Round 11 - MCE British Superbike Championship - Silverstone - Race Day
As we mentioned yesterday, Ellison was discussing his race day plans with Club MCE members and how to dampen Brookes' dominance in the championship, and looked set to do just that in this morning's warm up session, until the final lap when Brookes managed to edge in front by an incredibly slight 0.014s. One thing that was notable in the session was everyone seems to be pushing themselves harder, many finding another gear, demonstrated by the fact that just 0.936s separated the top 13 riders.
In the build up to race one Club MCE members were invited on a priority pit walk to meet their heroes and discuss their race ambitions. It was one of the busiest and liveliest pit walks of the year, able to fill the incredibly spacious pit in the process. Members were once more able to roar around the circuit on their exclusive pillion and safety car laps, as well as a sidecar lap for anyone brave enough!
When race one rolled around it was Josh Brookes who once more finished on the top step, able to fight off Byrne who was forced to settle for second.
It was Hopkins who got the best start in the race, however Brookes was instantly on the offensive and took the lead back at Vale. Byrne made up two places in the opening lap and continued to slowly pick his way through the pack, chasing down the current championship leader. Ellison took Hopper on and emerged victorious, and concentrated on closing the gap on Brookes, true to his previously mentioned game plan.
Danny Buchan's first race on the PBM Kawasaki ended prematurely, crashing out unhurt and prematurely ending his race. Ellison took the lead in lap seven and looked comfortable in doing so, able to keep Brookes at bay. In the process Byrne made his way up to third place, and seized the moment when Ellison was pushed back by Brookes, and subsequently Byrne pushing him up to second. Byrne kept on Brookes, however could not catch his rival and had to settle for second, with Hickman making up the podium following an excellent race from the RAF Reserves BMW rider. Hopkins finished fourth, followed by Ellison, Laverty and Linfoot.
Josh Brookes was able to do the double when race two roared into life, significantly extending his lead in the championship and some may argue placing one hand on the trophy in the process.
Byrne made a great break from his pole start, however Ellison forced his way through the pack and was able to push the defending champion back to second place when taking the lead. Brookes started from 6th position, however slowly and calmly he picked the riders off in front of him and took second place from Byrne.
Brookes overtook Ellison and bagged first place and Linfoot jumped on the move and pushed Ellison back to third. Ellison subsequently dropped back and finished outside of a point scoring finish in 17th position with bike issues. It was a disappointing end to an excellent ride from the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider. When Brookes took the lead he created a 1.8s lead on the chasing pack and streaked away to his second win of the day. Then commenced an excellent battle between Linfoot and Laverty, trading blows in their showdown battle. It was the Tyco BMW rider that emerged victorious, with Linfoot having to settle for a third place finish. Iddon finished fifth, snatching the position from Byrne in the final lap. Cooper put in a great race finishing 6th. Bridewell, Hickman, Jackson and Mossey made up the top 10.
The next round of the MCE BSB championship is Brands Hatch, which will be our Championship decider with 75 points up for grabs in the triple-header-weekend. Brookes looks more confident than ever following his double victory today, and it would take an absolutely incredible ride from a showdown contender to overthrow him. However the championship never fails to throw some twists and turns into the mix, and here at MCE Insurance, we can't wait to find out!
04.10.2015 - Big Ed
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