Haslam wants to get ‘BSB championship sorted’ at Assen
Leon Haslam says his only focus for Assen is fortifying his Bennetts British Superbike championship lead to get a maiden title ‘sorted out’ ahead of the Brands Hatch finale.
The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider saw his BSB lead trimmed to 31 points by Jake Dixon’s double victory at Oulton Park two weeks ago but is confident of adding to his impressive recent wins tally at the Dutch circuit having taken three wins out of four in the past two years.
Leon Haslam says his only focus for Assen is fortifying his Bennetts British Superbike championship lead to get a maiden title ‘sorted out’ ahead of the Brands Hatch finale.
The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider saw his BSB lead trimmed to 31 points by Jake Dixon’s double victory at Oulton Park two weeks ago but is confident of adding to his impressive recent wins tally at the Dutch circuit having taken three wins out of four in the past two years.
Haslam also feels a special connection to Assen with ‘a lot of history for my family’ as a circuit which is also on the World Superbike calendar, while father Ron Haslam claimed his best Grand Prix result with second place in the 1985 500cc race.
The 35-year-old is eager to extend his points lead to a dominant position ahead of the final round at Brands Hatch next month - where his previous two title charges have come unstuck.
“The Showdown so far is going really well and Assen is one of my favourite circuits,” Haslam said. “It’s an old World Superbike track so I’ve probably done more there than most of the British circuits. In the last two years we’ve managed three out of four wins there, so confidence is high.
“The racing is always so close with last-lap battles and the famous last chicane. The circuit itself has a lot of history for my family and I’ve had some fantastic battles there in World and British Superbikes, so I can’t wait.
“I want to get going now and get another couple of wins, so we can go into Brands with a bit more of a lead. Hopefully we can have two more good fights with two solid races and try and get this championship sorted out.”
Haslam’s JG Speedfit Kawasaki replacement in BSB was confirmed during the build-up to the Assen round with current Be Wiser Ducati rider and fellow Showdown contender Glenn Irwin moving to the team for 2019.
Haslam has already confirmed his move back up to the World Superbike championship for next year with the factory Kawasaki squad alongside reigning champion Jonathan Rea.
