Haslam ‘pushing the limit’ to get Donington podium

Leon Haslam continued his quiet ascension back into overall top three contention with a third consecutive podium on home soil at Donington Park.

The Kawasaki Racing rider has enjoyed a positive weekend at his local circuit thus far and was in similarly good form in the wet during race one as he battled with Tom Sykes and Loris Baz initially, eventually slotting into third place.

However, though it marked a third straight podium for the 2018 British Superbike Champion, Haslam admits he was at times pushing the edge of the limit to make up time.

“It wasn’t the start that determined my race although I did get held up a little bit in the first two laps with Tom,” he said. “As soon as I started to push like I had been doing in practice and qualifying in the rain, I did not have the same feeling.

“To be honest I felt like I struggled at times today. I got a little bit caught up with Baz and that let Tom get away. The lap times I could do when I got a clear lap were not so bad, but I felt like I was pushing the limit too much to get that kind of lap time.

“So, I backed it down and got third. From quite early on in the race I was trying to just manage it and bring it home on the podium.”

The result moves him just 11 points behind Alex Lowes for fourth overall, while Michael van der Mark is 22 points further ahead in third.