Sylvain Guintoli stormed to a hard earned victory at the Cathedral of Speed to take Bennetts Suzuki’s first victory, ahead of Josh Brookes and Leon Haslam.
Shane Byrne got off to a great start as he hit the front, but James Ellison never left his tail and followed him round, waiting for the right time to jump in front and take the lead. However, on lap three Guintoli hit the front for the first time with Haslam tucked behind him and it was all change until the penultimate lap as the Frenchman managed to get back in front and start to create a gap, leaving Brookes and Haslam to fight for second behind him.
Byrne had been pushed back to fifth after running wide with Haslam on the exit to turn one on lap sixteen. Although Haslam regained his position, Byrne stayed in fifth for the remaining laps, allowing Haslam to start to run away at the top of the standings. Fellow Showdown contenders Peter Hickman and Jake Dixon finished behind Byrne in sixth and seventh, with the final Showdown rider Jason O’Halloran ending the race in thirteenth, mathematically ending his chances of leaving Brands Hatch with the title.
The British Superbike Championship comes to a close at Brands Hatch on the 13th-15th October for what should be a thrilling triple header that will see the top five battle it out for the 2017 Championship title.
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