Leon Haslam charged to victory in an epic six-way battle for the win at the legendary Cathedral of Speed, ahead of Shane Byrne and pole sitter James Ellison.
Sylvain Guintoli was a surprise but extremely welcome addition to the front runners, as he started to get to grips with the Bennetts Suzuki on a track he knows all too well. He battled with Ellison for the lead, but got pushed back to fourth as Haslam, Ellison and Byrne moved through. Once Haslam hit the front, he ran with the lead to leave the other five riders behind him, desperately battling for a podium place.
Haslam was the only Showdown contender who has qualified inside the top ten, but wasn’t the only one to finish the race inside it as Byrne, Josh Brookes, Peter Hickman, Jake Dixon and Jason O’Halloran all fought their way up from their original grid positions to inside the top ten.
Both Brookes and BSB rookie Bradley Ray were locked in a battle for fifth, with the Aussie getting the better of the Brit. But it was a close one, and at one point as Brookes sat up to avoid the curb, Ray touched his back wheel almost sending both of them down the road. They were both within two and a half seconds of the leader at the end of the race, but they were most definitely in the mix throughout.
MCE British Superbike race one - Assen
| 1 | Leon Haslam | JG Speedfit Kawasaki | 29:25.265 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Shane Byrne | Be Wiser Ducati | +1.992 |
| 3 | James Ellison | McAms Yamaha | +2.591 |
| 4 | Sylvain Guintoli | Bennetts Suzuki | +2.665 |
| 5 | Josh Brookes | Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha | +2.717 |
| 6 | Bradley Ray | Buildbase Suzuki | +2.814 |
| 7 | Peter Hickman | Smiths Racing BMW | +7.865 |
| 8 | Jake Dixon | RAF Reg. & Res. Kawasaki | + 8.210 |
| 9 | John Hopkins | Moto Rapido Ducati | +11.000 |
| 10 | Jason O'Halloran | Honda Racing | +15.666 |
| 11 | Dan Linfoot | Honda Racing | +15.719 |
| 12 | Luke Mossey | JG Speedfit Kawasaki | +25.439 |
| 13 | Richard Cooper | Bennetts Suzuki | +25.966 |
| 14 | Glenn Irwin | Be Wiser Ducati | +26.048 |
| 15 | Tommy Bridewell | Team WD-40 Kawasaki | +26.451 |
| 16 | Lee Jackson | Smiths Racing BMW | +26.605 |
| 17 | Martin Jessopp | Ridersmotorcycles.com BMW | +33.857 |
| 18 | Jakub Smrz | Lloyd & Jones PR Racing BMW | +33.939 |
| 19 | Josh Elliott | Tyco BMW Motorrad | +34.950 |
| 20 | James Westmoreland | Gearlink Kawasaki | +55.046 |
| 21 | Aaron Zanotti | Platform Hire Yamaha | +1:09.376 |
| 22 | Shaun Winfield | Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha | +1 lap |
| 23 | Dean Harrison | Silicone Engineering Kawasaki | +2 laps |
| - | Not | Classified | - |
| DNF | Christian Iddon | Tyco BMW Motorrad | 7 laps |
| DNF | Danny Buchan | Quattro Plant FS-3 Racing Kawasaki | 11 laps |
| DNF | Michael Laverty | McAms Yamaha | 17 laps |
