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by Jimmy Martin, 14th September 2008
 The two Leons shared the spoils in the British Superbike visit to Croft, with Camier winning race one and Haslam winning race two. Shane Byrne did not manage to seal the championship as he had hoped, but still holds a commanding lead. Cal Crutchlow had taken pole position for the second year in a row, in front of Michael Rutter, Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam.
Race One
Cal Crutchlow took the hole shot from pole position on his HM Plant Honda, while Tom Sykes rocketed off the line to take second place on his Rizla Suzuki. Michael Rutter grabbed third place on the NW200 Ducati, but had a frantic first lap, losing out to Haslam on the second HM Plant bike and Shane Byrne on the first of the Airwaves Ducati machines. At the last turn, Tom Sykes managed to block pass Crutchlow and take the lead, but the Suzuki was much slower through the fast corners than the chasing Honda.
Crutchlow seemed to be riding erratically, running wide in corners, and later revealed that he had a gear selection problem and kept finding false neutrals. His team-mate Haslam sneaked past and took off after Sykes. In the background, Leon Camier had risen from sixth to fifth place after a battle with fellow Ducati rider Michael Rutter. Camier proceeded to set fastest laps as he homed in on his team mate Byrne. Back at the front, Leon Haslam took advantage of a poor corner exit by Sykes to draw alongside, and pass into Tower corner.
Leon Camier was on a mission, and took a tight line at the hairpin to launch past Shakey Byrne, who was taking his usual wide, swooping route around the slowest corner on the track. Another false neutral from Crutchlow saw him run wide at Tower. Camier easily passed to take third, and Byrne just managed to sneak through for fourth. The giraffe-like Camier was now by far the most impressive rider on track, passing first Sykes then Haslam to take the lead and start to pull out a gap which he held to the chequered flag to take his second win of the season. Third place was then the subject of open warfare between Sykes, Byrne and the still-erratic Crutchlow. Into the last corner, Byrne was in third, but a banzai move from Sykes saw the Suzuki slam into the side of Shakey's Ducati, pushing them both well wide. Crutchlow saw his chance and nipped into fourth, but Sykes managed to hold him off and secure third place, immediately turning round to apologize to Byrne for the strong pass. Shakey was unimpressed, shaking his head mournfully as he crossed the line in fifth.
It had been an outstanding ride for the lanky Leon Camier, who revealed that he has now cracked the Ducati riding style. Haslam was disappointed that he had been overtaken, but knew that he could improve the bike for the second race. Sykes was unrepentant after shoving Byrne wide, and to be fair he has been on the wrong end of much worse this season. Gary Mason took an impressive victory in the Cup class, punching well above his weight on the Quay Garage Honda.
| Race One Results |
| Rider |
|
Team |
Time |
| 1. Leon Camier |
GBR |
Airwaves Ducati |
27m 06.760s |
| 1. Leon Haslam |
GBR |
HM Plant Honda |
27m 09.304s |
| 3. Tom Sykes |
GBR |
Rizla Suzuki |
27m 12.873s |
| 4. Cal Crutchlow |
GBR |
HM Plant Honda |
27m 13.126s |
| 5. Shane Byrne |
GBR |
Airwaves Ducati |
27m 13.341s |
| 6. Michael Rutter |
GBR |
North West 200 Ducati |
27m 20.649s |
| 7. Michael Laverty |
GBR |
Relentless Suzuki by TAS |
27m 25.791s |
| 8. Karl Harris |
GBR |
Team Yamaha |
27m 26.343s |
| 9. James Ellison |
GBR |
Hydrex Bike Animal Honda |
27m 26.482s |
| 10. Simon Andrews |
GBR |
Jentin Racing / Lloyds British |
27m 31.667s |
Race Two
 Cal Crutchlow again launched his HM Plant Honda off the start line into the lead, this time followed by Michael Rutter. The NW200 Ducati rider was more assertive this time out, tangling with Shane Byrne - the Airwaves Rider dropping well back into the pack. Tom Sykes had taken third place, ahead of Camier and Haslam, but the Suzuki rider was looking much happier in the fast corners this time out, and soon passed Rutter to take second.
