Go, Go, Go Leon !
(Photo courtesy Suzuki-Racing)

With a grid to flag - yet remarkably exciting - win in the opening 2010 World Superbikes race in Australia and an equally exciting second in race two Leon Haslam is on his way back home to England with a large grin and a Championship lead.

Haslam, son of Macau Grand Prix six times winner "Rocket" Ron Haslam, scored his maiden SBK win on his first race on the Alstare Suzuki that showed it is definitely going to be up there race after race this year/

Having tussled, although always leading, the Ducati pair of Fabrizio and Haga throughhout the race it was finger nail biting stuff until well after the line.  Making a slight mistake two corners from home Haslam lost a little of his drive coming out of the last bend allowing Fabrizio to ukltilise the slipstream to storm alongside as the pair crossed the line.

Initially the automatic timekeeping gave Fabrizio as the winner and by half way round the slow down lap the Frenchman thought he had won having "seen my wife celebrating on one of the large screens" but a photo finish check was necessary that showed Haslam as the winner by the width of a wheel - about 20 centimetres.  WOW !!!!!

Riding with a wrist severly bruised in a morning warm up crash Haga said he was "comfortable (sic) with my third" - is it any wonder that the Japanese rider is so revered by everyone who watches SBK ?

Apart from the excitement at the front the first few laps were dotted with riders misjudging the conditions, trheir tyres or just being a little too optomistic with their throttle hand.  Amongst those who hit the dust were two riders returning to SBK from stints in MotoGP - James Toseland who had an almighty highside over the top of the circuit that looked as if it had further damaged his injured arm but the tough Brit got hios breath back and walked away to get ready for the second race.  Chris Vermuellen lowsided his Kawasaki into the ktty litter where his throttle jammed open causing the engine to expire in a cloud of smike.  At least the oil wasn't spilled on the track !

Chris also crashed in the second race tumbling into the tyre wall at high speed after falling of around 200kph.

The second race started looking as if it was going to be a repeat of the first with Haslam going round the outside of the first corner to lead from the same Ducati pair of Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga.

By the third lap though things were beginning to look different as Haslam's team-mate Sylvain Guintoli pushed his way through into second place and set off with determination that showed he had no intention of riding shotgun for the Brit.

The two Suzukis swapped places at the front many times over the laps that foloowed while the works Ducati pair sat and watched ! 

Maybe they watched too hard as Carlos Checa on the privateer Ducati was catching fast and by lap 18 was looming.  One lap later he pounced taking both of the other Ducati riders.  With less than four laps to go could Checa do the impossible ?

Yes he could !

On the very last lap Checa dived under Haslam at the bottom of the hill and the race was over !   Cghewca had won with a not-that-unhappy Haslam unable to overturn the move.  Not far behind the duelling pair the atmosphere was just as hot as Michel Fabrizio stole third place from Guintoli with haga coming in fifth.

If this is an example of what we can expect from World Superbikes this year then - most definitely - keep watching.