HM PLANT Honda's Leon Haslam has been sensationally excluded from the result
of yesterday's second BSB race at Oulton Park after his mid-race collision
with Rizla Suzuki's Tom Sykes.
The coming together saw Haslam dive up the inside of Sykes at the chicane,
the pair hit and Sykes fell and Haslam has to run off the track before
eventually rejoining.
The Suzuki team protested Haslam's fourth place finish at the end of an
action-packed race that saw Shane Byrne come back through the pack after an early
mistake to take his second win of the day.
Haslam's squad appealed against the protest but the appeal was overturned
late into yesterday evening, meaning that Haslam was stripped of his 13 points
scored in the race and demoting him to eighth in the championship.
Speaking after the decision was announced by Race Control Haslam said: "I am
really disappointed that they have decided to do this. I spoke to Tom and
he's fine about it. It was just a racing incident.
"I think to have made such a fuss over it is pathetic really. Last year when
Cal Crutchlow was riding for Suzuki and T-boned Kiyonari at Donington we (HM
Plant Honda) didn't do anything about it.
"Tom had a slide coming out of the previous turn and it gave me the chance
to dive up the inside in the brakes. I did nothing wrong, we touched and Tom
fell and I had to take avoiding action across the grass. I'm pretty disgusted
that Rizla Suzuki protested me for it."
