High drama, heavy rain, and huge results at Oulton Park

Moto Rapido go back-to-back as top Superbike team and take the Supersport title fight to the wire.

It was a very soggy start to the weekend at Oulton Park for Round 11 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. Friday’s action was heavily affected by biblical rain and session delays, but that didn’t stop both riders from finding strong pace early on.

Leon Haslam finished the day quickest overall with a 1:45.245 an impressive effort in such treacherous conditions. Ben Currie also showed great form, topping the combined Supersport times. A small slip-off in the final session brought his day to an early close, but the lads did what they always do and had both bikes ready for Saturday’s running.

Saturday
We set to the grid after a short delay, rolling up to P13. After a disappointing qualifying, Leon was focused, locked in on making up places and proving a point with the pace we knew he had. As the lights went out, he made a great launch, firing into Turn 1 and driving cleanly around the outside of the pack. Before the first lap was even complete, the red flag came out as the rain returned. Back in the garage, it felt like Assen all over again, before Race Direction called for a restart from the original grid, 15 laps, normal start procedure.

When the lights went out again, the rain had reappeared. With most of the field choosing full wets, we took a different route with full inters. Based on radar data and Leon’s feedback from the out-lap, It was the right call. Leon took his time early on, stuck to the narrow dry line, and soon climbed into the top 10. By lap six he was in the lead and setting the pace. A late charge from Brookes closed the gap, and Leon rode smart to bring it home in second, more strong points and another confident call from the team.

Saturday brought more stop-start action thanks to high winds and unpredictable weather, but despite the interruptions, we still got some racing done. Ben’s 10-lap sprint kicked things off, where he crossed the line in fourth. He led the race for half the distance and after a few place changes, just couldn’t quite close the gap to the front three to fight for the podium. Still, a strong performance and a P3 grid start secured for Sunday’s feature race.

Sunday
With Saturday’s madness out the way, we were in store for a calm, perfectly scheduled Sunday… and of course, that was not the case!

Superbikes were first out, but just as they rolled down pit lane, the heavens opened again. Warm-up abandoned, sessions delayed, the chaos continued. Credit to the organisers, they did everything possible to get things back on track, and when the Superbike Sprint finally lined up, the tyre debate was back on. We went with full inters once again, while most of the grid opted for wets or mixed sets. The early laps were sketchy, but Leon soon found his rhythm, setting the fastest lap of the race before a red flag for Hickman’s blown engine halted proceedings. After a lengthy clean-up, the race restarted hours later and was declared dry. Slicks on, Leon launched from P2 and delivered another storming performance, fighting at the front throughout and securing yet another P2 finish.

Then it was Ben’s turn. After hours of waiting, his Supersport race finally got the green light. Initially set for 10 laps, then bumped to 12. He fired off the line from third, straight into the lead and looked in charge until contact from Rhys Irwin at Lodge Corner sent him through the gravel. Somehow, Ben stayed on, rejoined in 13th and fought back to an incredible P6, pure grit and determination.

The final Superbike feature race rounded off a wild weekend. Leon started fifth, hit the front by the end of lap one, and went bar-to-bar with the usual suspects Iddon, Ryde, Ray, and Redding. In one of the most dramatic races of the season. A late false neutral into the final corner cost him a shot at the win, but he still crossed the line in P3, sealing three podiums from three races.

Championship Update
Moto Rapido Racing have now delivered back-to-back highest point-scoring weekends in the Superbike class, a huge testament to the crew’s consistency, precision and teamwork.

Leon strengthens his hold on third in the standings, now 72 points clear of Bridewell and just 71 points behind Brad Ray in second.

In Supersport, Ben’s determination keeps the title fight alive, now just four points behind Rhys Irwin heading into the final round.

Team Manager Ian ‘Hammy’ Darbyshire
“I couldn’t be prouder of the team this weekend. No, we didn’t do the treble and no, we aren’t leading both championships but this is a little team that packs a big punch. It’s easy for people to forget this is our first year working with Leon and we’re still learning session by session. Sometimes as a ‘top team’ you’re expected to win, but in this series nothing comes easy. This weekend the team had a lot thrown at them with bike rebuilds, huge delays, grid changes and all the drama Oulton could throw at us. They all stood tall, kept the concentration to a high and smashed it. Massive thanks as well to our fans and hospitality guests for their patience and understanding on what turned into a very long and unpredictable day.”

Thank You to Our Partners
A huge thank you to our incredible technical partners and sponsors for their continued support. Your commitment and belief in the team make weekends like this possible.