Moto Rapido Racing Battles to Valuable Championship Points at Knockhill
Moto Rapido Racing and Leon Haslam secured a trio of top ten finishes during Round 3 of the 2026 ZYN British Superbike Championship at Knockhill, overcoming challenging conditions and setup complexities to maintain their position towards the sharp end of the championship standings.
The weekend began in typically Scottish fashion, with heavy rain and standing water creating extremely difficult conditions during Friday's opening sessions.
Leon finished FP1 in 17th position with a best lap of 52.189 seconds before improving to 12th in FP2 with a 52.485 second lap in torrential conditions. With track conditions continuing to deteriorate throughout the afternoon, the remainder of Friday's schedule was cancelled on safety grounds, with sessions moved into Saturday's timetable.
When action resumed on Saturday morning, the weather had transformed completely. Under bright Scottish sunshine and on a fully dry circuit, Haslam immediately showed improved pace aboard the Moto Rapido Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, finishing FP3 in 13th position with a best lap of 48.391 seconds.
Pre Qualifying followed, with Leon again finishing 13th. The result meant the number 91 rider narrowly missed out on automatic progression into Q2 and would need to fight his way through Qualifying 1.
“The positive is we’re still holding onto third place in the championship, which gives us a strong platform heading into the next round.”
Haslam responded in style. A lap of 47.789 seconds comfortably secured progression from Q1 into Q2 before immediately returning to the circuit for the second qualifying session. Despite the demanding schedule, Leon recorded a 47.832 second lap to secure 12th place on the grid for Race 1.
The opening 30 lap race saw Haslam make a solid start and begin working his way forward through the pack. While the Ducati's handling challenges became more apparent as the race progressed, Leon continued to battle throughout and secured eighth place at the chequered flag, finishing ahead of fellow former champion Josh Brookes.
Sunday's Sprint Race provided a more encouraging outcome. Starting from eighth on the grid, Haslam delivered a strong ride to secure sixth position, earning a second row start for the weekend's final Feature Race.
The concluding 30 lap encounter looked set to deliver the team's strongest result of the weekend. Haslam spent much of the race running in sixth position and looked on course to bring home another solid points haul. However, a deep entry into the final hairpin on the closing lap left the door open for Glenn Irwin and Max Cook to capitalise, dropping Leon back to eighth position by the flag.
Despite not finding the performance level they had hoped for throughout the weekend, Moto Rapido Racing leave Scotland with valuable championship points, important data and a continued hold on a top three position in the championship standings.
Steve Wilf Moore, Team Principal:
"Everyone in the team gave absolutely everything this weekend. We couldn't quite get to the root of the issues we were facing, but we'll keep digging, keep learning and we'll find the answers.
"A huge thank you to every member of the team for their hard work and commitment throughout the weekend, and to Leon for never giving up. When the bike isn't giving him what he needs, he still finds a way to fight, score points and deliver results.
"The positive is we're still holding onto third place in the championship, which gives us a strong platform heading into the next round.
"Finally, a thank you to everyone at Knockhill. Despite the logistical challenges of travelling north, it's always one of the friendliest events on the calendar. The team there do a fantastic job and always make us feel welcome.
"We'll regroup, keep working and come back stronger at Snetterton.”
