- 17/05/2025
Full coverage of race 2 of the 1st round of the 2025 BSB (British Superbike Championship) from Oulton Park on the 5th May 2025. There was no third race after the round was cancelled after 2 fatalities in a support race.
13:05 - Race Starts
13:05 - Race Starts
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SportsTranscript
00:30The fans are ready, we are ready, and the riders are all on the grid, ready to do battle.
00:41In its eyes on the lights, BSB is go, good start from all on the front row, good start
00:47also from Max Cook on that Kawasaki from the second row, what a standing start, first lap
00:54for Bradway.
00:56He is sending out a message here.
00:58Max Cook is challenging the reigning champion.
01:01He's there though, it's Shell Oil!
01:07Down we go, Christian Egan.
01:12Glenn Irwin, true on Storm Stacey.
01:14Glenn Irwin arguably here can still be on for a podium.
01:19He's going to be seeing plus naught on his pit board every single lap and now Leon Haslam
01:23pounces.
01:26Glenn's going to try and set something up here, I know he should have a little bit of
01:29a speed advantage on that Ducati over the number one, there you go.
01:35Storm Stacey now goes through on Kyle Rye.
01:40Here comes Glenn.
01:41Glenn, true, into second.
01:42This is how the grid would look tomorrow, Ray, Glenn Irwin and Leon Haslam would be
01:45up front row.
01:47Brad is back in business.
01:49Ray wins the opening race of 2025 in fine style.
01:54No one could get close to him.
01:56The smiles are back.
02:04Race one of 33 in the books for the 2025 Bennett's British Superbike Championship.
02:10An inch perfect performance from Brad Ray yesterday, but he has it all to do again today.
02:15Twice over with a sprint race and feature race to come.
02:18A bumper bank holiday crowd here at Alton Park.
02:21We're told it's the biggest in a decade, which I can believe having had to queue up
02:25for over an hour to get into the track this morning, it's absolutely packed and so is
02:29the schedule.
02:30They'll be well entertained throughout the afternoon, as we will be for sure.
02:35If you missed us yesterday, a very warm welcome here to the Bennett's British Superbike
02:39Championship, to our viewers on Quest and on TNT Sports, the new home of bikes.
02:44James Hayden and Shane Byrne have spent much of their career at the front of the grid in
02:48BSB, and that's where we find ourselves this afternoon, chaps.
02:51What a day for it.
02:52A little bit cooler than yesterday and a sprint race ahead of us.
02:55It should provide a different kind of race to what we saw yesterday.
02:58Yeah, I think it definitely will.
02:59I think that Bradley Ray obviously showed great speed in the beginning of that race
03:02yesterday.
03:03Glenn Irwin came very, very strong towards the end of the race, didn't he?
03:06Great late race pace.
03:08I think this afternoon's feature race will be a lot closer affair, but I think they all
03:14know they can go and do 10 and 12 laps in this sprint race.
03:17It's going to be an all-out war for this one.
03:19If Brad Ray produces what he did yesterday, James, then I guess in theory it will be the
03:23same result because the first two laps are what decided the race, never mind a full distance.
03:28Yeah, he was imperious yesterday.
03:30He put it on pole.
03:31Qualifying makes such a difference.
03:33Unlike Glenn, he was back in 14th, and he broke him in the first two laps.
03:37He then really controlled the race.
03:39I mean, look at this.
03:40He's a few laps in, and he put that devastating gap between them and took his win, which was
03:46such a result for him after battling for a couple of years away as a privateer in World
03:50Championship.
03:51To come back and actually start exactly as he left off was a tremendous result.
03:56Well, he starts as he left off in the race today because he's on pole position, as you
03:59can probably just about see behind us here.
04:02And alongside him on the front row of the grid, Shaky, will be Glenn Irwin, who came
04:06through from 14th to second yesterday, but it's going to be a very different proposition
04:10today.
04:11Yeah, Glenn's been fast all weekend.
04:12The weekend actually started quite difficult for him.
04:14I think they've had some sort of engine issues.
04:16Glenn was thinking that his bike didn't feel fast enough, and they put some more power
04:20into it, and it felt like an animal.
04:21So it's been a little bit difficult to manage so far this weekend, but a really strong performance.
04:25And as I said earlier on, in the end of the race yesterday, he came particularly strong,
04:29didn't he?
04:30All the way from 14th through to third, and some strong laps at the end of the run as
04:33well.
04:34So he'll be hoping to make amends today.
04:36You're looking to perhaps upset that rhythm from Brad earlier in the race.
04:39Yeah, very much.
04:40Get in there.
04:41Get stuck in.
04:42And yeah, also keep an eye out for Haz Lamiers on the far end of the far row.
04:45He had some really good pace.
04:46Remember, it's just 12 laps, so it should be a real cracker.
04:49Yep, should be a real cracker.
04:51We've got lots of them this afternoon in the various different classes in the Bennetts
04:55British Superbike Paddock, which joins the family at TNT Sports and Discovery Plus from
05:00this season, the new home of bikes, with live coverage of every round of MotoGP, World Superbikes,
05:06BSB, Women's Circuit Racing World Championship, and Speedway Grand Prix.
05:11Plus, we've got live season-long action from the British Premiership Speedway and the Endurance
05:16World Championship.
05:17So TNT Sports really is the go-to destination for world-class bikes coverage.
05:22And that's what we've got for you throughout this afternoon.
05:24We're straight into it shortly with the BSB Sprint Race before the BMW F900R Cup, the Superstocks
05:30and the Supersports before the longer-distance BSB Race 3 this afternoon.
