Leon Haslam has recorded his third consecutive Bennetts British Superbike Championship win of the season after once again winning out in a tussle between himself and Tom Sykes at Cadwell Park.
The ‘Pocket Rocket' tailed Sykes in the early stages, just as he did in the first race, before pulling off an identical move to take the lead on lap seven and romp home to victory.
An identical top four result to that of the opening race, the battle for victory was at least closer this time as Shane Byrne and Leon Camier came close to disputing the eventual order, but in the end Haslam, Sykes, Byrne and Camier finished line astern, little more than a second separating them.
From the lights, Sykes managed another good start to dip into Coppice with the lead of the race, although it was the HM Plant Honda of Cal Crutchlow that followed him this time, closely followed by Haslam and Byrne.
Further back, Gary Mason's hopes of a second Daily Star Cup win came to an abrupt end when he slid off at considerable speed. Although visibly frustrated, he was otherwise unhurt.
Up at the front, Sykes sprinted off into the lead, followed gamely by Crutchlow, the runner-up rivals embarking on an enjoyable battle until lap three when Crutchlow suddenly came down. Replays appeared to show his engine casing grinding against the kerb as he meandered through the Hall Bends, causing him to lose the bike and leave him flat on his front, cursing the error.
His fall, however, provided the release Haslam needed to quickly latch himself onto the back of Sykes once again. Then, in an almost carbon copy of his move in race one, he got the run down to Park Bend to slide through into the lead.
Sykes maintained a spirited pursuit, but he found himself under pressure from Byrne and Camier, who came good on their belief that they would improve in the latter stages of the race.
