Leon Haslam was seemingly on mission impossible as he splashed into the final lap of the second race of the tenth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at rain-swept Croft circuit.

The Airwaves Ducati rider was trailing Karl Harris by a couple of seconds as they powered into the final 2.127 miles lap but incredibly Haslam swept into the lead and then held off his bemused HM Plant Honda rival to win the dash to the line by a split second.

Haslam’s determination and skill in the difficult conditions at the North Yorkshire circuit could be crucial in the eventual outcome of this hard fought title chase – his first victory of the season, by just 0.090 secs closed him within three points of the series leading Ryuichi Kiyonari who won the opening race here.

It was rich reward for Haslam who had been back in ninth place on the opening lap – he carved through the pack, and soon was picking off his two title rivals, first Kiyonari, and then his Ducati team-mate the reigning champion Gregorio Lavilla.

Harris, however, having accounted for early leader Michael Rutter aboard the Stobart Honda, was running comfortably clear, at one point enjoying a margin of some eight seconds, but Haslam was up for the challenge, and in the final third was pegging him back lap by lap.

Crucially, on the penultimate lap, they had to lap Craig Sproston, with Harris slightly delayed, though he still held the upper-hand, as he they crossed the line. “My pit-board said plus 2,4 going into the last lap – I knew that Leon was closing but I thought there was no way he could catch me. I did a half decent lap time myself. I just can’t believe it – how did he do it?”

Haslam had the answers. “I got level with him soon after he had been a bit held up by a backmarker and I caught him with two corners to go and slipped through on the inside. I thought he would still come back at me. He had the power and was always going to try hard to get me back but I closed him up and held him off on the dash to the line.

“After being frustrated for so long, picking up the placings, it is fantastic to take the victory, and, with Kiyonari back in fifth place, it means I am only three points down on him in the championship with all to play for.”

Lavilla took third place, ahead of Rizla Suzuki’s former champion Shane Byrne, Kiyonari, Rutter, Michael Laverty and Peter Hickman, eighth, having his best ever result in the top flight aboard his Hawk Kawasaki.

Earlier, with the threat of rain ever present Kiyonari had taken his eight victory of the season, after overcoming a terrific challenge from 19 year old Jonathan Rea who had shattered the outright record to put his Red Bull Honda onto pole start. They traded places before Kiyonari took charge, comfortably taking the victory, while Lavilla held a strong third ahead of Haslam as Byrne, Rutter and Tommy Hill packed the placings.

Marty Nutt won the British Superbike Cup category in the opening race, ahead of the series leading Chris Martin, but tumbled out of the second race which was easily won by Martin aboard the PR Branson Honda.

Elsewhere, on a dramatic afternoon, Sean Emmett won the British Supersport Championship race by five seconds over Tom Sykes and Leon Camier as series leader Cal Crutchlow tumble out of the action. Pete Spalding, fourth in the race, took his ninth consecutive victory in the Supersport Cup to clinch the title.

Brendan Roberts, with his sixth victory, sealed the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock Championship, while Daniel Cooper opened up a 17 points lead over Michael Wilcox as he won the British 125GP Championship race.

Kenny Gilbertson won the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock Cup race, while Graeme Gowland headed off series leader Tom Grant in the Virgin Mobile Cup.

Suzuki Report

RIZLA SUZUKI’S Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne narrowly missed the rostrum on his first Superbike visit to Croft in North Yorkshire for the 10th round of the Bennetts British Championship.

In a treacherously wet second race, Shakey recovered from an uncharacteristic poor start and an early run off the track to chase down the leaders. He would have challenged for third if the race – which had been shortened by two laps due to the weather – had run its full distance. In the opening race, plagued by drizzling rain on a dry track, he took fifth place.

Steve Plater, making his second appearance for Rizla Suzuki as a stand-in for the injured James Haydon, took impressive ninth and 11th places from starting 19th on the grid. Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari won the opening race and Ducati’s Leon Haslam the second.

Rizla Suzuki will attend the official MCRCB test at Cadwell Park next Thursday, August 17th. The team will then return to the Lincolnshire circuit for the 11th round of the Championship on Bank Holiday Monday, August 28th.

