LEON Haslam steered the Bournemouth-based JG Speedfit Kawasaki team to glory during the Brands Hatch finale of the British Superbike Championship.

With two races in hand, Haslam clinched the title after finishing in sixth place, sealing his first British Superbike crown and a first for the team.

After posting the fifth-fastest time overall across the three free practice sessions, Haslam took a cautious eighth place in qualifying on Saturday.

The maiden 20-lap race of the weekend took place later in the afternoon and Haslam completed the first lap of the 2.43-mile Grand Prix circuit in a steady seventh place.

With season-long rival Jake Dixon running second, the 35-year old had a difficult race to negotiate. Victory for Dixon would have required Haslam to have moved up to third to seal the championship.

However, Dixon never climbed higher than second and with Haslam taking sixth on lap five, that meant his lead would only be reduced by 10 points, from 61 to 51, with 50 still available on Sunday.

The top six were never covered by more than two seconds and Haslam stuck to the tail of BMW rider Peter Hickman.

And although Dixon made a late bid for victory, he ultimately ran out of time and had to settle for second.

Sixth place for Haslam meant he finally secured the championship after finishing second overall on three previous occasions.

The Derbyshire ace said: “That was the longest race ever! I wanted the boys to push on but when I caught Hicky, I could see that Jake wasn’t leading so settled in sixth place as I knew I could clinch the title in that position.

“It was a long 20 laps and it’s been a while coming but it’s been a fantastic year and the team have been faultless.

“It’s not my style to finish in sixth but I did what I needed to do to get the job done and 14 wins shows what a year we’ve had.

“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders and I’m delighted, so a big thanks to everyone.”

Team owner Pete Extance said: “It’s been an incredible day, not just for the team but for Kawasaki UK as well, winning their first official title since John Reynolds in 1992.

“I’m so pleased for the Haslam family and they fully deserve the title.

“We’re happy to be the people and team to give them the championship and there’s so many people to thank, especially JG Speedfit, Quattro Plant and Cool Milk.

“It’s hard to find the words at the moment but we’ll enjoy tonight and let it all sink in.”