05:34And we'll finish off at 20 past 5 with some stars of the future in the sport bikes.
05:40So, stars of the future on the grid here as well at Alton Park for BSB Race 2.
05:45A star of the past as well out there amongst it, James Whitton.
05:48Over to you, Whip.
05:49Thanks for that.
05:50Right, if you wanted an example of just how competitive we keep talking about our competitive
05:55BSBs in terms of depth of field, look at this.
05:57We're looking at row 4, and we've got Rory Skinner, round winner.
06:01We've got Leigh-Bob Jackson, round winner.
06:03Row 3, we've got the reigning champion Kyle Ride.
06:06We've got round winner Danny Kent, round winner Christian Hidden.
06:09That is just a perfect example of how competitive this job is now.
06:14Right, this is row 4, and it doesn't seem that fair that Max Cook on the AJN Kawasaki
06:21is back here because you were having a storm at yesterday.
06:24You went out fairly early on, but you were having a go, lad.
06:26Yeah, thank you.
06:27It's something that I've not done before.
06:29So, yeah, me approach just needs a bit of fine-tuning.
06:32But, yeah, obviously, fighting up for second was really good.
06:34And then until it wasn't, you know, I just got a bit excited for first race of the year.
06:38I had a full tank of fuel.
06:39You know, the bike's really heavy, and I just pushed front end a bit too hard.
06:42So, I learned from my mistakes, and, yeah, ready for this one.
06:44You get another go.
06:45Good luck.
06:46Yeah, thank you very much.
06:47Cheers, Whip.
06:48Thanks.
06:49Yeah, Max had a good run.
06:50He went out quite early on, but he was having a push.
06:52He needs a good start, which is going to be a bit more tricky from back there.
06:55Another fellow who was having a real – had a real good race yesterday.
06:59Came through at a seventh.
07:00He's Charlie Nesbitt.
07:02We're not going to have a word to his talking.
07:05There you are.
07:06Yeah, Charlie, good race yesterday, son.
07:09Have another.
07:11Yeah, another one of the younger ones.
07:13This is third year in this class, and really, he needs to step up right front row.
07:17But I've got a little bit of work to do here because I need to find if he's –
07:22just bear with me, Chris.
07:24There he is.
07:26How are you, mate?
07:27You all right?
07:28Hang on.
07:29Let's do it properly.
07:30Good to see you again.
07:31Kyle's obviously – he's got a deal going with somebody because he's got a rather smart new car there.
07:36Kyle, you always come to Alton Parks.
07:39It's your local one to watch BSB, but you've had a little bit more of an interest this year, haven't you?
07:45Yeah, that's right.
07:46I've always been a big fan, a big follower of British Superbikes.
07:49When I was asked the question before I want to get involved again running a team,
07:52I said I would, but, yeah, the package and the deal would have to be right.
07:55It would have to be in Britain because I want to be in my own bed on a Sunday night.
07:59So, yeah, then the right deal, the right package has come,
08:02and, yeah, I'm just going to sort of figure out the principle of a team
08:07and working really hard in the background now to get everything ready for that
08:10and speaking to Cathy and speaking to sponsors and staff and stuff,
08:13trying to get the whole thing moving.
08:15We can't wait to see you back.
08:17Do you secretly get a little bit nervous when you sit in front of a radio?
08:20I'm really nervous now.
08:21I just said that to Laura.
08:22I said I'm really nervous.
08:23I'm not even racing, you know.
08:24I've not even got the best interest of any of the guys out there,
08:26but I'm still really nervous, yeah.
08:28Good to see you, mate.
08:29And you too, mate. Take care.
08:30Right, front row for Cam.
08:31Let's have a look.
08:32Let's go.
08:33We've got one and a half minutes left, so we're going to go straight to this man.
08:36Came through from 14th.
08:38That's row five, by the way.
08:40That's a long way back.
08:41That's further than we were when we were speaking to Max Cook.
08:45This is Glenn Irwin.
08:46One of the rides of the day yesterday, in my opinion,
08:49if not the ride of the day.
08:50You had to come past a lot of people, use a lot of tyre up, run off line,
08:54take a few risks getting past people, and it worked perfectly, son.
08:58It's a nice ride, Jimmy.
08:59Yeah, I tried to be mindful of the new tyre.
09:03Nobody really understood the distance of it,
09:05and we managed to do that whilst never really letting go.
09:12It was a calm ride, smooth and fluent, and we applied that in.
09:17I felt like I'd done that in warm-up as well.
09:19I felt very good.
09:20Of course, as I watched the race yesterday,
09:22I think we have a very, very honest chance of winning this race,
09:26and that's my sole intention for the team.
09:28Go, Glenn.
09:29Thank you, mate. Thanks.
09:30Right, we're going to have a quick word.
09:31I've got about 30 seconds left.
09:3330 seconds, exactly.
09:36Perfect performance yesterday for Brad Ray.
09:38You've got to think, with 25 seconds left,
09:41you can't have a long answer, but you don't need one.
09:43It's going to be off the front again, is it?
09:47Yeah, hopefully get a good start,
09:49see what the first few laps can do.
09:52Yeah, it's a shorter race,
09:53so maybe go a bit harder at the start and see where we're at,
09:56but I think the other boys are going to be quick too.
09:58Good luck.
09:59Cheers, mate.
10:00That's it. We're getting kicked off the grid.
10:02Very nervous, Brad there, but it's got to be his.
