Leg release under braking: the Haslam Vs Dixon clash in British Superbike
Shane Byrne injured, Leon Haslam largely dominates the ranking of the British Superbike 2018 … On the track, however, the Ninja n ° 91 is annoyed by Jake Dixon, on his own Kawasaki n ° 28. Last Sunday at Cadwell Park, Haslam even had to play with his right foot and hands to win … and some blame him for it !
Since his return to British Superbike, Leon Haslam has never gone very far from the title … Site readers – who, as everyone knows, have a little more vivid memory than others – remember that in 2016, of the Championship instead of the first, obtained by Shane Byrne.
Last year it was a failure in his brakes during the final at Brands Hatch that knocked him off not only his bike, but also from first to third overall, behind Byrne – – and Brookes.
- MotoGP 2018 : MNC Calendar and Reports
- WorldSBK 2018 : MNC Calendar and Reports
This year, luck has changed: Byrne unfortunately out of the race, Haslam outrageously dominates the British Superbike Championship. The n ° 91 of the Kawasaki JG Speedfit team has totaled 330 points out of the 400 put into play since the start of the season. His closest rival, Jake Dixon on his Kawasaki RAF No.28, has only 230.
Last weekend at Cadwell Park, Leon Haslam was again relentless: he secured a third full card (50 points!) By twice beating Bradley Ray (Suzuki n ° 28) and Jake Dixon. Relentless … on paper at least !
On the track – and what a track: a real roller coaster! -, the domination of the "Pocket Rocket" was much less obvious: in the first round, the leading quartet was only separated by a big second to under the checkered flag.
The second race, for its part, was the scene of a breathtaking duel between the two strong men of the championship: it was only at the cost of extremely late braking, off-center complement and leg in the air, that Haslam managed to stay ahead of Dixon !
Leg extended under braking, for or against ?
"I’m frustrated with the second race because it was really ugly," regretted Jake as he got off his bike. "There is nothing more to say, because we don’t see Rossi sticking his leg out as far as possible: he lines it up on the side of his motorcycle".
Undoubtedly less surprised by the rigorously defensive trajectory of his rival than by the height to which his leg rose, the n ° 28 missed his braking and had to momentarily leave the track: "I have the impression that if I ‘had hit his leg, he would have dragged me with him and we would have had a big fall, so I had to be reasonable ".
For his part, Leon certifies that "if you look at every lap in this corner, I did exactly the same thing. The only difference is that I was holding a more defensive line, which everyone does in the last one. lap. I think he was a little upset that he lost the race. "…
"I do nothing different at each lap and nothing different from what Rossi, Marquez (the two best enemies of MotoGP, Editor’s note!) And all the other world riders do", estimates the future teammate of Jonathan Rea in Word Superbike 2019.
"I haven’t seen a rule preventing me from getting my leg off the bike", defends the broad leader of the British championship, "so unless the rules change, I will continue to ride as I wish". A good hearer…
For or against? Everyone can have their own idea by watching the maneuver below. Beyond the Haslam – Dixon clash, what to think of this piloting technique introduced – by Rossi in particular – in the early 2010s and adopted by the younger generation? At MNC, we find that the attitude lacks elegance. But if it allows you to grab a few hundredths of a second – or to win races … – why not ?!
Clash Haslam – Dixon: The Cadwell Park Maneuver 2018
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