AIRWAVES DUCATI star Shane Byrne won both rounds of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Outon Park this weekend to extend his lead in the race for the title.
After race one was stopped on the first lap due to a sudden downpour, it looked as though HM Plant's Cal Crutchlow was destined to take his second consecutive BSB win but Crutchlow missed his braking marker on lap 12 and ended up in the gravel. Byrne evetually clinched victory while under pressure from a hard-charging Leon Haslam. Byrne's team-mate, Leon Camier, took third spot on the podium on his Airwaves Ducati.
In an incident-packed race two, Rizla Suzuki's Tom Sykes looked set for victory until an ambitious overtaking move by Leon Haslam saw the Suzuki rider crash out. Afterwards race officials deemed Haslam was to blame and was therefore excluded from the points.
The incident handed the lead to Haslam's team-mate Cal Crutchlow - but the 22-year-old HM Plant rider was involved in a crash at Druids, which brought out the red flag. Crutchlow sustained ankle injuries in the high speed incident.
The sitiuation prompted Officials to halt the race as it had run two-thirds distance, which meant Byrne was credited with the victory and a 41-point championship lead over team-mate Leon Camier, who finished third in both of Monday's races.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race One:
1. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati)
2. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +0.204s
3. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +2.604s
4. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +11.495s
5. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +20.015s
6. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +22.023s
7. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +37.259s
8. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +39.322s
9. Tristan Palmer (Tena for Men Honda) +54.028s
10. Stuart Easton (MSS Discovery Kawasaki) +57.885s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race Two:
1. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati)
2. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +4.247s
3. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +8.027s
4. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +8.152s
5. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +1 lap
6. Stuart Easton (MSS Discovery Kawasaki) +1 lap
7. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +1 lap
8. Simon Andrews (Jentin Racing/Lloyds British Yamaha) +1 lap
9. Scott Smart (Hawk Kawasaki) +1 lap
10. Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +1 lap
Riders' Championship standings:
1 Shane Byrne Ducati 95pts
2 Leon Camier Ducati 56
3 Michael Rutter Ducati 55
3 Cal Crutchlow Honda 55
5 James Ellison Honda 46
6 Michael Laverty Suzuki 39
7 Stuart Easton Kawasaki 34
8 Leon Haslam Honda 33
9 Tom Sykes Suzuki 29
10 Tristan Palmer Honda 18
