It was a dream Easter Monday for rising British superbike star Luke Mossey yesterday, as the 24-year-old followed up his first ever win in the class with another emphatic victory in race two. In a great day for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki squad, team-mate Leon Haslam scored a pair of podium finishes to maintain his championship lead after two race weekends.
In the opening race of the day, it was Carole Nash-backed Haslam who led the way, but by lap three pole sitter James Ellison slotted into the lead and tried to make a break.
Behind him, Haslam and Mossey battled for the final podium place with the Tyco BMW of Christian Iddon. That would turn into a battle for the lead when Ellison crashed out on lap 12 of 30. It was a crash that would have serious implications for the McAMS Yamaha rider. He was unhurt, but his R1 was too badly damaged that it could not be fully repaired for the day’s second race.
Mossey was able to edge out a small lead to take the win, while Haslam and Iddon fended off reigning champion Shane Byrne, who put in a late charge, to close out the podium places.
Buoyed by his debut win, Mossey proved dominant in race two. Behind him, Haslam and Iddon again battled, this time with the Honda of Jason O’Halloran. Byrne’s tough start to his title defence continued when he crashed his Ducati out of the race. With the Kent-based rider sitting out the opening round through injury, he leaves Brands Hatch lying 14th in the championship.
Mossey’s win moves him to second in the championship, five points behind Haslam, who added a third place to his earlier second at a track that has not been particularly favourable to him in the past. Iddon grabbed the runner-up spot in race two to leave Brands third in the championship. Fourth in the standings is 2015 champion Josh Brookes, who finished 10th and fourth on the Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha.
Speaking after the race, Mossey said: “I was over the moon with the first win and then I was going to be happy coming away with a top five in the second race and keep racking up the points, but to have my first two wins of my superbike career come at once, I’m so happy.
“I can’t thank the team enough as we really did our homework this weekend, I hope now that we can build on this. I’ve never had such a strong start to a season and that includes my supersport career, so I’m looking forward to Oulton Park now. We finished second there last time behind Leon, so the Kawasaki works really well there and hopefully we can maintain this speed.
“I’m at Oulton Park on Thursday for the official test so I can’t do too much celebrating so maybe we will have a couple of beers on Friday night! I’m looking forward to round three – I’ve always enjoyed Oulton Park, so hopefully I can keep bagging these rostrums, and get a few more race wins.”
The next round of the British Superbike Championship takes place at Oulton Park in Cheshire on Bank Holiday Monday, May 1.
British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, race one result:
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +3.529s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +3.802s
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +3.920s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +6.352s
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +7.544s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +7.588s
Michael Laverty (McAMS Yamaha) +8.775s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +8.775s
Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +10.853s
British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, race two result:
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.758s
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.851s
Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +4.032s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +4.188s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +8.205s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +8.735s
Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +8.982s
John Hopkins (Moto Rapido Ducati) +9.234s
Sylvain Guintoli (Bennetts Suzuki) +10.249s
British Superbike Championship standings after Brands Hatch:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 86
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 81
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) 65
Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) 48
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) 37
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) 36
