Knockhill British Superbikes: Leon Haslam still searching for elusive ’08 win

Leon Haslam says he’s confident for a victory in 2008, and Knockhill could be the location of choice for a win.

The HM Plant rider had a productive Suzuka Eight Hour visit, finishing the endurance race in ninth position on the Sakurai Honda.

But while Haslam and team-mate Cal Crutchlow were off in Japan performing in front of Honda bigwigs, the HM Plant crew were back in Louth working on developing the Fireblade for the remainder of the season.

And with Haslam scoring two fourth positions last time at Oulton Park, he’s now setting his sights higher for the visit to Scotland.

Haslam said: “I’m still desperately chasing my maiden win this year, but I’m confident it will come as we’ve been pretty consistent of late, battling for the podium positions in the races.

“I’ve also won before at Knockhill, so that’s a good sign.

“We know how tricky the conditions can be at Knockhill – well, we’ve seen them be tricky everywhere so far this season – but we just want to get our heads down from tomorrow onwards and get a good set-up for the race wet or dry.”

Team Manager for the Honda outfit, Havier Beltran, spoke of the ongoing work with the new 1000cc Honda.

With just two wins to their name so far this season, the HM Plant team will be looking to capitalize on a setup break-through found at Oulton Park at the last race weekend.

“At Knockhill we’re confident that both Leon and Cal are capable of podiums and more in the Superbike class aboard their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades,” added Beltran.

“The guys have had a bit of a break – as well as doing the Suzuka Eight-Hour race in Japan – but back at base the mechanics have worked hard on the bikes, especially on chassis set-up so we want to be able to build on the improvements we made at Oulton Park.