Alex Lowes crossed the line first in the dramatic second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Assen ahead of James Ellison and PJ Jacobsen, but following an incident with Shane 'Shakey' Byrne the Samsung Honda rider was excluded from the race.
Byrne had got off to a flying start from Lowes and Noriyuki Haga on the second of the Rapid Solicitors Kawasakis with James Ellison in fourth on the opening lap. The Japanese rider didn't wait long to make a move and charged ahead of Lowes, with the pair swapping places several times before the end of the opening lap.
Byrne held the lead until the third lap when Lowes made a move into the final corner to hit the front but then the drama began to unfold. A lap later Ellison moved into third behind Lowes and Byrne before the second Milwaukee Yamaha of Tommy Bridewell crashed out, taking Haga with him.
At the front the drama continued as Lowes came into contact with Byrne and the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider crashed out at high-speed. The crash bought out the Nissan GT-R Safety Car and as the pack bunched up it was Ellison, Lowes, PJ Jacobsen, Josh Brookes and Jon Kirkham.
The race resumed on the seventh lap and within two laps there was another Title Fighter out of contention as Brookes slid off the Tyco Suzuki into the final corner, ending his aspirations of taking advantage of his rivals non-point score.
Ellison held the lead at the front of the pack until the 15th lap when Lowes scythed ahead to hit the front and despite the best efforts from the Milwaukee Yamaha rider he was forced to settle for second on track.
Jacobsen completed the provisional podium line up to claim his first top three finish of the season in his rookie campaign. Lowes' exclusion promoted Ellison to first, Jacobsen to second and Ryuichi Kiyonari to third as he held off the challenge from Jon Kirkham. The leading Buildbase BMW finished narrowly ahead of his team-mate and Title Fighter James Westmoreland.
Chris Walker returned to the top ten in seventh for Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki after a close battle with Peter Hickman on the Lloyds British GBmoto Honda in the closing stages. Danny de Boer claimed a top ten finish for Bathams Honda at his home track with Dan Linfoot completing the top ten.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Assen, race two result:
James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) +1.542sPJ Jacobsen (Tyco Suzuki) +10.825sRyuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) +14.231sJon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) +15.613sJames Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +20.707sChris Walker (Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki) +25.898sPeter Hickman (Lloyds British GBmoto Honda) +25.985sDanny de Boer (Bathams Honda) +27.544sDan Linfoot (Lloyds British GBmoto Honda) +27.565sBarry Burrell (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +27.565sMCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Assen:
Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 559Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) 558James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) 538Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 535Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) 522James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) 519
The next round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship takes place at Silverstone on 4/5/6 October.