10:13Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go
10:43for over a decade and they're all here to see Bennett's British Superbikes. The second race of
10:49the season about to get underway here. Cloudy skies, a bit chilly but we can't wait to see what's in
10:56store. It's first blood to Brad Ray and he sends out a big message to his opposition after a fine
11:03victory yesterday. Catch me if you can and we're about to see what everyone's got. He's the first
11:09rider to win the opening race on his return from World Superbikes here in BSB since shaky burn in
11:162011. That's the last time a rider returning from Worlds to BSB got the job done. This is how they
11:23line up on the grid then for a 12 laps grid. They won't be thinking about tyres in this one. It will
11:30just be all out for glory. Brad Ray on pole with an all-time lap record and the best ever race lap
11:36yesterday. Erwin second after a fine display yesterday. Leon Haslam was on the podium, he starts third. Storm
11:42Stacey had a great dry result yesterday. He starts fourth ahead of Tommy Bridewell. What can Tommy do
11:47here today? And Charlie Nesbitt looking for another top six. It's then Idan, Ride and Kent on row three.
11:53What's in store for those three? Max Cook looked sharp yesterday until the fall at Shell Oils. He
11:58starts in tenth ahead of Lee Jackson and Rory Skinner. Then there's work to do for everyone else
12:03from road five and beyond. Brooke starts 13th ahead of Scott Swan, the rookie,
12:07and John McPhee with Kerr, Hickman and McConnell on row six.
12:15And then we've got Fraser Rodgers starting from 19th spot. Hedger and Davey Todd and on the final
12:21row, Jamie Van Sickelruss, Jamie Davison, Blaise Bacon. No Andy Erwin. He's been ruled out with
12:26injury for the weekend and no Lewis Frollo to start the season. Looking forward to this. It's all out.
12:31No tyres to think about. And can Glenn do anything about Brad? You've got to think that Brad would go
12:37into this with a slight advantage on new tyres. He seemed to be able to do the business in Cheshire.
12:41That's when he was actually thinking about saving it towards the end. So no thoughts like that now.
12:45He can just let his hair down and go. The riders make their way onto the grid here at Alton Park.
12:51A 12 lap sprint. 32 miles of this Cheshire circuit to tackle. All of these guys on the front row have
12:59had plenty of race wins here before. We wait now for the green flag. There it is. And the red flag
13:05to be removed. It's that time again. It's eyes on the lights in Benin's PSV for race two of the season.
13:14Good start from everyone in the front row. Look at Storm Stacey flying through from the second row.
13:18Don't know what just happened there, but he's second into turn one. Brad Ray with a hole shot once more.
13:23Yeah, Glenn caught the start there. Glenn Erwin back a couple of places. Ray then leads on the way
13:28down to Cascades for the first time. Stacey in second. Haslam in third. Then it's Glenn Erwin.
13:33Kyle Wright just behind and then Christian Iden. Yeah, I do feel that Glenn couldn't afford to do
13:37what he just did. If he's going to go and beat Brad, he needs to get in front. It would have been
13:41quite difficult for Brad to get past Glenn because he's setting up properly. The Yamaha wouldn't just
13:48have had the top speed of the Ducati, but he's got his own track to go out now. Run his own lines and
13:53Brad is going to take some catches. Well, what we saw yesterday was that from the moment the lights
13:57went out, Brad Ray off he went. And he's going to be more inclined to do that now. We've got a lot
14:02less laps to do. He doesn't have to worry about that rear tyre. He can just go. One thing he's not
14:07had to deal with, though, in the past is the top hat. Storm Stacey in second place. Flames popping
14:12out of the exhaust there of the Bathum's AGM BMW as they go through, has he? Did you see how Storm
14:16Stacey's chucking it from one side? That's quite a bit of risk involved on the front end there.
14:20Full commitment from Stacey. Just as he did yesterday. He's got three or four tents in
14:26his back pocket here at the end of lap one. Glenn Irwin's not been able to find a way through on
14:30Leon Haslam yet. They're going to have to get busy soon if they want to keep Brad Ray in sight. Brad
14:36is so confident with the front end of that Yamaha. Watch how he just turns it in. Look at the rear
14:40slide. He's got the brakes on. Brakes off. Bang. And in it goes. Nice move from Leon Haslam. Down into
14:45large corner. Number 91. He moves up into second place. But as they come across the line, Brad Ray
14:51with a good advantage. Almost a second up. A 36 point more from a standing start. Even better
14:56than yesterday. That's a second quicker than his standing start lap yesterday, which we're impressed with.
15:00That is incredible from Bradley Ray, the 2022 BSB champion. And again, he's not even in the same
15:06frame. This is only lap two. Can Haslam close it down? Yeah, Haslam had a lot of brake issues
15:11yesterday. He said if he can get those fixed, he was very confident he could go quicker. Glenn Irwin,
15:16that was bold. And he gets through. But he's wide through Island Bend as he tried to get through on
15:20Storm Stacey. But that's okay. He's got the inside line now for Shell Oil. So he's wide again.
15:25Yeah, he's trying hard. And that's a problem. He's losing time as a result. And now he's got Kyle Ride
15:31all over him. Yeah, he's seen Haslam and Brad Ray getting away at the front. And he's just trying
15:37a little bit too hard he's been now. Glenn Irwin then. It's costing him some time. But this has
15:41been a good lap from Leon Haslam. Absolutely. He's biting the screen a bit there in second place.
