Tarran Mackenzie put the drama of race one behind him as he claimed his maiden Bennetts British Superbike race win in the second race at Silverstone.
Mackenzie thought he had secured his first win earlier on in the day, only to be penalised for knocking his team-mate, Jason O’Halloran, off the circuit at the final corner.
The McAMS Yamaha rider cleared his mind and fought his way back to the front in race two, crossing the line with a reasonably comfortable +0.635s lead over Josh Elliott. They were joined on the podium by a resurgent Danny Buchan on the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki.
Tommy Bridewell looked to be closing in on the podium places, but he ultimately ran out of laps and had to settle for fourth. Luke Stapleford was fifth after getting the better of Luke Mossey late in the race.
Andrew Irwin finished in seventh after being forced to take a long lap penalty, with fellow Honda Racing rider Xavi Forés taking eighth spot. Dan Linfoot and Bradley Ray completed the top 10.
It was a disastrous race for Be Wiser Ducati, with Scott Redding crashing out and Josh Brookes suffering from another mechanical problem. Jason O’Halloran also retired with some form of engine problem.
As the lights went out it was O’Halloran who again made the best start, however this time he would go wide at the first corner and Mackenzie was able to slot back underneath.
Linfoot also got off to a fantastic start and took the lead of the race midway around the opening lap, after starting from fifth. Buchan started brightly and slotted in to third, with O’Halloran now down in fifth.
On lap two, Claudio Corti suffered a huge hi-side on his Team WD-40 Kawasaki, whilst Fraser Rodgers retired with a mechanical problem.
Elliott would move up into second at the beginning of the third lap, slotting down the inside of Mackenzie at Copse. On the the following lap it looked like O’Halloran would also get the better of his team-mate, however the Australian’s engine would suffer from an internal failure.
Elliott took the lead of the race at Copse on lap five. Behind him, Redding crashed out after being clipped by Andrew Irwin. The former MotoGP rider looked to be in some discomfort as he was helped away from the circuit by the stewards. The incident was investigated by race control and Irwin was given a long lap penalty. He would take his punishment on lap 11, dropping from fifth to eighth.
Back at the front, Buchan and Mackenzie had caught up and made it a leading pack of four. On lap 14, Mackenzie went down the inside of Buchan at Copse. He then took the lead of the race at the end of the Wellington Straight.
Further down the field, Brookes had fought his way up to seventh and was all over the back of Mossey. However, moments later Brookes would suffer from yet another mechanical failure. This was his third of the weekend, following similar incidents in qualifying and race one, and as there was oil involved, the safety car was released.
As a result of the safety car period the race was extended to 33 laps. Elliott made a fantastic restart and was all over the back of Mackenzie for the next few laps.
Just behind the leading pack, Stapleford moved up into fifth after disposing of Mossey. Meanwhile, there was a fantastic battle between Irwin, Linfoot and Forés for seventh. Forés would eventually get the better of Linfoot to finish directly behind his Honda team-mate.
At the front, Mackenzie had opened up a comfortable lead and crossed the line to take his maiden BSB race win.
Today’s race results mean that Elliott and Mackenzie are joint championship leaders, with a comfortable 21-point advantage over Bridewell in the standings.
Round two of the 2019 BSB season takes place at Oulton Park on 4-6 May 2019.
