JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Ellison has won his second race of the MCE British Superbike season after leading from start-to-finish at Brands Hatch.
Ellison was relatively untroubled throughout the race and even a safety car late-on would not unsettle the Cumbrian rider.
Reigning champion, Shane Byrne, finished in second place after putting a move on Ryuichi Kiyonari on the final lap of the race after the Japanese rider went ride.
Kiyonari was then pushed off the podium going over the finish line by Josh Brookes on the Milwaukee Yamaha.
Jason O’Halloran was next up in fifth place, ahead of Stuart Easton on the second of the PBM Kawasaki machines. Howie Mainwaring-Smart and Broc Parkes were next up in seventh and eighth places respectively, with Smiths Racing BMW’s Billy McConnell managing to finish in ninth position despite starting from 30th on the grid.
The race was marred by a nasty-looking accident on the opening lap, with Bennetts Suzuki’s Christian Iddon losing the front of his machine. This caused Jack Kennedy to slow down, which in-turn caused Robbin Harms to run into the back of him. Kennedy appeared to clip Iddon’s leg despite his best efforts to avoid any collision with the rider.
There were also big crashes for Jakub Smrz, who suffered a hi-side on his Ducati going down Paddock Hill, and Peter Hickman, who went off going through Clearways.
Tommy Bridewell also suffered a crash off-camera at Druids, with Taylor Mackenzie also pulling out of the race due to technical issues with the Team WD40 Kawasaki machine.
Avoiding all of the drama was Ellison, who made a great start off the line and was never really in any danger from the riders behind him.
Despite the safety car being brought out late-on, and Ellison showing frustration with the events going on around him, the leader kept his cool after the re-start and pulled away once again.
The same could not be said for Kiyonari, who had been in second for the majority of the race, with the Buildbase BMW rider going wide on the final lap which allowed Byrne a way through. Brookes then used the power of the Yamaha R1 to snatch the final podium position from Kiyonari going over the finish line.
Ellison ended up winning by a margin of 1.368s and will surely be hard to beat in race two, which takes place at 16:30.
Brands Hatch Indy Race 1 Result
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