James Ellison powered the Milwaukee Yamaha to the second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race win of the day at Brands Hatch as he held off the challenge from Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and Alex Lowes in the closing stages.

Ellison holds off Byrne to claim race two win

James Ellison overcame his disappointment of the opening MCE British Superbike Championship race of the day to claim victory in race two. Ellison had an issue with his visor on the grid in race one and had to start from pitlane, his fastest lap put him on pole position for the second race and a consistent pace saw him victorious ahead of Byrne and Lowes.

Ellison said: "It was great to bounce back in the second one from the schoolboy error in the first race as it was really disappointing. It is bittersweet as we didn't show what we were capable of in the first one as I could do the times consistently but knew we had to get a good start and step up. I was a bit surprised at the pace we were all able to run and I knew Shakey was behind me. I could see from Shakey's pit board that Alex was there as well and I thought 'I need to hold my own until the end'. I could hear Shakey behind me and I am a bit surprised I got away with it in the end, but I definitely heard the close call going into Surteees! I had a bit of a moment at Graham Hill Bend and I thought that was enough for Shakey to try and make a move but we were lucky and held onto it. I really enjoyed being out the front with the other guys and full credit to the Milwaukee Yamaha team as we have had an impressive start to the season."

Lowes 'chuffed' with two podium finishes

Samsung Honda's Lowes sits second in the standings after his brace of second place finishes at the Brands Hatch season opener. Lowes was able to take advantage of Byrne's mistake as he bid to overtake Ellison to move up a position ahead of the defending champion.

Lowes said: "I am chuffed to bits with two podiums. That race was quite difficult for me; I had a good start and then James came around the outside of me at turn one. I wasn't ready for the pace to be that fast straight away to be honest but we got down to times although it meant the others got a bit of a gap on me and it was hard to close. Fair play to James, he rode awesome and near the end I could see Shakey lining him up and then the door closing and saw it all happen. I am really happy and if I can keep going like this then it is great for the Samsung Honda team. I think it is going to be a great year."

Byrne's mistake costs him potential race two win

Defending champion Byrne bided his time before trying to make a pass on Ellison in the closing stages; he aimed for a move up the inside at Surtees but as the Milwaukee Yamaha tipped into the corner he dramatically had to brake harder and then ran across the grass. He was able to rejoin in third but was disappointed to have not made it a double at his home circuit.

Byrne said: "My strategy at the start was to wait, I got a good start and I slotted in behind James and all credit to him, he rode really well. His pace was really fast and it is hard here to pick a spot to try and make a pass. I felt a bit bad as I was going to make a move right at the end, I was thinking about it quite hard and then James had a moment coming out of the bottom bend and I thought 'right this is my opportunity' and I got along the inside of him and then about three quarters of the way he started to peel into the corner and I was saying in my head 'no James, no don't do it' and I sat up and clipped his back wheel and had to go straight on. All credit to our teams though as when I was looking left when I had to rejoin there was a gap so we were all fast and strong from the beginning."

Round 2 of the 2013 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship comes from Thruxton next weekend (12-14 April).  For more information or to book tickets click here.