WSBK: Phillip Island, Young and Old

The victories at the season opening meeting of the World Superbike championship in Australia were shared between Leon Haslam and Carlos Checa.

Haslam the Younger was the quickest rider all weekend. After taking his debut superpole, he took his debut race win in race one on his Alstare Suzuki. Xerox Ducati's erratic young nutter Michel Fabrizio trundled over the line after a wait of four thousandths of a second, with team-mate Nitro Nori Haga 3rd.

In race two, it was Catalan codger Carlos Checa who took the victory on his privateer Althea Ducati, snatching the lead into MG corner on the last lap and forcing Haslam to settle for 2nd place with Fabrizio 3rd.

This looks like being an outstanding year for WSBK. The sheer depth of talent is arguably the best in the history of World Supers, with National and World champions stretching halfway down the field. The Ducatis are as quick as always (presumably having surreptitiously screwed a few more horsepower out of their overbored homologation specials, as always.) The Suzukis are also hella quick. Both Haslam and Guintoli led the second race, and look like making a great team. In fact, all of the factory and semi-factory teams (7 in all) have damn good riders who showed well in flashes at least.

It wasn't that surprising to see the Kawasakis being fairly slow after good starts, or the BMW of Ruben Xaus being AWOL after the nutty Spaniard had crashed at every opportunity in practise and failed to make the grid. However, the biggest disappointment was the Yamaha Italia squad. Both Crutchlow and Toseland flung their bikes at the scenery in race one, while they were fairly mediocre in race two, bearing in mind how Benny Elbowz ruled the championship for Yamaha last year.

Next time out it's the magnificent Portimao circuit in Portugal. With the field this closely packed, the rollercoaster hills and turns of that track should bring great racing.

WSBK: Phillip Island Qually 2010

The "Pocket Rocket", Leon Haslam, finally came of age in Australia in qualifying for the first World Superbike race of the 2010 season, bagging his first ever pole position on the world stage.

The stocky young Englishman was on blistering form throughout qualifying, wrestling the howling 1000cc Suzuki machine to pole position, fastest in every one of the three final qualifying sessions. It was a magnificent performance for the lad who has previously been best known for his "always the bridesmaid" performances in British Superbike.

Haslam is nicknamed "Pocket Rocket" in honour of his father, "Rocket" Ron Haslam, who never really achieved the results on the world stage that he probably deserved, but was ludicrously quick, particularly on the first lap on cold tyres in 500cc GP races. The Haslam name is now back in the record books.

Flakey Italian Michel Fabrizio, who can't quite decide if he's jaw-droppingly quick or a bloody idiot, took second place by the tiniest of margins, less than two hundredths of a second. Can the young Italian Ducati rider keep this up over a whole season to bag the title? History would say no, but it's hard to say.

Up and coming English nutcase Cal Crutchlow grabbed 3rd place. The World Supersport champion was damn quick, if a tad erratic, in British Superbike, and he returned to 1000cc machines like a duck to water. He was quick all round the lap, and downright terrifying out of the last corner. It was great to see his father in charge of the pit board too, complete with enormous moustache.

The front row was rounded out by serial crasher Carlos Checa on a privateer Ducati.

It's looking good for the race.

BSB Silverstone: Shakey is Champion

Shane Byrne finally secured his second British Superbike title at Silverstone, while Leon Camier and Leon Haslam took the victories in a day of crashing on the flat, featureless track.

Race 1
Cal Crutchlow started from pole position, but it was his HM Plant Honda team-mate Leon Haslam who blasted off the grid and into the lead. Crutchlow slotted into second place in front of Rizla Suzuki rider Tom Sykes, while James Ellison came from nowhere to take fourth on his Bike Animal Honda, ahead of NW200's Michael Rutter in fifth.

Karl Harris was running well until he flew off the track across the grass, luckily finding some tarmac used by the F1 cars. He had already had a hair-raising moment as he launched past Ellison at the hairpin, hanging Rutter out to dry at the same time. Harris rejoined, but was a long way down the pack. In all the confusion, Michael Laverty took his Relentless Suzuki into fourth spot.

There was soon carnage at the idiotic chicane which leads into the final corner. This slow, slow left/right flick has no place on a major bike racing track, and this would become painfully obvious as Haslam turned left, only to be torpedoed by Tom Sykes. Haslam limped over to his bike, motioned to the marshals to pick it up, and rejoined the race. Tom Sykes also rejoined, but was delayed as he bump started his Suzuki. This collision was eerily reminiscent of the pair's crash at Oulton Park earlier this year, when Haslam was excluded from the race results for a kamikaze attack on Sykes. This time, with the roles reversed, Sykes was excluded from the results and suffered a swingeing 12 place penalty on the grid for race 2...

