Haslam Needs Home Victory

Leon Haslam aims to make local knowledge count as he races his Airwaves Ducati in the penultimate round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park on Sunday 23 September.

The rider from nearby Smalley needs to complete a daily winning double to keep his outside hope of taking the crown for the first time but has to overcome the threat posed by the HM Plant Honda duo of Ryuichi Kiyonari and Jonathan Rea.

Between them, they have won 14 of the races so far in the country’s premier motor sport series, with Kiyonari arriving at the Leicestershire Grand Prix circuit with a 41 points advantage over his young team-mate Rea.

Haslam is third in the overall standings and the importance of these races is not lost on him as he tries to reel in the leading duo on a circuit where he shot to national fame, as a 14 year old, by winning a Honda CB500 race at the British Grand Prix a decade ago.

Since then, he has tasted action in Grand Prix and World Superbikes and is anxious to graduate back into the top flight and he knows that victories in the remaining races will do his career prospects no harm.

Around the leading trio in the title stakes there is the biggest starting grid line-up of the season. No less that 33 riders will be in action, among them two former winners of the Superbike title, Gregorio Lavilla and Shane Byrne.

Rivalling them are some of the country’s highly talented youngsters, with both Tom Sykes, riding the Stobart Honda, and Cal Crutchlow, on the Rizla Suzuki, keen to taste the winner’s champagne for the first time since stepping up from last year’s British Supersport Championship.

Joining them will be Isle of Man TT winner Ian Hutchinson who replaces the injured Leon Camier aboard the Bike Animal Honda, with his usual ride on the team’s Supersport machine being taken over Steve Brogan.

The busy sporting programme around the two Superbike races includes action counting to the British Supersport, British 125GP, Virgin Media Cup, KTM 990 Super Duke Battle, and the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock Championship and Cups.

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Haslam Needs Home Victory

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