British Superbikes event at Oulton Park suspended after horrific 11-bike accident
The opening round of the British Superbikes Championship has been suspended after a horrifying 11-bike accident which left one engulfed in fire.
The season-opening meeting at Oulton Park was delayed after at least one rider appeared to be badly injured at the start of the Supersport Feature race, one of the main support races to the Superbike Championship.
A total of 11 riders were involved, leaving at least one bike on fire, sparking an emergency response at the track.
The Bank Holiday meeting in Cheshire was immediately suspended after a red flag brought the race to a stop on the first lap. Racegoers at the track reported the arrival of a medical helicopter and several ambulances shortly afterwards.
An official BSB update said: 'Following an incident in the British Supersport Championship race the event is currently suspended.'
Race organisers also confirmed that the accident brought down riders Carl Harris, Shane Richardson, Corey Tinker, Cameron Hall, Freddie Barnes, Owen Jenner, George Edwards, Morgan McLaren-Wood, Tom Tunstall, Lewis Jones and Max Morgan.
No further official details were released although the event was being covered live on TNT Sports.
'A little earlier on, after an incident involving multiple riders in the British Supersport, the red flags came out,' the commentator said. 'You can see the marshals still working here at the exit of turn one. The information that we have at the moment is that the Supersport teams have been asked to return to the pits and paddock. The event has been suspended, with further information to follow. Once we have that information, we will let you know.'
Elsewhere, Leon Haslam had returned to winning ways in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship for the first time since 2018 to celebrate his first victory with the Moto Rapido Ducati Racing team. He held off pressure from both Bradley Ray and Glenn Irwin on the final lap.
'It's so good. Yesterday I was a little bit nervous to be honest with you, Wilf was saying bring it home, take it easy and by the time I'd got into second yesterday, Brad was long gone' said Haslam. 'Today I thought I needed to go hard from the start and I managed to make an early move, catch him down, and I didn't expect to do that lap time.'
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