The second MCE British Superbike Championship race at Brands Hatch had to be cancelled for safety reasons after organisers deemed the conditions too dangerous to continue.
Slippery conditions brought on by persistent rain and cool temperatures wreaked havoc on the schedule throughout the day, though the situation was further exacerbated by a fuel spill during the second British Supersport race of the weekend.
The contamination, which was caused when Pauli Pekkanen fell during the BSS race and re-mounted to unintentionally leave a trail of fuel behind him, prompted a circuit-wide clean-up operation, but a crash involving several riders just two corners into the BSS restart necessitated another stoppage.
With the decision taken to curtail the BSS race, the BSB riders were then allowed a brief spell on the circuit to consider the condition of the surface.
However, with the riders’ feedback stating that the use of detergent to clean the fuel spill was making an already slippery track even more treacherous, the decision was taken to cancel the remainder of the Brands Hatch meeting.
As such, the race will be rescheduled for later in the season.
Earlier in the day, Jon Kirkham has opened his 2012 MCE British Superbike campaign in formidable fashion after capitalising on Alastair Seeley’s last corner error to snatch victory at a slippery Brands Hatch.
Meanwhile, Sheppey’s Shane Byrne finished a respectable seventh with Maidstone’s Scott Smart bringing his Ducati home in fourteenth.
It wasn’t such a good day for defending champion Tommy Hill, from Beckenham, who crashed out with three leaps to go.
Full race results (1) for the opening round of the 2012 MCE British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch Indy.
1. Jon Kirkham GBR Samsung Honda CBR1000RR 28m 48.680s
2. Alastair Seeley GBR Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 +0.136s
3. Michael Rutter GBR MSS Bathams Kawasaki ZX-10R +0.750s
4. Ian Lowry GBR Padgetts Honda CBR1000RR +3.023s
5. Gary Mason GBR Quattro Plant Kawasaki ZX-10R +5.191s
6. Tommy Bridewell GBR Supersonic BMW S1000RR +6.155s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Rapid PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R +6.284s
8. James Westmoreland GBR WFR Honda CBR1000RR +8.813s
9. Freddy Foray FRA Quattro Plant Kawasaki ZX-10R +9.145s
10. Josh Brookes AUS Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 +9.411s
11. Alex Polita ITA Jentin Doodson Ducati 1199 +9.627s
12. Chris Walker GBR Pr1mo BKR Kawasaki ZX-10R +10.192s
13. Noriyuki Haga JPN Swan Yamaha YZF-R1 +11.636s
14. Scott Smart GBR Moto Rapido Ducati 1199 +12.169s
15. James Hillier GBR Pr1mo BKR Kawasaki ZX-10R +15.514s
16. Peter Hickman GBR MSS Bathams Kawasaki ZX-10R +18.511s
17. Alex Lowes GBR WFR Honda CBR1000RR +20.271s
18. John Laverty GBR Splitlath Redmond Aprilia RSV4 +29.925s
19. Barry Burrell GBR Buildbase BMW S1000RR +31.928s
20. Tom Tunstall GBR Jentin Doodson Ducati 1199 +32.213s
21. Aaron Zanotti GBR A Plant Suzuki GSX-R1000 +54.151s
Not Classified
22. Tommy Hill GBR Swan Yamaha YZF-R1 27 laps completed
23. Luke Quigley GBR GBmoto Honda CBR1000RR 24 laps completed
24. Abdulaziz Binladin KSA Moto Rapido Ducati 1199 16 laps completed
25. Dan Linfoot GBR Buildbase BMW S1000RR 13 laps completed
26. Luca Scassa ITA Padgetts Honda CBR1000RR 11 laps completed
27. Tristan Palmer GBR GBmoto Honda CBR1000RR 9 laps completed
28. Stuart Easton GBR Rapid PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R 8 laps completed
29. Patric Muff SUI Supersonic BMW S1000RR 0 laps completed
30. Michael Laverty GBR Samsung Honda CBR1000RR 0 laps completed
31. Florian Marino FRA Splitlath Redmond Aprilia RSV4 0 laps completed
32. Graeme Gowland GBR WFR Honda CBR1000RR 0 laps completed
33. Jenny Tinmouth GBR Hardinge Honda CBR1000RR 0 laps completed