Samsung Honda’s Alex Lowes snatched the MCE British Superbike race two victory and did the double at his home circuit of Donington Park. In a repeat performance of the first outing it was Lowes and Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne who led the way, with the young Derby rider leading from the first lap.
Byrne left it till the last lap to make a pass on Lowes coming into the Foggy Esses, but that only lasted for a few seconds as Lowes immediately took back the lead from the reigning champ. Byrne did try another move going into the Melbourne Loop but it did not stick and Lowes took away maximum points for the second time today.
Halsall Racing’s Tommy Bridewell ended up completing the rostrum and was able to benefit from a mistake made by Milwaukee Yamaha’s James Ellison. The Cumbrian was in second place, behind Lowes, but on lap ten the Kendal lad went wide at the Esses and ended up on the gravel, after trying to make a move on Lowes to go into the lead. He managed to stay on the bike and rejoined in sixth.
But this was a very important race for Buildbase BMW’s James Westmoreland. He had to finish fourth or higher to secure his place in the Showdown, and the Hull rider did just that. He started from pole and had a better start than in race one, and was able to keep up with the top five riders. He was not able to overtake Bridewell to land himself his first podium in the top class, but did clock a new lap record, and did enough to come away with more points than his tall team-mate Jon Kirkham, who ended the race in a lonely seventh.
Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes did start the race in third but soon slipped back after Ellison made a move at the Melbourne Loop on lap six, and then the Aussie was out paced by Bridewell and Westmoreland. He crossed the line in fifth place, and again missed out on valuable podium credits.
There was a four way battle for eighth, but veteran racer Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Chris Walker came out on top followed by Tyco Suzuki’s PJ Jacobsen, Padgett’s Jakub Smrz and Samsung Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari. The Japanese rider came away from the weekend with enough points to secure his spot in the Showdown.