Read the rest of my British Superbike Silverstone race review at Motorbikesport.

BSB Croft: Leons, Leons Everywhere.

The two Leons shared the spoils in the British Superbike visit to Croft, with Camier winning race one and Haslam winning race two. Shane Byrne did not manage to seal the championship as he had hoped, but still holds a commanding lead. Cal Crutchlow had taken pole position for the second year in a row, in front of Michael Rutter, Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam.

Race One
Cal Crutchlow took the hole shot from pole position on his HM Plant Honda, while Tom Sykes rocketed off the line to take second place on his Rizla Suzuki. Michael Rutter grabbed third place on the NW200 Ducati, but had a frantic first lap, losing out to Haslam on the second HM Plant bike and Shane Byrne on the first of the Airwaves Ducati machines. At the last turn, Tom Sykes managed to block pass Crutchlow and take the lead, but the Suzuki was much slower through the fast corners than the chasing Honda.

Crutchlow seemed to be riding erratically, running wide in corners, and later revealed that he had a gear selection problem and kept finding false neutrals. His team-mate Haslam sneaked past and took off after Sykes. In the background, Leon Camier had risen from sixth to fifth place after a battle with fellow Ducati rider Michael Rutter. Camier proceeded to set fastest laps as he homed in on his team mate Byrne. Back at the front, Leon Haslam took advantage of a poor corner exit by Sykes to draw alongside, and pass into Tower corner.

Leon Camier was on a mission, and took a tight line at the hairpin to launch past Shakey Byrne, who was taking his usual wide, swooping route around the slowest corner on the track. Another false neutral from Crutchlow saw him run wide at Tower. Camier easily passed to take third, and Byrne just managed to sneak through for fourth. The giraffe-like Camier was now by far the most impressive rider on track, passing first Sykes then Haslam to take the lead and start to pull out a gap which he held to the chequered flag to take his second win of the season. Third place was then the subject of open warfare between Sykes, Byrne and the still-erratic Crutchlow. Into the last corner, Byrne was in third, but a banzai move from Sykes saw the Suzuki slam into the side of Shakey's Ducati, pushing them both well wide. Crutchlow saw his chance and nipped into fourth, but Sykes managed to hold him off and secure third place, immediately turning round to apologize to Byrne for the strong pass. Shakey was unimpressed, shaking his head mournfully as he crossed the line in fifth...

That's your taster. To get the full skinny, read my full review of the Croft round of BSB at Motorbikesport.

BSB: Haslam Has em Both at Cadwell

Leon Haslam carried on his run of form to take a double victory at Cadwell Park in the British Superbike championship.

Race 1
With the narrow Cadwell circuit requiring a MotoGP-style 3 by 3 grid, Tom Sykes started from pole position in front of Cal Crutchlow and Shane Byrne, with Leon Haslam relegated to the 2nd row. Sykes led into the first corner on his Rizla Suzuki, while Haslam's HM Plant Honda made a lightning start to slot in behind the young Yorkshireman. Cal Crutchlow headed the following pack, but soon slipped behind the two leaders as he suffered from tyre problems. Unfortunately, Karl Harris chucked his Yamaha at the hay bales again a few laps into the race, sustaining a painful, and painfully gross, injury to the little finger on his left hand.

Haslam is always quick around the scenic-but-dodgy Cadwell track, having several wins to his name, and he was glued to Sykes's rear wheel. Just after half distance, Sykes removed a tear-off from his visor on Park Straight, and that tiny distraction was all that Haslam needed to nip in front at Park Bend. With the two leaders still locked together, Haslam's team mate Crutchlow was struggling with his tyre issues and started to drop back. Both Airwaves Ducatis of Shakey Byrne and Leon Camier passed the ailing Honda, but Cal managed to keep Michael Rutter's NW200 Ducati behind him and hold 5th place to the line...

Read the rest of my review of Leon Haslam's Cadwell Park double at Motorbikesport.

BSB: Youth Over Experience at Knockhill

Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam shared the victories at Knockill on a day that gave us elbow to elbow racing amid the rain showers.

Race 1
Leon Haslam was on pole position, but it was Michael Rutter's NW200 Ducati that led into the first turn of the damp track. Tom Sykes was snapping at Rutter's heels, and the pair swapped paintwork at the hairpin a lap later. Sykes launched his Rizla Suzuki down the inside, but Rutter cut back inside, pushing the youngster out onto the exit kerb to retake the lead with the kind of firm but fair move that would have Casey Stoner in floods of tears. Cal Crutchlow dumped his HM Plant Honda into the gravel trap and out of the race, but back at the front the battle continued.

