Source: Supplied.

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Leon Haslam emerged victorious in Lincolnshire as the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship title contenders scored a race win apiece at Cadwell Park.

The Cadwell Park results have now confirmed Byrne and Haslam in the Showdown alongside double podium finisher Jason O’Halloran.

Byrne claimed the opening race win of the day in front of a packed Cadwell Park circuit, forcing his way through on Haslam at Chris Curve on the final lap to emerge victorious by just 0.272s.

Byrne had initially hit the lead but only marginally from Haslam with Richard Cooper and Jason O’Halloran tucked in behind. The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider wasn’t prepared to sit in second place though and made a dive down the inside at Park to take the lead on lap one.

The battle for third was intense between Cooper and O’Halloran and on the third lap the pair traded places three times before the Honda Racing rider emerged ahead. The Australian then had his sights set on the pair ahead and he hunted them as he bid for a podium finish at the team’s home round.

Lee Jackson was running inside the top six when he crashed out unhurt at Charlies, but at the front Haslam had a moment which dropped him back behind Byrne and O’Halloran. He was soon fighting back though and moved back into second just two laps later.

Dan Linfoot had his race ended prematurely when he crashed out at the Chicane unhurt, losing ground in the battle for the top six in the Showdown as the chasing pack bid to catch up ahead of the Oulton Park decider.

Tommy Bridewell was carving his way through the field and by the end of lap eight he had made a move on Cooper with a decisive move through Hall Bends.

Haslam regained the lead on the ninth lap and he held the advantage from Byrne and a gaining O’Halloran, but the championship leader was pushing to make a move. He made a lunge down the inside at Chris Curve to move to the front until the finish.

O’Halloran meanwhile scored a podium finish at his local round after defending hard against Bennetts Suzuki’s Bridewell, in what was another strong showing for the Aussie.

Haslam was fired up for race two after missing out in the opener and he delivered a Cadwell Park master class to be crowned the Monster Energy King of the Mountain with a strong race two victory to equal the score with race one winner Byrne.

O’Halloran had fired off the start line to lead the pack for the first time from Byrne and Haslam in close contention with the pair forcing him back to third in the early part of the lap, but the Nissan GT-R Safety Car was deployed when Howie Mainwaring and Fillip Backlund crashed out at Coppice, although both riders were able to walk away.

When the race resumed on the fourth lap Haslam instantly attacked arch rival Byrne, but the Be Wiser Ducati in true gritty style was straight back underneath him to retake the position.

A lap later and Haslam again regained the lead and Byrne made a mistake which allowed O’Halloran to move back into second as the trio diced frantically at the front.

Haslam was on a charge and he continued to push at the front despite the pressure from O’Halloran and Byrne with the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider saving his best until last to edge a two second gap over the final laps.

O’Halloran was fending off Byrne and despite a huge moment on the exit of Barn with three laps to go, he was able to keep the championship leader behind him to celebrate a double podium finish for the Honda Racing team.

JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Peter Hickman pushed through the order to claim a strong fourth place at his home round after getting the better of Bennetts Suzuki’s Tommy Bridewell who again closed down on the top six with a fifth place.

Dan Linfoot bounced back from his race one crash to claim sixth place to maintain his position in the top six ahead of Oulton Park with Glenn Irwin again in the top ten on the second Be Wiser Ducati in seventh place, holding off James Ellison.

Luke Mossey and Jake Dixon completed the top 10 with the focus now moving to Oulton Park on two weeks’ time for the Showdown decider.

Of the remaining Australians in the field, Billy McConnell carded a pair of 13th place finishes, while Josh Hook went 20-19 as he continues to get to grips with BSB competition.

In Supersport Benjamin Currie piloted his Pacedayz Trackdays Yamaha to fourth in Monday’s feature race, while in Superstock 1000 David Anthony claimed 17th.