to make a last gasp move on Ray into Lodge to hold second to the finish.
"It’s so good. yesterday I was a little bit nervous to be honest with you, Wilf was saying bring it home, take it easy and by the time I’d got into second yesterday, Brad was long gone" said Haslam. "Today I thought I needed to go hard from the start and I managed to make an early move, catch him down, and I didn’t expect to do that lap time.
"To be honest, the last five laps were the longest laps ever, there were a couple of false neutrals and a big moment on the last lap. I was struggling to get back into gears and I went down one too many and it popped in. It was a rookie mistake really on the last lap and I should have kept it smooth. A big thanks to Moto Rapido, all the sponsors involved. It’s been a hard few years and it’s a nice feeling to get back on the top step."
Reigning champion Kyle Ryde was able to snatch fourth place on the final lap for the OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha team, pushing Stacey back into fifth on the Bathams AJN Racing BMW.
The pack was close in the battle for fifth with Danny Kent able to hold sixth for the McAMS Racing Yamaha with Charlie Nesbitt on the MasterMac Honda in seventh place.
Christian Iddon was the first of the AJN Steelstock Kawasakis in eighth place just ahead of Lee Jackson and Tommy Bridewell, who completed the top ten.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race 2 result:
- Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing)
- Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +0.169s
- Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha) +0.424s
- Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha) +5.619s
- Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN Racing BMW) +5.689s
- Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +6.075s
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +6.213s
- Christian Iddon (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) +9.417s
- Lee Jackson (DAO Racing Honda) +9.488s
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +9.644s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
1. Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha) 32
2. Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing) 32
3. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 32
4. Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN Racing BMW) 23
5. Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha) 23
6. Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) 18
7. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 16
8. Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 16
9. Lee Jackson (DAO Racing Honda) 15
10. Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) 10