15:46There's Stacey in third. Number 79. Deep there from Idan. Yeah, this circuit is one where you
15:52must flow. If you try hard and bite the screen, typically you don't go that quick. You've got to
15:57flow around it. It's got to work for you. Wasn't the best of starts for Tommy Bridewell. Work again
16:01to do for the former champ. He's down in 10th place behind Lee Jackson at the moment. And
16:05remember, this is only a 12 lap sprint. So no time to really get dialed in. But this has definitely
16:11been a good lap from Leon Haslam. It'd be worth keeping an eye on the lap times here as Irwin now
16:15pounds on Stacey. But he's wide again. And on the cutback, Storm Stacey. They'll be side by side
16:20over Deerleap. And across the line, Storm Stacey not giving an inch. And he doesn't. Over the line
16:25they go. A 32.8 from Leon Haslam. As Kyle Ride goes through to third place. That's the fastest
16:33ever lap we've got. Leon Haslam, he's back. He said he could do this. What a lap from the
16:39Moto Rapido to Catty Rider. Irwin again just a little deep into Cascades. It's been a scrappy
16:44couple of laps. A few more than Irishman. Brad Rae going to piss. He's going. He hasn't had a look
16:48back. He'll look at his board going across the start and finish. He'll think, wow,
16:53somebody's picked up a bit of pace. Someone said they were. Danny Kent up the inside now of Storm
16:59Stacey. He's just been beaten up a bit on the last lap or two. So Kent now goes through. Kyle Ride
17:05up into third spot. This is Brad Rae. And there he is, Leon Haslam. I don't think he hasn't been
17:11on this Ducati the minute he got on it. He's hungry, isn't he? So hungry to get a victory.
17:16It doesn't look anything but 41 at the moment. He turns 42 at the end of this month. The 2018
17:21champion. So unlucky actually not to get a win here at Alton Park, the back end of last year.
17:27He's got his eyes firmly fixed. He did save, didn't he? He parked firmly yesterday.
17:33Get the brakes fixed. I can go. He's doing a great job. This is Ride and Irwin, number one
17:40and number two. Kyle Ride, the reigning champion. But this is the battle now we need to keep our
17:43eyes on. And you're right. Brad Rae's about to come over the line. He'll quickly glance at his
17:47pit board and go, he'll say, who on earth is that? He'll suspect it's probably Glenn, but it's not.
17:54It's Leon Haslam. Over the line we go once more then. Brad Rae leads from Leon Haslam. It's another
17:5832.8 from Haslam. He's rolling back the years here. He's fit for the first time at the start
18:06of the season. And now we've got a battle on our hands. And Brad Rae is going to have to work
18:11for the sprint race victory. The pair of them are two and a half seconds clearer of the rest
18:14of the field. Yeah, a great example of the different lines you've got to run with these
18:18very different machines going down into Cascades. Haslam had to get the thing a little bit, slow
18:24down a little bit more and coming from a little bit tighter in. Brad could run it really wide
18:29going in and still make the apex. It's Yamaha versus Ducati. It's Brad Rae versus Leon Haslam.
18:36Through Britain's we go. Only one line through here, not room for two. Over the hilltop.
18:42Haslam not going to be close enough on this occasion to have a look down into his.
18:47What a couple of laps that has been. In the background, Glenn Irwin has got through on Kyle
18:51Ride. So he's up to third and now he's just going to want to try and break away. But is it already
18:56too late? I think so, yeah. With a shorter race.
19:03Clay Hill up towards Druids now. This is where Haslam seems to be really strong here. Yeah, he
19:09does. Out of Druids on the drive with that Ducati. Got some decent drive there as well and he pulls
19:15over to the inside line. Number 91, Leon Haslam. Does he have a look? Oh, he thought about trying
19:20to lunge up the inside. Yeah, he did and he found it a little bit difficult to back out of it there
19:25as well. Brad Ray will certainly know he's got company now over Deerlead. Did you see that from
19:29Haslam? Full commitment and now he goes up the inside into Old Hall Corner. He holds his line
19:36as well. It's Haslam versus Ray. A proper ding-dong battle in here at Alton Park.
19:42What a ride this has been from Haslam. Watch this a bit for Brad on the second bit of the corner.
19:49Still trapped on at Cascades. Leon Haslam who raced in his 290th yesterday.
19:56Hungry for his 47th BSV victory. His first since 2018.
20:03Let's have a look at this move then for the lead into Turn 1. Yep, this into Old Hall.
20:07The problem with the inside line there is you can't really brake as hard. You're a little bit
20:11more bent over. That normally pushes you wide on the exit. Not fully. Unable to get the throttle
20:16open and get that big Ducati going. Over the hilltop we go. Brad Ray here. This is one of
20:22Brad's strongest parts of the circuit. But then from his onwards, let's see if Haslam can open
20:27up the gap. Well, I've got a feeling he must think he can. Otherwise, why would you pass?
20:33You'd sit behind. You'd just wait a little bit. If you had a good idea that you could get past,
20:38you'd wait till the last couple of laps. Probably not the last lap. He was fastest here on Friday,
20:43Leon Haslam. Bradley Ray knows he's in a proper battle. That gap behind, by the way,
20:49it's gone down to 2.2. If these two were to properly engage in a battle, Glenn might still
20:56have a chance. Yeah, we've got to see how fast Leon Haslam's got on his own. And look at this
21:01slot. There's nothing splitting the pace of about 15 or so riders here. Further behind.
21:07Yep. There's Irwin, there's Craig, Stacey, Kent, Nesbitt and Co.
21:14Haslam's about three tenths slower than his fastest that lap.
21:22Yeah, you're right. That's half a second slower than some of the riders behind him.
