BSB BRITISH SUPERBIKES
ROUND 2 - BRANDS HATCH INDY
Second blog from our guest Mark Powell who actually attended this race to add that extra "insider" info and a selfie of course:
Well that’s round two done and dusted and what a meeting it was.
There were a few pointers as to how the season could go with Bradley again showing that Donington was no fluke.
For all those who question why Shakey hasn’t retired just watch race one and you’ll have your answer, he’s lost none of the desire or skill that has made him BSB champion six times.
I predicted Shakey winning but that’s not much to boast about, the thing that amazes me is that he doesn’t seem to have aged at all the the last 5 years, in fact when I saw him Sunday morning he looked if anything a bit younger and raring to go!
Race two was a strange affair with Bradley Ray starting to pull away at the front and looking like he had the win in the bag, then the rain came and played right into Leon Haslam’s hands. Leon had been having a bad weekend up to this point struggling with setup.
After the restart Shakey Byrne and Bradley Ray were both fighting for grip where as the Pocket Rocket (Leon Haslam) was relishing the conditions and quickly realised this was his chance to deliver an unlikely win and what a win it was. The championship is looking interesting with Bradley still leading and Shakey’s teammate Glenn Irwin staying in touch in forth.
BSB STANDINGS AFTER RACE 4
1st Bradley Ray 79 Points
2nd Shane Byrne 69 Points
3rd Leon Haslam 65 Points
4th Glenn Irwin 48 Points
The mutual respect shown in the press conference after race one was refreshing to see. Shakey obviously takes Bradley Ray seriously and Bradley quite rightly sees Shakey is the main man.
I know some people will question my choice for rider of the day which is Bradley Ray as he didn’t win either race, but that was only because of the red flag. He had made the break at the front and I don’t believe anyone was going to catch him before the rain. Admittedly he did slip back in the wet but that’s understandable as Shakey also struggled in the terrible conditions.
Judging by what I’ve seen so far this season Shakey is still the man to beat. He shows absolutely no sign of losing his motivation and letting anyone else get their hands on his title, what a legend!
