BSB: Championship standings ahead of Showdown decider

The battle for the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship is set to heat up at Silverstone this weekend with three races set to decide the six riders who’ll fight it out to win the crown in the final three rounds of the season.  

After this weekend, the top six in the series standings are elevated to 500 points and separated just by points accumulated according to the amount of podium finishes they’ve achieved this year. 

Leon Haslam and Jake Dixon have already secured their spots in the 2018 title fight, but the remaining for places are still mathematically up for grabs and with just 15 points splitting sixth and eighth in the standings, it’s all to play for. 

Here’s how it lies ahead of the weekend… 

1st: Leon Haslam – JG Speedfit Kawasaki – 330 points 

Wins: 9 
Podiums: 13
Best finish: 1st 

Haslam has dominated the 2018 season so far, winning three times as many races than any other rider on the grid so far. He’s scored 121 points more than he had at this point last year, and sits with a whopping 100 point championship lead. 

Already confirmed in the Showdown, Haslam has little to worry about this weekend. He could fail to score in all three races (just like he did last year) and still carry a minimum 16 point lead over Jake Dixon into the Showdown. 

2nd: Jake Dixon – RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki – 230 points 

Wins: 1
Podiums: 10
Best finish: 1st

Dixon has stepped up to the plate this year, but not quite enough to stop rival Haslam just yet. The RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki’s rider consistency cannot be questioned – ten podiums from the last 12 races speak for themselves. 

Also confirmed in the Showdown, a mistake this weekend won’t hamper Dixon too much but there are also valuable podium points to be made up. 

3rd: Glenn Irwin – Be Wiser Ducati – 187 points 

Wins: 0
Podiums: 4
Best finish: 2nd

While it initially looked like Irwin would step into injured team-mate Shane Byrne’s shoes as Be Wiser Ducati’s number one rider well, he’s yet to win a race this season – something that hasn’t gone down too well with team boss Paul Bird. 

He’ll be out to prove a point at Silverstone this weekend, and while he isn’t mathematically secure in the Showdown it’d take a disaster to push him out. 

Read what Irwin has to say ahead of Silverstone here. 

4th: Josh Brookes – McAMS Yamaha – 174 points 

Wins: 3
Podiums: 4
Best finish: 1st 

It’s not been the season many expected from Brookes as he joined the factory McAMS Yamaha squad, but he’s not out of the title chase yet. 

Having won more races than anyone on the grid except series leader Haslam, Brookes only sits fourth after a tough round at Cadwell Park but has some strong circuits coming up. 

Like Irwin, he holds a healthy buffer to the scrap at the back of the Showdown so barring any disaster this weekend he should be safe in the top six. 

Read what Brookes has to say here. 

5th: Bradley Ray – Buildbase Suzuki – 159 points 

Wins: 2
Podiums: 5
Best finish: 1st 

Ray stole the headlines with a shock double win at Donington at the start of the year and when he went on to fight with six-time champ Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne for victory at the next round at Brands Hatch there were high hopes. 

However, the young gun and the Buildbase Suzuki squad lost their way a little in the middle of the season until a resurgence at Cadwell Park saw them once again fighting for the wins. 

While a tough weekend could rule him out of the Showdown, solid points will ensure he goes through and he’s promised fireworks if he makes it. 

Read what Ray has to say ahead of Silverstone here. 

6th: Peter Hickman – Smiths BMW – 126 points 

Wins: 0
Podiums: 2
Best finish: 2nd

Hickman has endured a disappointing season by his standards, but two heroic podiums at Thruxton just hours after being released from hospital with a kidney infection thrust him back into the mix. 

He’s been a consistent points scorer, but he hasn’t challenged the podium as much as he has in the past. Just seven points ahead of Danny Buchan and 15 ahead of Iddon, he’ll need to put up a fight this weekend if he’s to stay in the top six. 

Read what Hickman has to say ahead of Silverstone here. 

Danny Buchan – FS-3 Racing Kawasaki – 119 points

Wins: 0
Podiums: 2
Best finish: 3rd 

Buchan has enjoyed a remarkable season with the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki team considering he was thought of as a bit of a crasher before this year. Until Thruxton, he’d finished every race in the points and was the only rider other than series leader Leon Haslam to do so and even then, both DNFs in Hampshire were through no fault of his own. 

He did however slip up at Cadwell Park with a crash in race one,  which pushed him out of the top six. He has, however, been really quick at points this year so poses a significant threat this weekend. 

Read what Buchan has to say ahead of Silverstone here. 

Christian Iddon – Tyco BMW – 111 points 

Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Best finish: 4th 

It’s been a tough season for Iddon and the Tyco BMW squad who have been unable to show the podium-fighting form they have in recent years. However, points-scoring consistency – with the exception of two races he didn’t start through injury – has kept him in the mix and he’s just 15 points off. 

He’ll need a markedly better weekend if he’s to jump into the top six. 

Read what Iddon has to say ahead of Silverstone here. 

Jason O’Halloran – Honda Racing – 94 points 

Wins: 0
Podiums: 2
Best finish: 2nd 

It’s been a season of what might have been for Jason O’Halloran, who has struggled to come back from an injury he sustained while filling in for Leon Camier in World Superbikes. Unfortunately, that thwarted what looked set to be a strong season for the Aussie – in the race before he was injured he challenged Leon Haslam for the win. 

While the Showdown is a long shot for him this weekend, he’s bound to be up there showing what he can do. 

Podium Points 

For those in the top six, the riders’ championship standing will be dictated solely by podium credits after this weekend. Throughout the first nine rounds, these points are accumulated by, yep, you guessed it! Finishing on the podium. Five points are awarded for a win, three for a second and one for third. Those in italics currently aren’t in the top six. 

Rider	Podium Points
Leon Haslam	53
Jake Dixon	22
Bradley Ray	19
Josh Brookes	16
Glenn Irwin	12
Peter Hickman	4
Jason O’Halloran	4
Danny Buchan	2
Christian Iddon	0

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