21:26Well, 32.8 was his fastest lap. That was a 34 flat.
21:29Yeah, sorry. Yeah, yeah, obviously.
21:301.2 seconds.
21:31Yep.
21:35And if they continue at that pace, they will invite a bit of pressure
21:38later on in this race. We're only on lap 6 of 12 at the moment. There's
21:43Rory Skinner just going a bit deep into Shell Oils.
21:48Skinner battling with Brooks for 14th and 15th. But again, their pace is just as good as the
21:52guys in 4th and 5th. This is Stacey in 5th place and that is Glenn Irwin,
21:59two seconds behind at the moment. Leon Haslam and Bradley Ray at present.
22:04Up lapped. Yeah, about a second quicker last lap.
22:13Climb up here. Yeah, great bit of track there. I'm not sure on these things, but
22:17I remember fondly going up there. The front end just floating over the top of that hill.
22:21But that was before Hisse's was there as well.
22:23Yes, it was. Yeah. Nickerbrook was a big fast flowing right.
22:29This is Tommy Pridewell. He's struggling a bit here this weekend. He said yesterday to
22:34James Hayden, it's damage limitation this weekend. It is, yeah. He said in the interview.
22:4133s again. Glenn Irwin slightly faster than the duo out front, but still 1.9 down. We're
22:47on lap 7 of 12. Brad Ray at the moment, for the time being, doesn't have an answer for Haslam's
22:52speed. Doesn't look like he's sat there easy, does he? I should point out, if you're tuning
22:58in for the first time, Haslam has had speed throughout all of the winter testing program.
23:03He's fit at the start of the season for the first time in years. As we mentioned,
23:07spoke to Sam Lowe's just last weekend and he mentioned that he'd seen Leon a bit. He's
23:14working incredibly hard at the gym to get himself strong, ready for the season as well. And he's
23:18happy. Yeah, the reason he's not started any season for last three or four fit is because
23:23he couldn't get in the gym. Not that he didn't want to. No, no, no. He's carrying a big injury
23:27of one sort or another. There is Glenn Irwin desperately trying to reel in Haslam and Ray.
23:34That's Kyle Wright, number one, who, when I caught up with him this morning, told us what
23:38happened yesterday. He said, I weren't going fast enough. Yeah, I had a few issues with the front.
23:43It's the front end feeling for Kyle Wright and I am really critical. And when the fuel load goes
23:49down, it lightens it up and that sets the front riding at a different height and he struggles
23:53with it a little bit. So then, from Druids, we go down into, this gap is definitely coming down here.
24:03Yes, it is. Haslam, Ray, Glenn Irwin.
24:17Yeah, slightly quicker that last lap, but then Irwin, a couple of three tenths quicker than
24:21either Haslam or Ray in front. Not work to do though still. Five laps to go, that's all.
24:28Lap 8 of 12. Leon Haslam at the moment. Four tenths clear of Brad Ray. Glenn Irwin,
24:34there in third then. It doesn't look like he's going to be able to do anything about it.
24:38But he has got the speed. He has got the speed, maybe for the longer race later on,
24:44if he gets the better start. Yeah, that'll give him confidence.
24:49This is Kyle Wright, but in fourth spot. Storm Stacey then in fifth. Another good ride from Storm.
24:54Yeah, we said we're very impressed with his result yesterday, but we need more of it to
24:59just count him as a front runner every weekend. I'm a little surprised that Max Clift doesn't have
25:04the speed. Sorry, deep for Leon Haslam there. A little bit of an indication that he's pushing on
25:08or brake problems coming back. Yeah, he's saying he's all that time struggling to get the bike
25:14stopped. Yeah, that's what he said all the race yesterday, which hasn't been the case from what
25:18we've seen so far. He's got a bit of a problem with the brakes. He's got a bit of a problem with
25:22from what we've seen so far in this race, but he definitely ran on a bit into his up there.
25:27Fastest third sector from Glenn Irwin. He's 1.7 adrift. That's still too much, but like we say,
25:34Bradbury and Leon start beating each other up. It's still on. With a short race,
25:38you can't afford to make the start that Glenn Irwin did or didn't make a start.
25:42Over Dilly. Start lap nine of 12 now. Leon Haslam on the brink here of winning his first BSB race
25:51since he returned from World Superbikes. Quickest man on track, Glenn Irwin.
25:57He's there in the back of the shot now. 1.7 the gap through sector one. This is what they'd
26:04line up like later on. Haslam would be on pole from Ryan Irwin.
26:08It would be right-handed Stacey on row two.
26:11It's around this point where Glenn Irwin starts to eat up the time a bit on those ahead of him.
26:20Storm Stacey's now gone up into fourth spot as well ahead of Kyle Ride, Danny Kent and Charlie Nesbitt.
26:33The Harger PBM Ducati of Glenn Irwin. He's settled down now. See how different he looks
26:37to be riding than in the first few laps when he was pushing on, missing his apexes.
26:41He's just taken three tenths from Shell Oils. Brilliant. Yeah. And I think that
26:46part of the track favours the Ducati as well. Is he going to run out of time? Will he be close enough?
26:53Still going to be. Maybe not. There's three laps left after this. He might have time. He might have time.
27:03It's like a dog with a bone, isn't he, Glenn Irwin? That's why you can never
27:07ask who's going to be your top three this season. You can never discount Glenn.
27:14Fascinating here then, this 12 lap race. We thought that Glenn Irwin was out of it so many times.
27:20Against all odds, Glenn Irwin delivers something. Has he got something special in store?
