Leon Haslam scored his third win of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season at Oulton Park as the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider fended off the challenge from Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and Luke Mossey.
Haslam hit the front of the pack from the start of the race with Byrne and Mossey hounding him throughout the race, but the championship leader had that little bit extra over the closing laps of the race. Byrne was delighted with his return to the podium after missing out at the opening two rounds as Mossey completed the top three.
The chasing pack were a freight train of riders and on the final lap the Honda Racing team emerged ahead as Jason O'Halloran made a last lap move on Peter Hickman to claim the position at the line. McAMS Yamaha’s James Ellison completed a strong race to move through the order to be in the fight for fourth at the end of the race, he moved sixth to emerge as the top Yamaha rider, pushing Josh Brookes to seventh in the closing stages.
Christian Iddon was the leading BMW in eighth place as he managed to get the better of Glenn Irwin; the Be Wiser Ducati rider had earlier saved a huge moment whilst battling for fourth place. Jake Dixon completed the top ten for RAF Reserves Kawasaki.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race one result:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +2.632s
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +5.169s
Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +9.271s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +9.343s
James Ellison (McAMS Yamaha) +9.501s
Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +10.264s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +10.416s
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +11.304s
Jake Dixon (RAF Reserves Kawasaki) +11.688s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Oulton Park race one:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)111
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 97
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) 73
Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) 57
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) 48
Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) 45
The third round of the 2017 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship takes place at Knockhill on June 16/17/18.
