Swan Yamaha's Tommy Hill took a stunning opening victory in the opening race of the triple-header weekend at Oulton Park as Michael Laverty crashed out ahead of chasing rivals Josh Brookes and Shane 'Shakey' Byrne.

Hill had a flying start from the pole position on the Swan Yamaha ahead of Laverty, Brookes and Byrne as the leading contenders began to fight on the opening lap. Byrne on board the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki moved third at Cascades ahead of the Tyco Suzuki rider with the pair pushing Laverty hard. On the fourth lap Laverty crashed at Brittens in front of the chasing pack and they had to take evasive action giving Hill an advantage on track.

Hill had edged out a gap to the quarrelling Byrne and Brookes who were inseparable in the battle for second place; they were locked in their own battle for second after Alex Lowes crashed out of fourth at Brittens after a spectacular start from the fifth row of the grid. The WFR Honda's error elevated Noriyuki Haga to fourth on the second of the Swan Yamahas whilst Keith Farmer also crashed out on his MCE BSB debut.

Hill's advantage saw him score the first win of the weekend but the battle for second raged until the final lap when Australian Brookes finally made a determined move into Lodge for the final time to move second and remain ahead on the short dash to the line.

Hill said:

"I really wanted that win and to start the weekend with that was the best possible start after getting the pole position earlier. There are a few areas we need to polish up on but it was a good race and I need to thank the Swan Yamaha team. I didn't really know what was happening behind me; I just saw the gap on my board but I just kept my head down and did the job. It was a fantastic race and hopefully we can have more of the same tomorrow."

James Westmoreland triumphed in the battle for fifth after the WFR Honda kept Tommy Bridewell behind him over the closing laps as the Supersonic BMW rider progressively moved up the order. Chris Walker was seventh ahead of Peter Hickman on the Buildbase BMW whilst Graeme Gowland and Barry Burrell completed the top ten. Ian Lowry crashed out of the race curtailing his progress after a strong qualifying performance whilst Jon Kirkham and Alastair Seeley were forced to retire.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, race one result:

Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha)
Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +4.508s
Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +10.339s
Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +15.746s
James Westmoreland (WFR Honda) +16.256s
Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +16.803s
Chris Walker (Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki) +17.070s
Peter Hickman (Buildbase BMW) +17.070s
Graeme Gowland (WFR Honda) +17.389s
Barry Burrell (Buildbase BMW) +30.100s

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Oulton Park race one:

Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 184
Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 170
Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 169
Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) 122
Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) 87
Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) 79

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