27:24It's gone down to 1.1. Yeah, two tenths quicker that last lap.
27:27Down the hill into left-hander cascades and then... I'll tell you what though, when you're catching
27:36somebody and you're pushing on, it's so easy to make a mistake. Just run deep, lose that couple
27:41of three tenths that you've worked so hard to get. You've got to be really accurate and a little bit
27:46lucky as well. I think he's going to be here to watch Glenn Irwin from the exit here of Shell
27:53Oils. By the time we get to Hisey's, he's making up some serious ground. Yeah, there's two tenths
27:59in every lap of the last four there. Look at that, visibly closer. Yeah, he carries some great speed
28:05actually into British game there. He might just get on the back of it and have a go at this. He might.
28:10He's taken another two tenths out of them. Yeah, that's what he's done, two tenths in that sector
28:14every lap for the last four. That's Kyle Ryden, Danny Cairns getting very close down into Hisey's.
28:20This is the battle for fifth place.
28:27Anytime a front wheel overlaps a back wheel, it's a kind of dangerous situation is that.
28:33Especially for the one who's front wheel. The front wheel's always going to get beaten by a
28:37back wheel, always in that situation. The leaders are coming up to Lodge Corner now and Glenn Irwin
28:41very much part of the picture here. We have to consider him potentially as a threat for the race
28:46This is the battle for fourth spot. Storm Stacey just does it in fourth now. Brilliant driver.
28:52It just doesn't look like he should be going quick. Legs and arms everywhere and kind of floppy,
28:58but he's making it work though. A bit gangly isn't he? He is, yeah. Another good move there from
29:05Ryde, although a bit messy on exit, but then likewise Danny Cairns didn't get the best exit
29:09either. He's got Charlie Nesbitt for company. Another couple of tenths made up from Glenn Irwin
29:14in third, so it's still Haslam that leads. He's having one of the best races we've seen,
29:19well certainly the best race we've seen of him since he returned to BSB. More importantly,
29:25Glenn Irwin was half a second quicker than Bradbury. I think Glenn Irwin's just made a mistake.
29:32Glenn Irwin, we've missed it, but I think Glenn Irwin has made a mistake somewhere because that,
29:35oh no he hasn't. The gap's wrong. The gap must be slightly wrong. Anyway, he is there. Glenn Irwin
29:41is there. Haslam, Ray, Irwin at the moment for the win. That is not 1.1 seconds. Down into the
29:47chicane we go. This is Stacey in fourth ahead of Kyle Ryde. We really need to have a look at this
29:54gap up front. Yeah, it's come down. Bradbury has also closed the gap down. Haslam, Ray and Irwin,
30:00here we go. We're about to start the last lap. Has Glenn Irwin just got enough time to get
30:06involved? I think he might have made a little mistake somewhere, you know, because it was
30:09closer than that the last shot was over. Slightly defensive line and certainly a defensive approach
30:14from Leon Haslam down into Lodge Corner. We start the final lap of the race. 2.69 miles around this
30:21Alton Park circuit. Has Bradbury got anything left for Leon? Has Glenn Irwin got enough in the tank?
30:27Is he close enough to make a move? If he's close enough to make a move by the end of this lap,
30:32he'll be lucky and it'll be one move he's got chance of.
30:39Through Cascades, it's going to be out of here. That approach where he's got to make up his time.
30:44Yeah, it is this next sector. Haslam has not put a foot wrong since getting out front. He's set an
30:50all-time lap record of Alton Park and he's had a big moment into Island Bend and you don't want
30:55them there. And that has invited Bradbury. He's a bit wide into Shell Oils as well and they all
31:01into a bit closer. Glenn Irwin's eyes have lit up now in third as well. Yeah, because he's probably
31:06got the pace to do something at the end of the straight without Ducati. Brad's going to have to
31:10work hard to get past Leon. He's going to have to be perfect. Although after that moment, he'll have
31:16to go a bit defensive. Bradbury doesn't come through and look Glenn Irwin is there. And you
31:21know he's going to have a look. You know when it's going to happen. This is going to be a launch.
31:25And he catches straight away. Oh, that was so so close, but he wasn't quite able to pull off the
31:30move. There's only one chance left. Glen Irwin trying to get past on Bradbury as early as
31:37possible. Bradbury had a big moment on the front as well. They're all pushing on here on the last lap
31:43in BSB. It's Haslam, it's Ray, it's Irwin. Glenn Irwin up the inside of Bradbury for second, but they're
31:49not going to be close enough for Haslam. Although he goes defensive, he holds it, but Leon Haslam
31:54is a BSB race winner again. What a ride on the Moto Rapido Ducati. Irwin takes second, Bradbury third.
32:03That's brilliant. Ron Haslam there celebrating as well. Fantastic race that in the sprint. And
32:09that shapes it up nicely for this afternoon as well. Yep. All smiles and quite rightly so there.
32:16He didn't make it easy for himself, did he Glenn? Fantastic. Brilliant. Ron Haslam, Steve Wilfmore
32:21there as well. That's their first win since Christian, of course, was on board last year. Yep.
32:27What a race. I have to be honest, after yesterday's display from Bradbury, I wasn't sure
32:34whether they'd have that many answers. I absolutely thought the same, Steve. I didn't think anybody
32:39would have the pace in the short race, especially to go with Bradbury. There were a few people that
32:44over the last few years have written off 41-year-old Leon Haslam. Write him off at your peril.
32:49Exactly. And write his enthusiasm off at your peril. Write his fitness off at your peril.
