SPLITLATH Motorsport’s Mark Miller reignited an epic battle of the streets as he beat his old Macau rival Dan Kneen across the line by 0.015secs in this afternoon’s second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race at the Snetterton 300 circuit.

Meanwhile, the team’s Mirror.co.uk BSB-Evo rider Hudson Kennaugh was lucky to walk away unharmed after a huge highside in race one, which left his Aprilia RSV4 machine too damaged to be repaired in time for the second race at the Norfolk track.

South African Kennaugh this weekend returned to the Splitlath fold after missing the previous round at Knockhill, and switched from the main championship to the Evo battle.

After borrowing a standard stock engine from Mark Clark at Linxcel, the team began building his machine early on Saturday morning, giving him just one practice session to get the bike set up before the afternoon’s qualifying session, while Mark Miller got to grips with his first ride on the team’s Superbike.

As today’s first race approached, Kennaugh lined up in 30th place and 11th in Evo, with Miller close behind in 33rd. At the green light, Kennaugh got a quick getaway, searing his way past a handful of riders to cross the line seventh in Evo by the end of the first lap.

He continued to reel in the riders ahead of him until disaster struck on Lap Five when he highsided. Unfortunately, Tom Tunstall who was a handful of spots behind him on the Doodson Motorsport BMW then crashed into Hudson’s bike.

“This was my first crash for some 18 months and I’m devastated, not just for me but for Tom who had nowhere to go but into my bike as it was on the floor,” said Kennaugh.

“We were running okay in Evo, I was never going to be on a par with those WFR ‘aliens’ but I think a podium may have been possible. It felt like a big one as it happened and I’m lucky to just have a sore neck, but when Tom hit the bike he smashed the sump so there was no way we could get it rebuilt for Race Two. I hope he is going to be okay, and I send him all of my best.”

Miller, who crossed the line in 26th spot in Race One, was the only team rider out for the second, and soon found himself in a battle with Dan Kneen on the Marks Bloom Racing Kawasaki. When the race was stopped seven laps in after a huge accident involving Simon Andrews and Steve Brogan, Miller was keen to get the restart underway so he could resume the battle.

The pair fought for the whole of the nine lap restarted race, swapping positions lap after lap. As they began the final lap, it was Miller who led the way, but Kneen took the spot back a few corners later. But the Californian wasn’t done yet, and put his head down and made a last gasp charge across the finish line, beating his old road racing rival to the flag to take 20th spot by a mere 0.015secs.

“That was an awesome fight with Dan, and it is almost a carbon copy of what happened in Macau last year,” explained Miller. “We had an epic battle there for the whole race, and I beat him on the last lap.

“So we come here today, just a few months on and it’s exactly the same. We fought all the way through the race and diced all the way to the line and I beat him by half a wheel. It was incredible.”

Team boss John Dimbylow praised both of his riders’ efforts.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend’s racing. Mark has improved lap by lap and has entertained us all weekend both in and out of the garage. It was great to see Mark and Dan, the two road racers, having their own race out there, and it shows the difference between their sport and short circuit racing.

“Obviously I’m very upset for Hudson who looked to be heading towards a podium in his first Evo race this year on a stock engine borrowed from a friend. He had a big crash and unfortunately Tom Tunstall got caught up in the carnage and hit our bike. We wish him all of the best.”