This year’s World Superbike season has been an incredible display of British racing prowess, and even though some hard-fought podium places are deservedly going to some top-class riders from outside the UK, the boys from our shores are still way out in front! Round five, the Acerbis Italian round which took place over the weekend, was no different – although a few shakeups meant there were plenty of surprises.

Even the qualifier was a nail-biter this time round – regular podium presence and constant challenger for the title Leon Haslam, of Aprilia Racing’s Red Devils, suffered a small crash that saw him relegated to row two of the starting grid. Working hard, Haslam managed to battle his way in to fourth place in race one, but unfortunately crashed out in race two, becoming one of seven riders not to finish. Still, Leon’s solid performance means he retains second place in the standings – he’ll just have his work cut out to earn the title.

The Italian weekend went much better for Jonathan Rea and the Kawasaki Racing Team, with Rea and his teammate Tom Sykes leading the back in both race one and two, earning Rea his 22nd and 23rd career wins. Rea’s looking unstoppable this season – eight for ten in first place finishes, and a solid 87 points out ahead of the competition.

The podium spots were filled out by home-turf racer Davide Giugliano in race one and Haslam’s Red Devils teammate Jordi Torres in race three, giving a shake-up to the season’s standings once again:

In just two weeks’ time, the WSBK heads to Donnington – the home circuit for all top-four contenders, and sure to be one of the most thrilling races of the season! Will we be seeing some of you down there on the 24th?