Peter Hickman won an intense final lap battle with Shane 'Shakey' Byrne to claim the second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race win of the day at Silverstone after an incredible tussle between the pair on the final lap as they scrapped through Luffield and Woodcote for the final time.
Hickman had launched off the line to lead the field on the opening lap from race one winner Michael Laverty, Dan Linfoot, Jason O'Halloran, Danny Buchan and Byrne, but the four-time champion was instantly on the attack and was up to fourth by the third lap.
At the front Laverty had hit the lead on the Tyco BMW, but Hickman wasn’t going to give an inch in his quest for victory and on the sixth lap he launched his attack; making a move to return to the front of the pack.
A lap later though and Laverty appeared to have an issue; he dropped down the order leaving Hickman and Byrne to fight it out for the lead. The Be Wiser Ducati rider was shadowing his JG Speedfit Kawasaki rival and despite some attempts to look for a passing opportunity he had to wait until the final lap.
The pair were inseparable down the Wellington Straight for the final time and at Brooklands Byrne went for a move; a small window of opportunity gave him the chance to move ahead, but Hickman was instantly fighting back to recapture the lead.
A corner later at Luffield Byrne looked like he had the edge but as the pair exited the corner on the drag to the line the Be Wiser Ducati dramatically drifted sideways as Hickman powered to the line to claim the victory. The incredible finish saw the pair separated by just 0.099s at the line.
Hickman said: “It feels like a big relief to have won the second race today. I was disappointed that we didn’t finish the first race with a technical issue and I was surprised at how fast I could be from the start of the race. The weekend started steady and we built up throughout the three days. I got a really good start and tried to get my head down and not make any mistakes. When Michael came through I thought I would follow him for a few laps, and then he had a bit of a problem so I got in front of him.
“Over the last few laps the Ducati is so loud that I knew it was Shakey behind me. I did run a bit deep into Brooklands which gave him a bit of a shot at it and then that made me too tight into Luffield, so he snuck underneath. There was no way that I was doing all that work and not winning though. I just pinned it and pretty much closed my eyes and it was enough to take it.”
In the battle for third place Iddon had got ahead of O’Halloran as the Honda Racing rider was forced to settle for fourth place. The Australian had been embroiled in a titanic battle with returning Haslam and the pair were switching places all the way to the finish. Laverty was sixth ahead of Lee Jackson and a surging James Ellison, who had carved his way through the order.
Dan Linfoot and Luke Mossey completed the top ten as the riders now look to Oulton Park for the second round of the championship on May Bank Holiday weekend (30 April – 2 May).
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, race two result:
Peter Hickman (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.009sChristian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +1.005sJason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +1.395sLeon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +3.142sMichael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +3.369sLee Jackson (Buildbase BMW) +5.685sJames Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +7.554sDan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +7.679sLuke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +8.045sMCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Silverstone:
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 40Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) 35Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) 32Peter Hickman (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 25Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) 23Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) 19The next round of the MCE British Superbike Championship takes place during the May Bank Holiday weekend at Oulton Park (April 30 - May 2),
