Alex Lowes produced a supreme performance under pressure to take victory in the opening British Superbike race of the day at Cadwell Park. The Samsung Honda rider led every lap despite being shadowed throughout by Shane Byrne and picked up three important podium credits as a result of his win.
Lowes didn’t quite lead from start to finish with Byrne outdragging him off the start line and slipping past into Coppice but the Kawasaki wouldn’t be ahead for long as Lowes’ Honda dived back inside at turn two. Lowes would have nothing but clear track ahead of him for the rest of the race but Byrne kept him more than honest, finishing just a second behind in the end.
Five riders managed to break away at the front with James Ellison, Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell tagging onto the back of the leading duo but Ellison’s Yamaha was looking decidedly edgy, with James flicked out of the seat on a couple of occasions. Brookes took advantage of a moment at Mansfield on lap thirteen to close in and pass at the hairpin and Ellison’s next incident would prove to be his last as the front end of the YZF-R1 folded at the right hander approaching the mountain, eliminating the furious Ellison from fourth place.
The podium places were set from that point with Bridewell continuing his mid-season surge with fourth ahead of PJ Jacobsen on the second Tyco Suzuki. Ryuichi Kiyonari languished in the lower reaches of the top ten for much of the race before a late move on Dan Linfoot lifted him to seventh. Sixth placed Chris Walker also came under pressure in the closing corners but the Quattro Plant Kawasaki rider hung onto sixth, earning him crucial points in his pursuit of a showdown place. The failure of Buildbase BMW’s James Westmoreland and Jon Kirkham to do better than tenth and thirteenth respectively also boosts Walker’s chances.