Haslam targets Kawasaki catch-up at ‘important’ Brands Hatch

Leon Haslam has targeted this weekend’s Brands Hatch round as all-important to his Bennetts British Superibke title fight and is focusing on improvements with his JG Speedfit Kawasaki package in order to close the gap to its rivals at the Kent track.

The BSB championship leader will return to Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix circuit for the first time since his hopes of a maiden title were cruelly ended last year in a crash in the 2017 finale.

Since returning to the series in 2016, Haslam is yet to take victory at the circuit which hosts the traditional summer round and the final round and feels it’s a track which Kawasaki suffers at compared to Ducati and Yamaha.

Consequently, Haslam sees this weekend as a key opportunity to step up his BSB title charge and will focus on unlocking a set-up capable of hunting his first victory on the Brands Hatch GP track since 2006.

“It’s quite important as the last round of the championship is at Brands Hatch, which is a triple header, so it’s a good opportunity to get more Podium Points but also to get the set-up and feeling for the showdown round,” Haslam said.

“I’ve had podiums at Brands and been the top Kawasaki, but we’ve always been a little on the back foot compared to the Ducati and Yamaha.

“For me, we’ve made some really good steps with the bike and we’re looking forward to getting back on the top step of the podium again.”

Haslam currently holds a healthy BSB championship leader over Jake Dixon, with the pair sharing a win each at Knockhill, which sees the JG Speedfit Kawasaki head up the riders’ standings by 74 points – along with a 20-pont lead in terms of Podium Points.