Be Wiser Ducati rider Shane Byrne has closed the gap to two points on series leader Leon Haslam in the MCE British Superbike standings with the Panigale taking the race two victory at Brands Hatch.

The JG Speedfit Kawasaki bike of Haslam finished in tenth, after having what appeared to be a clutch problem on the ZX-10RR. Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon finished in second, with McAMS Yamaha James Ellison crossing the line in third place.

Initially it was Brookes who got the hole-shot followed by Haslam and Byrne, then Byrne made a move on Haslam before beginning to hunt down Brookes. In a repeat of race one all he riders opted for the softer Pirelli rear tyres, including Haslam who usually opts for the harder compound. Then at the start of lap three Byrne went into the lead after a move at Paddock Hill Bend on Brookes.

On lap four Haslam slipped back to fifth behind Ellison and Iddon. A rotation later the leading foursome pulled away from Haslam, but behind the Smalley rider was a trail of riders, and on lap nine going into the first corner O’Halloran pushed past Brookes to take fifth.

Haslam was back to tenth on lap ten as Ray, Laverty and Hickman all went quicker. Further at the front Iddon passed Brookes, as did Ellison with Brookes going back to fourth with an as-yet-undiagnosed vibration, but down the track Haslam was overtaken by Irwin to go back to 11^th.

But Cooper then made an overtake at Druids on Haslam to go back to 12^th. But on lap 15 Richard Cooper had a technical issue and retired to the pit and Bridewell went passed Haslam. Bradley Ray also had at technical issue with his machine and dropped out of eighth place on his Buildbase Suzuki, with three laps remaining.

When the chequered flag appeared it ended up being a lonely race for Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha’s Josh Brookes. The showdown rider fell off the pace of the leading trio and crossed the finishing line in fourth, with Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran completing the top five.

Fellow showdown rider, Smiths BMW’s Peter Hickman ended race two in sixth, followed by Be Wiser Ducati’s Glenn Irwin, McAMS Yamaha’s Michael Laverty and Honda’s Dan Linfoot. Tommy Bridewell, Sylvain Guintoli, Lee Jackson, Luke Mossey and Jakub Smrz were the last of the points finishers.