Haslam and BMW make progress

For Leon Haslam a return to Silverstone meant a return to home ground, literally in many ways, as his family runs the race school at this famous and recently revamped venue.

Having tasted the highs of the podium and some less satisfying results since joining his new team this year, a fourth place in race one at Silverstone proved to be a very positive experience for the 2010 WSBK runner-up. "In race one I was really happy with the start," said Haslam. "I was able to get myself into the position I wanted to be in and ran with the leaders. I was really pushing for the podium and battled to keep with Marco Melandri, but I was really struggling to pass him and stay in front. I was happy to be running close to the front and the lap times were OK. I just narrowly missed out on a podium."

In race two in England Haslam had a more difficult time but he still finished the day with the highest points score he had taken since the second round of the championship. "In race two I was having a few issues with the bike and I was forced to adapt my riding style to try and ride around it," said Leon. "I got to the point where I was able to run consistent lap times, but by then the leaders had gone. Now we have the summer break, so I am just looking forward to spending some time at home and preparing in the gym for the next races."