Haslam takes Croft win

Leon Haslam has justified his claim to the 2006 British Superbike title with a stunning win in the second race at Croft in North Yorkshire today, Sunday, August 13, 2006.

Haslam overhauled the nine-second Karl Harris had established, passing for the win on the final lap and winning the drag to the chequered flag. Despite torrential rain, Haslam set a time of 1:26.661 on his way to the first win of the 2006 season for the Airwaves Ducati rider, having demoted team-mate Gregorio Lavilla into third place.

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Harris had looked set for a win when he took the lead in the early stages, building a comofortable lead as behind him, Haslam almost collided with Michael Rutter in an attempt to pass, leading Rutter to rejoin in seventh place. Championship leader Ryuichi Kiyonari started well, but faded to fifth, behind a resurgent Shane Byrne, and ahead of Rutter, who recoved to finish sixth from team-mate Michael Laverty.

Despite the bad weather, the only team to suffer major misfortune was the Virgin Mobile Yamah squad, with Kieran Clarke, Billy McConnell and Tommy Hill all failing to finish. Kiyonari still leads the championship on 310 points, from Haslam on 307, and Lavilla on 292. For full results, click here.

Race one: The first race of the day saw Ryuichi Kiyonari take the win and temporarily extend his championship lead, as Johnathan Rea took second on the Red Bull honda, with Gregorio Lavilla third.

Rea led initially in a race declared dry, although light rain was falling, as Kiyonari took the lead before dropping to fourth and mounting a fight back as riders crashed out, including Ben Wilson and Ollie Bridwell on the Vivaldi Suzukis, and the Virgin Yamaha of Billy McConnell.

Kiyonari eventually retook the lead from Rea on lap eight, with Lavilla third, and Haslam fourth. For the full results, click here.

Supersport: The Supersport race was won by Sean Emmett on the Lloyds British Ducati, as championship leader Cal Crutchlow and title rival Eugene Laverty both crashed out of contention. Tom Sykes finished second, with Leon Camier third. Crutchlow still leads the championship by 60 points over Sykes and Laverty. For the full results, click here.

National Superstock: Brendan Roberts took his fourth conesecutive win, and his sixth of the season, to claim the 2006 National Superstock with rounds remaining. He’s now keen to sign with a top level British Superbike team.