HASLAM PILES ON THE PRESSURE
Thruxton drought ended in style,
Asixth victory of the season at Thruxton further extended what appears to be an increasingly unassailable championship lead for Leon Haslam in the seventh round of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship this weekend. The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider, who will ride a factory Kawasaki in WSB next season, now leads the series by a whopping 82 points and 23 podium credits over Jake Dixon after taking his first ever victory at the Hampshire track.
And while he was pipped to the podium by championship rivals Brookes and Dixon as well as Peter Hickman in the second race, he extended his series lead over Dixon and lost no points to Brookes, who has won three out of the last four races with McAMS Yamaha. Haslam’s first race victory shows just how strong he and his Kawasaki squad have become, taking victories at two of his worst circuits and minimising points losses where he’s previously been unable to win.
“We expected this weekend to be tough,” Haslam told MCN. “We’ve struggled to finish on the podium here before so to come here, extend our lead in the championship and take my first ever Thruxton win shows just how strong we are at the moment. “Wins here and at Snetterton and a strong showing at Brands show that I’m not going to let my guard down. We’ve got a good bike and we’re still making steps at every race and the next few tracks should be good for us.” However, while his series lead is beginning to look unassailable, Haslam knows he cannot rest on his laurels after missing out on the title last year despite heading into the final round with a significant 32-point lead.
“The more we extend our points lead the better but with the way BSB works it’s never over until it is over,” he explained. “At the minute I’ve an 82-point lead but it means absolutely nothing, come Oulton that will go down to whatever my podium credit gap is and at the minute that could be lost through one DNF in the Showdown.” Despite Dixon being his nearest rival in terms of points and podium credits, Haslam says he feels Brookes is more of a title threat. “I’ve said from day one I think Josh is my main rival. Jake is consistent but he’s still only won at Knockhill and he’s on the same bike as me which is a good thing as I know I can get the better of him on the same bike. Josh’s bike on the other hand has strengths that will suit certain tracks more than our bike will, but as long as we can continue doing what we’ve been doing at our weaker tracks we will be good. I’m fairly sure the battle will be between us two.”