Qualifying:

Jake Dixon took a dominant pole setting a lap time that no one could match after a couple of disappointing weekends result wise he looked to have re-found the confidence and form he showed when he took the double win at Knockhill. Josh Brookes joined him on the front row along with Peter Hickman both setting good lap times that on many occasions would have got them pole.

1 Jake Dixon RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki 2 Josh Brookes Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha 3 Peter Hickman Smiths Racing BMW 4 Christian Iddon Tyco BMW 5 Shane Byrne Be Wiser Ducati 6 Dan Linfoot Honda Racing 7 Jason O’Halloran Honda Racing 8 John Hopkins Moto Rapido Ducati

Race 1:

Josh Brookes took a confident and commanding win in race 1, The Australian has never hidden his love for Thruxton and it showed from the opening practice session he had sounded confident and always sounded like he had a plan and this played out in the race. He got away from the line well sitting in 3rd looking comfortable and settled a safety car on lap 2 allowed him to conserve his tires more and once it went in he made his move taking the lead from Peter Hickman on lap 15 and never looking back from there taking the win and cementing his place as a title contender this year.

Peter Hickman came home in second place scoring his first podium of the season like Brookes he started well sitting in second before the safety car came out, After the safety car went back in he quickly passed Jake Dixon who had been leading from the start Hickman set the fastest lap of the race in this period but unfortunately it looked like his tires just lost the grip he needed to hold off Brookes in the later stages, This result while good for his BSB showdown hopes also sets him in good stead for the Ulster Grand Prix next weekend.

Completing the podium was Jake Dixon after setting the very impressive pole lap he was confident that he could run those times for race distance and from the start he got away well and was breaking the group behind unfortunately the safety car ruined that for him, After the race he said that his tires started to cold tear leaving him with no grip and he wasnt able to fight either Brookes or Hickman he did however hold off Shane Byrne to take third and get himself close to the top 6 showdown.

After a disaster of a qualifying by his standards Shane Byrne had no answer for the pace of the front 3 a case of damage limitation for the Ducati man he maintained his championship lead as Luke Mossey was ruled out after a crash in free practice and Leon Haslam could only manage a 7th place , Christian Iddon after his Suzuka 8 hour experience brought his TYCO BMW home in 5th place the safety car may have done him a favor as he was complaining about tire life over a full race distance. Rookies Bradley Ray and Andy Reid had good races finishing in 9th and 17th respectively ray continuing to impress beating his more experienced team mates and Reid starting to get to grips with the BMW a steep learning curve for any rider.

Race 2:

Peter Hickman took his first win of the season on his Smiths BMW, After finishing in second place in race 1 he thought with a few changes he would be able to fight for the win and this proved to be the case, Starting on pole for race 2 he got away well but was behind Jake Dixon into turn 1 he was pushed back to 3rd by Byrne but didnt look flustered and was able to run the pace of the 2 in front he eventually made his way past Dixon and Byrne who dropped well back eventually retiring due to a rear tyre issue and took the lead, He was caught by Josh Brookes who had superior pace and lost out on first to him on lap 13 but Brookes crashed out handing him the win and sets himself up great for the Ulster Grand Prix.

Jake Dixon rounded off a great weekend taking 2nd place again he got off the line well taking the lead but unlike race 1 he wasnt able to make the break at the front and was pegged back by Byrne and Hickman, He managed to hold onto the front guys and with Brookes and Byrne dropping out he took 2nd place and with that dragged himself well into showdown conditions closing the gap to Brookes in 6th to only 18 points.

Rounding off the podium in race 2 was Suzuka hero Leon Haslam admitting after the race he never expected to be anywhere near the podium this weekend he was happy with this result, With Byrne not finishing the race this result allowed him to make up some of the ground he had lost recently and with Cadwell park coming up next a circuit he feels will suit him and the Kawasaki better he is hopeful of re-gaining the form he showed earlier in the year.

Chrisitan Iddon narrowly missed out on the podium losing out to Haslam in the final turn on the final lap Iddon struggled with tire life all weekend and was almost doing damage limitation from Friday onwards, Jason O’Halloran scored more solid points finishing in 5th place keeping himself in contention for a showdown place. Martin Jessop found himself in the top 6 a very impressive ride from Jessop and one that sets him up well for the UGP.

Big thanks to @photography_rjd for the pictures as per usual, There will be an Ulster Gran Prix preview on this site next week so make sure to keep an eye out for that either by following the blog or myself on twitter and pls if you enjoyed this share it around.

Unfortunately there was an accident in the earlier Superstock race involving both True Hero team riders and it was announced that rider Mark Fincham lost his life as a result, I would like to express my thoughts and condolences to the True Hero’s team as well as Mark’s family and friends.