Sykes passed Rutter again, this time into Duffus Dip, however Rutter once more retook the lead with some good, clean fairing-bashing fun into the next corner. Sykes finally managed to dispatch Rutter, who had Haslam, Ellison and Byrne chasing him. Polesitter Haslam dropped out with an electrical problem, promoting James Ellison's Honda to 3rd place. Just to top off the HM Plant team's bad race, Haslam fell off the bike as he trundled back to the pits.

With the sun starting to shine, Sykes was lapping back markers before half distance. His job was made easier when Australian Billy "Skippy" McConnell slammed into Japanese Atsushi Watanabe's Suzuki at the hairpin. At least Watanabe can now fake an injury and blame it for his poor performances in BSB for the rest of the year. Shakey Byrne started to move up, first passing Ellison then winning a battle with fellow Ducati rider Michael Rutter for 2nd. Ellison also passed Rutter and was following Byrne closely when the Airwaves Ducati rider demonstrated the difficulty of lapping back markers when there is only a narrow dry line. Shakey clipped MV Agusta rider Chris Burns's handlebar, and both were very lucky to stay on their bikes.

Tom Sykes took his 3rd BSB victory on the trot, dedicating the win to his friend Craig Jones. Shakey Byrne and James Ellison completed the podium, while Gary Mason won the cup class.

Race 2
The start was delayed as the heavens opened, and when the lights finally went out, Leon Haslam took the holeshot and started to stretch out a lead from the following pack of Rutter, Byrne and Crutchlow. There was excitement as Byrne and Rutter battled again on their bellowing Ducatis, with the Airwaves rider coming out on top and grabbing 2nd place. The sun was coming out and a dry line appearing, but there were still huge plumes of spray on the start-finish straight. Suddenly there was a massive crash towards the back of the pack at Duffus Dip. Johnson and Grant ended up in ambulances, while Gilbertson fell trying to avoid them but was unhurt.

With the race red-flagged while the carnage was cleared up, there would be a new 20 lap race, with the grid decided by finishing positions in the aborted first race. The first row would be made up of Haslam, Byrne, Rutter and Crutchlow, but there was drama as Crutchlow rode his wet tyre-shod bike back into the pits and swapped to his slick-shod spare machine (most riders having an intermediate front and slick rear). It was a big gamble as he would have to start from the back of the grid, but he was wearing a Craig Jones helmet, and would scythe through the field in the spirit of Jonesy.

Michael Rutter used his legendary skill in dodgy conditions to lead from the restart, but he quickly dropped back, presumably because the track wasn't slippy enough. Byrne took the lead, then Haslam passed Rutter for 2nd, then "Blade" was passed again by Karl Harris on the Rob Mac Yamaha. Behind them, Crutchlow was setting fastest laps as he tore through the field.

Shakey Byrne was pulling out a lead, but started encountering backmarkers and was baulked, allowing Haslam and Sykes to close up. Most people don't realize how big a Dani Pedrosa fan Shakey is, but he showed it by performing a near-perfect re-enactment of the little Spaniard's MotoGP crash at Sachsenring earlier this year. As soon as he touched the brakes for Duffus Dip, the bike hit the tarmac at around 150mph. It was a terrifying roller coaster ride for Shakey as he bounced high in the air, but was luckily not flying too fast when he hit the tyre wall. The marshals got to show off their red flag twiddling skills yet again as Shakey was carted off in an ambulance as a precaution, though medics reported that he escaped with a battering and a bruising.

Although Byrne was leading when he did his bouncing bomb impression, he was not classified as he caused the red flag. This gave Leon Haslam his first victory of the season, and his first ever on a 4-cylinder bike. Michael Rutter took 2nd place. A big cheer was reserved for 3rd-place man Karl Harris, who had managed not to fall off or be torpedoed by any other riders for seemingly the first time this season. "Bomber" has had an awful year so far, having been punted off twice, missed 2 races due to injury, had a couple of breakdowns and fallen off on his own a couple of times. His podium was hard-earned. Sykes had to settle for 4th place, while Crutchlow had fought to an impressive 7th from the back of the grid. Chris Burns managed to shake off his race 1 fright to win the cup class.

BSB: Haslam Double at Donny

It was an outstanding day for us armchair bike racing viewers, as ITV4 broadcast a whole afternoon of live British championship racing, from the big boys on the Superbikes to the teenaged nutcases on the 125GP machines. We were treated to the comedy stylings of TV's top commentary duo, James "I call it a bloody spade" Whitham and his sidekick Jack "Stop me if I'm waffling again" Burnicle, with the lovely Janie Omorogbe reporting from the pits. Double WSBK champ Troy Corser, who clearly keeps an eye on BSB, was also on board, chatting to presenter Jim Nice-But-Dim. Young BSB star Leon Camier, well on the road to recovery, also talked to the Posh Presenter before retreating to the commentary box as a protest against being called Leon Haslam. Most importantly, the setting was the magnificent Donington Park track and the racing was well up to scratch.

