This weekend saw the start of the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship season at Donington Park, where it was a dream start for Team Green and Leon Haslam.

Local hero Haslam stormed to a dominant double win at the round one event aboard his ZX-10RR, taking the win by five seconds over team-mate Luke Mossey in race one. This was the Bournemouth Kawasaki JG Speedfit team's first ever 1-2 finish.

Race two saw 'The Pocket Rocket' battle hard with 2015 champion Josh Brooks, but riding smart and making the right call on tyre choice saw Haslam come out on top. Mossey had a good start but unfortunately dropped back slightly throughout the race; he crossed the line in fifth.

After the first round Team Green hold the top two positions in the championship standings, with Haslam leading the charge with a healthy 19-point advantage to his team-mate.

After a terrible incident in one of the support races, the Supersport Sprint (scheduled for Saturday) was cancelled. This meant the Gearlink Kawasaki team started their season with just one race on Sunday. It was a fierce battle for the lead between team-mates Andrew Irwin and Ben Currie, as well as defending champion Tarran Mackenzie. At the chequered flag Irwin and Currie took well-earned second and third place finishes, giving the Gearlink team a brilliant double podium.

After a trying 2016 season in the Superstock 1000 class, 2017 started off in style for the Morello Racing Kawasaki team. Danny Buchan showed just what the ZX-10RR is capable of, taking a double win in Saturday's two races and second in Sunday's feature race, just 0.157 seconds behind the winner. Buchan's results propel him into an early championship lead.

Fellow Morello Racing rider Davey Todd put the trying practice sessions aboard his ZX-6R behind him to lead most of the Junior Superstock race. Todd was able to take his place on the podium after crossing the line third.

Ross Burridge, Kawasaki Motors UK Racing Co-ordinator, said: “After a long winter of testing and development it's always a mixture of excitement and nervousness as we enter round one. However, those emotions quickly passed as we achieved a fantastic set of victories and podium finishes! I want to personally thank each and every one of the Team Green guys for putting in stellar performances across all the classes, but to get a double win in the Superbike class was the icing on the cake. I can't wait for round two!”