“Visor issue” holds Leon Haslam back in final BSB 2026 race

Leon Haslam was held back by a “visor issue” in Race 3 at the Brands Hatch BSB finale, he says.

Haslam was running in podium contention at the start of Race 3, but it would go on to be decided between Kyle Ryde and Ryan Vickers, who ultimately won, while Haslam ended up a distant fifth, behind Max Cook.

“We had a bit of a visor issue after about two laps,” Leon Haslam told Crash.net after Race 3 at Brands Hatch, “and honestly that was about he first time we’ve rode the bike properly in the rain. 

“So, it wasn’t my best of rain races. I’m normally confident to go for the win in the rain, but we brought it home. 

“There was nothing to gain and a lot to lose, so we brought it home and we can now look forward to next year.”

2026 has been Haslam’s second with the Moto Rapido team, but while he was able to take a victory early in 2025 this season has gone winless for the 2018 BSB champion.

“For me, we learnt a lot,” Haslam said in review of his season.

“We did zero testing, we got the bike very late, we’ve done all the development in-house with Wilf [Steve Moore] and we’ve made leaps and bounds throughout the year. 

“Assen and Donington, we had four DNFs through no fault of the team or myself, otherwise we’d have been fighting for that third place. 

“I really do feel like, with another winter, we can hit the ground running if we get it all together.”

Haslam confirmed to TNT Sports during the red flag delay for Race 3 that he is in talks to stay at Moto Rapido for a third season in 2027.