Shakey: “In the second race my bike was mega and I was smiling inside my helmet. If I hadn’t made a simple mistake and run off the track early on and lost a lot of time rejoining, then I could have had a podium finish.

“It’s another weekend of finishing fourth and fifth. That doesn’t make me happy and I need to break this run of being just behind the podium results, it’s not where I want to be, I should be challenging for the wins.”

Steve: “I am starting to gel the Rizla Suzuki and this weekend has been a big step forward. The results are okay but what’s more important is the progress I have made with the bike. I am starting to understand and exploit its performance.

“I am satisfied with the day’s work, especially in the second race when I had real confidence in the bike and could ride aggressively – I hope I get another chance to race it. Being part of Rizla Suzuki is a great experience and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Robert Wicks, Team Manager: “For the second meeting in a row Shakey has scored fourth and fifth place results. He has shown again he has the pace to challenge for the podium. He’s strong and his confidence remains sky high as we enter the final leg of the season.

“Steve enjoyed two inspirational rides from a lowly starting position. It’s been another decent performance from him. James Haydon will have a medical examination early in the coming week to assess whether he will be capable of racing at Cadwell Park. We are keen to get him back but if he is unavailable we have a strong substitute in Steve.

“Congratulations to Suzuki’s Brendan Roberts on securing the National Superstock Championship with three rounds to go. He has been the class of the field and his victory shows just how good the production based GSX-R1000 really is. His bike is almost identical to the model you can buy in any authorized Suzuki showroom and is the class of its field.”

***Brendan Roberts won the National Superstock Championship at Croft with three rounds to spare on his Crescent supplied Suzuki GSX-R1000***

Hawk Kawasaki

Hawk Kawasaki had an extremely positive weekend at round ten of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire this weekend, 11th - 13th August. The three riders Dean Thomas, Craig Coxhell and Peter Hickman all gained points in both of the Superbike races on board the Dunlop-shod Kawasaki ZX10-R's.

Thomas, who is recovering from serious injuries he sustained at Snetterton Circuit, battled through the pain barrier and gained two very creditable results with two twelfth places. After qualifying in 14th position Thomas fought hard all weekend to ensure that he gained some strong Championship points after missing the last two rounds.

Thomas was content with the results commenting "I've not been out on a bike for three days on the trot since I crashed at Snetterton. It was certainly difficult and was very uncomfortable during both of the races but I wanted to get back out there. I knew it would be hard work and perhaps the weather conditions played in my favour and slowed the pace down a little. Hopefully I will be a lot stronger for Cadwell in a few weeks time."

Craig Coxhell struggled during qualifying and could only manage 17th place on the grid but from that the young Australian gained some very strong results with a eighth in race one and 10th in race two. Coxhell who favours the wet weather conditions put in some astounding lap times and was lapping as one of the fastest riders on the circuit. Coxhell was dicing in a freight train of riders in race one for seventh place with Tommy Hill, Steve Plater, Karl Harris, Simon Andrews and fellow team-mate Thomas.

Coxhell said "I'm just gutted to not have qualified better as I know I could have been running further up the field if I had qualified in a stronger position. I have struggled all year to get my bike to work on qualifying tyres and therefore I have been struggling to put in a quick time. I am very happy to have gained two top ten positions as it has given me some good points in the Championship. Things are still all fairly close in the overall series and we also have double points at Brands Hatch to play for."

Youngster Peter 'Hicky' Hickman had an astounding ride at Croft and from qualifying 15th on the grid he gained 14th in race one and a fantastic eighth place in the second race. Hicky achieved his strongest race result to date in only his first year in the Superbike series, a credit to the 19-year-old.

A elated Hicky said "The second race result was a great feeling. I got one of the best starts that I have ever had and right from the start I just felt confident and content. I was locked in a tight scrap with ex BSB Champ Shakey Byrne which was interesting, he was definitely on a mission but it was good to have a dice with him for a few laps. I'd like to thank everyone in the team for working so hard and glad I managed to get the result I did in race two as a thank you to them."

The Bennetts British Superbike series will next be at Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire on August Bank Holiday Weekend, 26th- 28th August.