Rutter had worse to come when he took an extravagantly wide line into the hairpin, leaving the door wide open for Leon Camier, who sailed through, nearly hitting his fellow Ducati rider. Leon Haslam followed his much-taller namesake through into fourth place. Shortly afterwards, Tom Sykes also used his favoured overtaking spot at the hairpin to grab the lead from Cal Crutchlow, but he was unable to drag out a big lead, and ended up leading a four-bike freight train.
Shane Byrne had managed to struggle through the mid-pack riders, and now had a fair gap to make up if he was going to join the leaders. The championship leader was racing injured after a monstrous highside in practice, so would he settle for fifth? Not a chance! Shakey wrung the Ducati's neck, setting fastest lap after fastest lap as he closed in on the bikes in front. The leading pack made it easier for Byrne by getting into an enormous furball as they fought for position. Camier passed Haslam, only for the Pocket Rocket to re-pass. As the race drew towards a close, Byrne latched onto his team-mate, who waved one of his enormously long legs to signal Shakey past into fourth for a crack at a podium spot.
Leon Haslam was a picture of determination as he passed his team-mate Crutchlow for second, then snatched the lead from Sykes. Knowing what had happened in race one, Haslam put in a blinding last lap as he made sure he was well out of kamikaze attack range as he rounded the final hairpin to take the victory - his fourth of the season. Tom Sykes had to make do with second place, while Cal Crutchlow rode a much smoother race to secure the final podium spot. Shakey Byrne could only finish fourth, meaning that he is still mathematically catchable in the title race. Camier was disappointed with fifth place after his earlier win. Gary Mason made it a double in the Cup class, but the biggest smile among the privateers was with NW200 Ducati's John Laverty, who secured the Cup class championship.
What do you think? Have your say at the forums.
| Race Two Results |
| Rider |
|
Team |
Time |
| 1. Leon Haslam |
GBR |
HM Plant Honda |
27m 04.305s |
| 2. Tom Sykes |
GBR |
Rizla Suzuki |
27m 05.438s |
| 3. Cal Crutchlow |
GBR |
HM Plant Honda |
27m 05.919s |
| 4. Shane Byrne |
GBR |
Airwaves Ducati |
27m 06.169s |
| 5. Leon Camier |
GBR |
Airwaves Ducati |
27m 08.045s |
| 6. Michael Rutter |
GBR |
North West 200 Ducati |
27m 14.093s |
| 7. James Ellison |
GBR |
Hydrex Bike Animal Honda |
27m 21.342s |
| 8. Karl Harris |
GBR |
Team Yamaha |
27m 23.040s |
| 9. Simon Andrews |
GBR |
Jentin Racing / Lloyds British |
27m 24.198s |
| 10. Michael Laverty |
GBR |
Relentless Suzuki by TAS |
27m 26.162s |
|
Rider Championship Standings |
| Rider |
|
Team |
Points |
| 1. Shane Byrne |
GBR |
Airwaves Ducati |
388 |
| 2. Leon Haslam |
GBR |
HM Plant Honda |
294 |
| 3. Tom Sykes |
GBR |
Rizla Suzuki |
290 |
| 4. Cal Crutchlow |
GBR |
HM Plant Honda |
265 |
| 5. Leon Camier |
GBR |
Airwaves Ducati |
241 |
| 6. Michael Rutter |
GBR |
North West 200 Ducati |
215 |
| 7. James Ellison |
GBR |
Hydrex Bike Animal Honda |
193 |
| 8. Michael Laverty |
GBR |
Relentless Suzuki by TAS |
140 |
| 9. Simon Andrews |
GBR |
Jentin Racing / Lloyds British |
140 |
| 10. Karl Harris |
GBR |
Team Yamaha |
91 |
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