32:55The man is still super fit, super strong. He's like a little ball that most of us broke. He could have retired
33:00years ago quite happily, James. He's not here for money. He's here because he wants to win and he
33:04believes he can. Absolutely. Yeah. And he's just proven it. Yeah. And that wasn't a gift because Bradbury
33:09had an issue. That was Leon going every bit as quick as he had to do to beat a flying Bradbury.
33:14That's just, it's fantastic. Brilliant. Absolutely fantastic. He's come close since he's returned to
33:20BSB on a few occasions as Haslam. Brad Ray, well. Glenn will be chuffed with that though.
33:26Glenn will be. All that way back of a lap and lap and lap. Brad now knows as well that this isn't
33:34as easy. I mean, he would have never thought that. He did say to us this morning, today will be a
33:39different race. He's a lovely fellow who would have never done that. Yeah. Wow. Wow. We, this is
33:46the big moment. Talks through this, James. Is it fast? Yeah, he's lost the rear. Watch this. Watch,
33:50watch, watch. There's a bump there. He was telling me in, uh, in the course, guys, a little bit of a bump there.
33:58It's the moment Irwin. Down towards Lodgy. See how tight, uh, Haslam went defensive. Brad didn't do
34:05that. And I would have expected him to do that. We've got a championship on our hands. Brilliant
34:12stuff. And Rocket Ron absolutely loving that. I know. It's incredible. It doesn't look any
34:17different to what he did about 30 years ago. Isn't he still riding, doing backflips on?
34:23Leon, careful. You know what happens? Sometimes the wheel just locks up and when it lands,
34:27it has to start turning. This is sensational. There won't be too many people upset with this.
34:34Leon Haslam. How brilliant is it to see him back on the top step? Fantastic.
34:42Let's get the results then. For the first time since October, Brands Hatch 2018, Leon Haslam
34:48is a race winner again. A tenth clear he was of Glenn Irwin, who will come back with an answer
34:53later on this afternoon. Brad Ray then, yesterday's winner was third. Big gap then back to ride. Storm
34:59Stacey top five. Kent was sixth ahead of Nesbitt, Idan, Jackson. And Tommy Bridewell was tenth.
35:05Points for Skinner, Cook, Brooks, Swan and John McPhee.
35:17It's been a long six and a half years for Leon Haslam since his last win in his title winning
35:22campaign of 2018. Glenn Irwin taking second on the final corner ahead of Brad Ray,
35:27who finishes in third after his win yesterday. Let's hear from him first. He's with James Hayden.
35:32Brad, a great third spot. Were you aware Glenn was coming down the last couple of laps?
35:37Yes, I saw it on my pit board. Going into the last lap, I saw plus 0.7. I knew if we kept the pace
35:42that we were doing, we'd be able to hold him off to the line. Leon had a moment through Ireland,
35:48which then obviously allowed Glenn to get close. You can see that we're not
35:54fully able to maybe stay in front of the Ducatis in certain parts of the track.
36:02But no, happy with the third. I think the feature race is going to be interesting.
36:07I don't think the lap times will be like they were in this race, but overall positive.
36:11Another podium for the team and for Yamaha and we'll work for race two. Okay, well done, Leon.
36:18Okay, now we've got the man in second spot. It is, of course, Glenn Irwin. Glenn, what a ride.
36:24You came through. It looked like you'd had a lot of work to do, but you got there and you were
36:29just a fraction off the win in the end. Yes, I might as well start at 14th again because I was
36:34chasing a gap down. I don't like to make excuses because, first of all, Leon really deserves that
36:40victory. He done well to bridge the Brad first lap attack. I think we knew that would be the
36:46plan of the Yamaha and he bridged that and done really, really well. I had no rear brake the whole
36:52race and you know yourself, between the two chicanes, you're losing so much and even to try
36:57to get the bike to stop on a corner entry, we used the rear brake a lot now. It was tough,
37:03but we adapted and we started to come strong. Fifth spot, so maybe should have done Brad in
37:09the Knickerbrook in the last lap. Would that have gave me a chance to do, Leon? But you know,
37:13you can never talk like that. Hats off to the team. After Friday or Saturday, we definitely
37:18have two seconds at this stage and maybe it's going to be a hat-trick of winners this weekend
37:22and I can take the rest of you. It was a great result. Well done. Thanks, James. Thank you, mate.
37:26Okay, now we have the winner, Leon Haslam. A lap record. You chased down Brad and you took the win.
37:34How's that feeling, my friend? So good. Yesterday, I was a little bit nervous, to be honest with you.
37:39Bring it home, take it easy and by the time I actually got into second yesterday, it had long
37:44gone. So today, I thought I need to go hard from the start and I managed to make an early move,
37:48catch him down, which I didn't expect to do that lap time. And then to be honest with you,
37:52the last five laps were the longest laps ever. We had a couple of false neutrals,
37:56we had a big moment on the lap. What happened at Ireland? I was trying to get back the gears. I
38:00think I went back one too many gears and it popped in. So yeah, rookie mistakes really on the last
38:05lap. I should have kept it smooth. But yeah, big, big thanks to Matt Rapido, all the sponsors
38:09involved. Yeah, it's been a hard few years and it's really nice to get back on the top step.
38:13And also taking that best ever lap of all on a new lap record. Well done,
38:16Leo. Cheers. Thank you. Cheers.
38:20The pocket rocket is back. Take us through this last lap, chaps.
