Leon Haslam was crowned the Monster Energy King of the Mountain at Cadwell Park this afternoon after he celebrated a double race win at the Lincolnshire circuit despite the attack from Jake Dixon and a resurgent Bradley Ray in the two races. The performances have seen both Haslam and Dixon become the first riders to have their places confirmed in the Showdown ahead of the top six decider at Silverstone.
In the opening race of the day at the challenging Lincolnshire circuit, Haslam held off the challenge from Ray to cross the finish line ahead by just 0.117s with Dixon snatching a podium finish on the final lap.
At the start of the race Haslam had grabbed the initial lead at the start of the race from Ray and Dixon with Glenn Irwin and Danny Buchan tucked in behind and it wasn’t until the third lap that the Buildbase Suzuki rider could make a move to hit the front of the pack.
Ray was then leading Haslam and Buchan who was bidding to make a move, but the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider made a costly mistake at the bottom of the Mountain on the third lap to crash out of contention unhurt and drop him outside of the top six in the standings.
Ray was still leading the pack when the BMW Safety Car was deployed when Chrissy Rouse crashed through Hall Bends and when the race resumed he headed the pack from Haslam, Glenn Irwin, Tommy Bridewell, Dixon and Christian Iddon.
Dixon was on a charge and he made a move on Bridewell to move into fourth with Iddon also following in his wheel tracks as the Moto Rapido Ducati rider edged wide. Ray held the advantage at the front until lap 14 when Haslam gunned the JG Speedfit Kawasaki ahead at Park, but he went wide and Ray reclaimed the position.
Two laps later and Haslam repeated the move and made it stick and then was defending hard until the finish to continue his winning form at the Lincolnshire circuit with Ray returning to the podium for the first time since Brands Hatch.
Dixon though was desperate to make a podium and after some moments where he ran wide and saved it, he was stalking Glenn Irwin throughout the final lap and made a decisive move into Barn on the final lap to snatch the final podium position.
Glenn Irwin was forced to settle for fourth place ahead of Bridewell who improved on his best result with the Moto Rapido Ducati team in fifth ahead of Iddon and Peter Hickman. Tarran Mackenzie led the McAMS Yamaha team in eighth ahead of James Ellison and Josh Brookes.
However in race two the rivalry continued between the leading trio with the fight for the podium places going down to the wire on the final lap.
Ray had got the holeshot off the line from Haslam, Dixon and Glenn Irwin on the opening lap with Hickman and Brookes giving chase, but Bridewell was making moves to fight through the pack and he was soon up to fifth.
Bridewell then made a move on Glenn Irwin on the brakes at Park and that put him into fourth but the Moto Rapido Ducati had his progression curtailed when he crashed out unhurt at Barn on lap six. Tarran Mackenzie was another rider to end his race prematurely when he slid out at Charlies four laps later.
At the front Ray was holding off Haslam as the pair were too close to call, but the championship leader was hunting and he moved into the lead on lap 12 with a move down the inside on the brakes at Park. At the same time Dixon was able to take advantage too which pushed Ray back into third as the leading trio had edged ahead.
A lap later and Dixon grabbed the lead from Haslam, but on the penultimate lap the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider went for the counter attack and he regained the lead at Park. Dixon was then piling on the pressure and he went for a similar move on the final lap but it cost him as he dramatically ran off track and onto the grass before rejoining allowing Ray to grab second.
Haslam crossed the line with a 5.091s lead after Dixon’s error with Ray claiming second and Dixon third with Hickman maintaining his position in the top six in the standings with a strong fourth place on the Smiths Racing BMW, holding off Glenn Irwin.
Iddon and Laverty held sixth and seventh place respectively for the Tyco BMW team with Buchan keeping his Showdown hopes alive with an eighth place ahead of Richard Cooper and Luke Mossey, pushing Jason O’Halloran just outside the top ten.
Brookes had been running inside the top six on the leading McAMS Yamaha but the 20215 champion was forced to retire with a technical problem.
The Championship now looks ahead to Silverstone, where the six Title Fighters will be decided ahead of the final three-round Showdown to fight for the 2018 Bennetts British
Superbike Championship
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, Race one result:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.117s
Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +0.890s
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +1.013s
Tommy Bridewell (Moto Rapido Ducati) +1.247s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +5.985s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +6.168s
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +6.715s
James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +6.934s
Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) +7.567s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, Race two result:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +5.091s
Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +7.197s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +8.383s
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +8.878s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +9.681s
Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +11.750s
Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +11.900s
Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki) +19.582s
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +19.766s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Cadwell Park:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 330
Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) 230
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) 187
Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) 174
Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) 159
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) 126
Leon Haslam Crowned King of the Mountain
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