Tom Sykes continued his incredible rookie season by snatching his first pole position in BSB on his Stobart Vent-Axia Honda, while fans' favourite Chris Walker qualified second in front of usual suspects Haslam and Kiyonari.

In Race One, Walker made his trademark Stalker Start to lead the race. Johnny Rea made a brilliant start from 6th on the grid to tuck in behind Stalker, while Sykes, Haslam and Crutchlow tagged along. With the BSB title in his grasp, Kiyonari took it easy and tried to stay out of trouble behind the nutters at the front.

Johnny Rea was the man on the pace as he took the lead and started to stretch away in front. It was interesting to see him race closely with Chris Walker, as Rea's riding style is looking more and more like the young Stalker in his 750 Suzuki days. The Ulsterman had the HM Plant Honda sideways at every possible opportunity, brilliant to watch but also a tad worrying. Haslam and Walker beat each other up for 2nd, with Haslam coming out on top after a couple of great racing laps. Walker then started to struggle for pace and slipped back down the order.

With a bit of heat in the tyres, it was Sykes who turned up the wick, using lap record pace to reel in the guys in front of him. Haslam wasn't hanging around to be caught, and passed Rea for the lead into the Foggy Esses with a bit of demon late braking. Rea, as always, immediately fought back into the Melbourne loop. He was sideways, then very sideways, then Oh My God sideways. The Honda snapped heart-stoppingly left and right, with only Johnny Rea's motocross experience keeping it upright, but he flew off the track, giving Haslam's Airwaves Ducati a good clout on the nose while he was at it. Haslam was lifted up, but stayed calm and didn't lose too much time. Tom Sykes was straight through into the lead, with Kiyonari close behind.

Haslam got his head down to close the gap, passing Kiyonari then Sykes to regain the lead. Cal Crutchlow was putting in impressive laps on his Rizla Suzuki to close in on Kiyonari, but the youngster made a hugely optimistic lunge into the last corner, swiping the Japanese rider off the HM Plant Honda. Crutchlow put this down to hitting a false neutral. Of course it's well known that the Suzuki fails to positively engage gear when the rider is in a blind panic because he's braked 10 yards too late and is about to T-bone the guy in front... Kiyonari's bike was broken, ruining his plan of nursing his championship lead by staying out of trouble.

Haslam kept the lead, while Sykes held off his team-mate Shakey Byrne to take an excellent 2nd place. Johnny Rea was in tyre trouble, and lost 4th place to Greg Lavilla, who calmly went down the inside of Rea's Honda and held the apex to stay in front.

Race Two was another great race, if not quite so dramatic. Stalker made another lightning start into the lead, with Sykes close behind. The pair put on a good show, passing and re-passing before Sykes took the lead and tried to build a gap. Kiyonari had abandoned his "piano, piano" (that softly, softly to the rest of us) strategy and decided to go out and win the race. He was on brilliant form, managing to pass Walker and Sykes, while Leon Haslam hung onto his coat tails.

However, the Japanese Honda rider's hard charging strategy backfired when the bike nearly fired him off the track at Redgate. Haslam, Sykes and Walker sneaked past while Kiyo took a few deep breaths. Having calmed down a bit, Kiyonari re-passed Chris Walker for 3rd, but couldn't catch the youngsters in front. (There was a good commentary moment when Jack Burnicle said that Haslam is still just 23 years old, and Leon Camier laconically replied, "Yeah, and I'm eleven!")

Haslam had the lead, but Sykes was all over him. The battle continued right to the line, with Sykes trying to sneak through at the last corner but Haslam tightening his line and winning by just 5 hundredths of a second. Kiyonari finished 3rd, extending a 37 point lead over his team-mate Rea, who finished 6th and had presumably changed tyre or set-up after his tyre went off in race one.

Surprisingly, it was Haslam's first double victory in BSB, and it brings him to just 4 points behind Johnny Rea and 41 behind Kiyonari with 50 points to play for. Could Haslam win the title? The young Englishman needs at least a first and second in the final meeting at Brands, and needs Kiyo to have a nightmare there. Stranger things have happened, but 2nd place in the championship is a more realistic goal.

Tom Sykes was brilliant again, out-classing the factory HM Plant Hondas with their trick electronics and snooty Michelin tyres. This kid is a real find, and if he isn't battling for World Superbike victories in 4 or 5 years it won't be down to a lack of talent. Troy Corser said he was very impressed by the young Yorkshireman, which is high praise indeed. It has been said that Sykes hasn't yet proved himself as an overtaker. Well, Corser isn't exactly renowned for his overtaking, and he's a double world champion!