38:24Absolutely phenomenal, wasn't it? You know, Leon didn't really put a foot long,
38:27a foot wrong, sorry, the whole race, you know, until the most important lap of the race.
38:32But, you know, three or four 32.8s he did in that race. You know, his pace was absolutely
38:36phenomenal. Brad obviously tried to bolt from the start. And, you know, Leon, as he said in
38:41his interview today, he knew he had to go with him. That mistake at Island Bend just left Brad
38:45with sort of umming and ahhing about a move into Shell oils. And, you know, that cost him a little
38:49bit of time. I think we heard Bradley say earlier on, you know, on his board, he had 0.7. So he
38:53didn't think Glenn was quite as close as he was. And unfortunately, he got caught with his pants
38:57down. And the thing is now Leon is pushing on because he's panicking a little bit. He knows
39:01he's made a mistake in Thailand. He knows that Brad's going to be close. It's difficult. Even
39:05without the experience, you're still panicking a bit. Yeah. And do you know what? This has been
39:09the first win since 2018. You know, this would have been feeling so good. He's so close at this
39:13point. He's still panicking. And you can see like he gets on the breakers right over to the left
39:18hand side of the track there, like blocks any attempts at an overtake and just manages to hold
39:24it in there. Just got in there a tiny, tiny bit too hot, like still panicking. But here it comes.
39:28He's first win in six or seven years or whatever it's been and absolutely delighted for him. Yeah,
39:32me too. And just to put it into context, that 32.8 was the same time that Brad set during
39:39qualifying yesterday to take pole position. Yeah, sensational. All right. Well, as you can see,
39:44the podium is set here at Alton Park. It's going to be Brad Ray once again, but not on the top
39:49step this time. He's going to make his way up to third with Glenn Irwin and Leon Haslam. Let's get
39:54back to Steve for this one. Yeah, thanks very much, Matt. Wow. What a race to kick things off
40:01here on Bank Holiday Monday. And it's just left us wanting more. And we're going to get that later on
40:06this afternoon as well. Brad Ray knows he's in a fight now after a splendid ride yesterday.
40:15But later on, it's going to be fascinating because he's got Leon and Glenn with him for company
40:20on that front row as well. These guys are about to make their way onto the podium there.
40:24You can see that disappointment on Brad's face. We have a championship on. Brad Ray heads up
40:31onto the podium. Good record here at Alton Park, third place for the Raceways Yamaha rider. Glenn Irwin.
40:43He's definitely got a little bit more in the tank ready for this afternoon's race.
40:48But listen to this.
40:50A very popular winner, and for good reason as well. Not seen a smile like that on Leon's face for some years.
41:02Ash Easton from the Moto Rapido team is going to get team representative trophy there as well. Brad
41:06Ray picks up his 35th Bennett's BSB trophy. This is Ben Dighton, a Bennett's lucky fan winner,
41:16who's handing out the trophies there to Glenn Irwin. 60 second podium for him. But listen to this.
41:22In his 291st BSB race, it's podium 119. It's win number 47.
41:32And Moto Rapido are race winners once more. Time for the national anthem for your race winner, Leon Haslam.
42:16Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks then? Leon Haslam. Two races in in Bennett's BSB,
42:24two different race winners, and it could easily be three later on this afternoon. Some champagne
42:30celebrations here, respectfully. They won't give each other too much of a soaking, you wouldn't
42:35think, because they're all out racing again later on. Look at that! What a shot! The cork straight
42:40in the winner's trophy. Brilliant stuff. Okay, let's get the standings then ahead of race three
42:47coming up later. Brad Ray still in charge. Well, is he? He's locked on points. Look at that! Brad Ray, Leon
42:53Haslam, Glenn Irwin, all on 32 points each. We'll have some of that. Storm Stacey fourth ahead of Kyle Ride.
42:59Charlie Nesbitt is in sixth, Tommy Bridewell seventh, Kent in eighth, Jackson ninth, and Josh Brooks tenth.
43:07Skidder is 11th in the championship ahead of Iden, who crashed out yesterday.
43:12Scott Swan, the rookie, is 13th ahead of Max Cook and Peter Hickburn.
43:21A three-way tie for the lead in the championship then. One race to go, of course, this afternoon,
43:26the feature race at quarter past four. What a ride from Leon Haslam though, chaps. We talked
43:30about the final lap, but let's have a look back to the first couple of laps, because
43:35as James said, his fastest ever lap of all time.
43:38Come on, we've got to get this man in real quickly. That's a better idea, let's get him running.
43:41Absolutely, God. You know, the pressure is, you know, I thought there was a lot of pressure in
43:45racing when I was doing it, but there's more now. Yeah, well, that means you'd see Leon win,
43:49Ron, after such a long time. It's been a while coming, hasn't it, that? Oh, it's been a long
43:53while coming, but he never, you know, stopped believing in himself, you know, and with the team
43:58and that, he's just so happy with the bike team and everything. You know, it's just, they've all
44:02gelled together so good. So good to see, mate. Fantastic. I'm for you. Congratulations. Cheers,
44:07Ron. Congrats. Sorry, he must feel old today. I mean, he's watching his son go around at 41
44:13years old. Look at him. Yeah, he looks, yeah, he's in fine form. Well, obviously,
44:16the genes are good out there, the genes are strong. They must be. Leon, a race winner again
44:20at 41 years of age. Right, what have we got next? BMWs. As you can see, the grid forming up out
44:25there for our next race this afternoon, a packed schedule for you throughout the afternoon here
44:29at Alton Park. We'll have the main event for the F900R Cup when we come back from the break.
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