Assen 2016: An international, double-win for Haslam!

Byrne defended his position in Assen but the overseas track wasn’t his friend

This time the Showdown took to an international track with the annual Assen Superbike race. The fight for the championship is still very much on.

At the end of showdown race one, Shane Shakey Byrne – runner-up for the 2015 BSB Championship, remains in first place. Though he’s not letting his 27 point advantage get to his head, “We need to approach the weekend in the right way; the same way we do every weekend. We need to be scoring wins and minimise losing any points to Leon after the two races. I have been training hard and I feel ready to try and add to that tally this weekend.” Haslam follows him closely in second with Dan Linfoot occupying third.

Linfoot began racing in the BSB in 2015, since then he has struggled to obtain his first podium win, but he’s still optimistic. Pre-Assen Linfoot commented, “I know I need to keep working hard and hopefully with a bit of good luck too it will keep me on target.” These three contenders are all hungry for the Assen win, but how did it play out?

Did Assen see a dramatic start to the penultimate 2016 BSB weekend?

The practice sessions were the set-up for the weekend, letting the riders stretch their tyres for the two races to come. Byrne didn’t make the top spot for any, though he did remain within the top six, finishing 3rd, 2nd and 4th respectively. Iddon, however, seemed at home on the track – making a neat pattern of second, first, second consequtively in the practice rounds. Linfoot wasn’t so lucky, doing well in round one he then finished up in eighth, followed by sixteenth.

Onto the warm-up, Mossey completed a collection of speedy laps staying ahead. Ellison lagged closely behind for a while until Mossey ate his track-dust and he climbed ahead. Inevitably Mossey’s speed-streak didn’t continue as he finished back in eighth. Cooper and Broc Parkes ran a strong warm-up and finished in ninth and tenth. A little higher up the the results were showdown fighters Haslam in first, with Ellison in fourth. Byrne came in a little later in fifth.

Let’s get down to the racing

The opener of the weekend was a real battle. Ellison, after finishing second in qualifying, sat one position behind pole starter Byrne. Thought not for long. Mossey was immediately onto them and raced into mid-way position during the opening lap. Which too, wasn’t for long, as Ellison then crept ahead once more. Lap three saw Mossey back in front, until Ellison and Byrne eventually pushed him back to third, with Byrne holding the lead into lap eight. This dramatic to-ing and fro-ing continued right up until the finish line when Haslam and Byrne pushed each other right to the finish. A smidge of a second, 0.010 to be exact, separated Haslam from Byrne as he stood on top of the podium, with Byrne taking second, Ellison third.

Mossey’s earlier efforts weren’t quite consistent enough to keep him in the final six and left him down in seventh. This keeps him at sixth in the overall showdown standings. Linfoot came in a respectable fourth followed by O’Halloran and Laverty. Though not part of the showdown six Richard Cooper came in eighth and Broc Parkes, ninth.

Race two, Haslam celebrates a second win – what else happened?

Feeling positive from race one, and edging closer to Byrne in the standings, Haslam rode on a high when he passed over the line for a second time in the weekend. Haslam left Assen with a full heart and full hands.

Shakey Byrne, championship leader, wasn’t so hot on his wheels and began the race in twelfth. Ellison swooped ahead and moved into second place early on. O’Halloran was at the front until Ellison forced his way ahead – he wasn’t letting up easy.

The riders completed five laps and in the sixth Byrne raced through the group up to seventh. At the front O’Halloran still clung to the lead. Laps continued with O’Halloran up there. Right until Haslam took first, Ellison second and O’Halloran slipped into third. Byrne continued to race through and by lap fourteen he sat in fourth.

Two laps remaining and Byrne continued to fight as he now sat in third place. Byrne fought hard and from twelfth in the first lap he now raced in second. Despite efforts from the Be Wiser Ducati rider, Haslam clung onto first and finished ahead. A tense crowd could suddenly breathe out! O’Halloran retained his position high up among the riders and raced through the end line in third.

What else remained in the 2016 BSB Showdown?

The Brands Hatch GP hosts the final leg of the three-race BSB 2016 showdown. Who will take the trophy this year? Are you happy with how the season’s raced out so far? Please leave a comment on the blog below or check back for our next BSB blog post installment.