Haslam hatches back of the grid plan after qualifying disaster

Bennetts British Superbike championship leader Leon Haslam remains optimistic of a strong start to his Showdown despite having to start the opening Oulton Park race from last place on the grid following a mechanical nightmare in qualifying.

Haslam suffered a broken cylinder on his first out lap in qualifying which saw him effectively out before setting a lap time in Q1 which relegates the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider to the back of the grid.

With nearest BSB Showdown rival Jake Dixon taking pole position for the opening race, Haslam’s 45-point lead looks under serious threat but the championship leader is remaining confident of fighting through the pack.

Back in 2000, Neil Hodgson famously went from last to first to win at Oulton Park in BSB which will also act as inspiration for Haslam in tomorrow’s opener.

“It’s probably good that it is our first mechanical of the year and it has come in qualifying but it is definitely going to make things more difficult tomorrow starting 24^th on the grid,” Haslam said on Eurosport. “The feeling here at Oulton is good in the wet and the dry but it will be tougher from where I am starting.

“There are points you can overtake here, I’ve just got to get a good start and hopefully if I can get inside the top 18 in the first lap then it will be one per lap. That’s my plan.

“We are going to be trying and have a good feeling with the bike. We’ll also see what the weather brings tomorrow. Obviously I am a bit frustrated now but we’ll regroup and start again tomorrow.”

Earlier this season Haslam produced a dominant double victory at Oulton Park while he has won six out of the past 11 races at the Cheshire circuit since his return to BSB in 2016.