Haslam sympathetic for Dixon’s mechanical heartache

Leon Haslam shares sympathy for Bennetts British Superbike title rival Jake Dixon after he suffered a mechanical retirement in race two and coupled with the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider’s double victory at Assen puts him on the edge of clinching the championship.

Haslam will need to collect just 14 points across the three races at the Brands Hatch finale to seal a maiden BSB crown following Dixon’s race two DNF at the Dutch track. Having seen off Dixon for victory in the Assen opener, Haslam powered up the order to secure a double victory and extend his lead to a dominant 61 points.

Haslam sympathetic for Dixon’s mechanical heartache

Leon Haslam shares sympathy for Bennetts British Superbike title rival Jake Dixon after he suffered a mechanical retirement in race two and coupled with the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider’s double victory at Assen puts him on the edge of clinching the championship.

Haslam will need to collect just 14 points across the three races at the Brands Hatch finale to seal a maiden BSB crown following Dixon’s race two DNF at the Dutch track. Having seen off Dixon for victory in the Assen opener, Haslam powered up the order to secure a double victory and extend his lead to a dominant 61 points.

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While Haslam is eager to focus on securing those final points for the title, and also taking a maiden BSB win on the Kawasaki at the Kent circuit, he offered Dixon solace having been in a similar position to the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki rider 12 months ago.

Last year Haslam headed into the BSB finale with a useful points advantage on Shane Byrne but a mechanical failure in the title-deciding final race denied him the chance to battle for the championship.

“It is such a shame for Jake to have a mechanical as he had been riding so strong this weekend and I knew it would be a fight between him and I again. I feel for him,” Haslam said. “I’ve lost championships through no fault of my own and it is not nice.

“Jake has been fantastic this year for his age and for what he is doing by pushing me every race so from my point of view I want to go to Brands Hatch and have as many fights as possible. That’s what I’ve enjoyed this year all the battles that we have had were fantastic.”

Using his previous painful experiences at the BSB final round, Haslam is wary the title fight isn’t over and wants to secure the 2018 title in style.

“I feel confident, it’s not over yet but it is definitely a lot better than it was coming in to this weekend and I am feeling good with the bike, with the team and I want to just enjoy it,” he said.

“We have three race at Brands Hatch, I love Brands Hatch and it is the one circuit that I haven’t won at with the Kawasaki so I am going to be all out to try and get on that top to end the season on a high.”

Haslam can mathematically wrap up the 2018 BSB title in Saturday's race one at Brands Hatch if he concedes fewer than nine points to Dixon in the opener.

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