So where was the biggest sporting crowd this weekend?

Was it at the new Wembley for the charity shield match between Chelsea and Manchester Utd? or was it at Twickenham for the rugby world cup warm up match England v Wales?

Well actually is was neither of these two.

The biggest crowd this weekend was at Brands Hatch in Kent watching the World Superbike Championship.

According to some reports over 126,000 people attend the circuit to cheer on
championship leader Britains James Toseland.

A dedicated Nori Haga fan!

The sparks flew in more ways than one in the first race. Troy Bayliss fell at Druids after he was passed by James Toseland and Nori Haga. Haga(one of Toselands main rivals for the championship) then ran wide and crashed at Surtees but recovered and eventually finished seventh.

The podium for race one was James Toseland,Troy Corser and Max Biaggi who was making his Brands Hatch debut.

Max commented “Considering this was the first time I’ve raced here, I’m very happy to get a podium in the first race. This track is very different to any track I’ve ever seen and it is probably the most difficult track I’ve ever raced at. It’s a real fun track to ride when you know where you are going and what makes it even more special is that the fans are so close and you can hear them!

Troy Bayliss (21 Xerox Ducati)

James Toseland (52 Hannspree Ten Kate Honda)

Troy Corser (11 Yamaha Motor Italia)

The World Supersport championship had home interest as well with Craig Jones leading the early laps before sadly crashing on lap five.

Tommy Hill finished a creditable fifth

but the weekend belonged to The Hannspree team. A memorable weekend for the team with Kenan Sofuoglu winning the World Supersport Championship. His remarkable year has included six wins, two seconds and one third and there are still three rounds left!

Turkish fans celebrate

Post race interviews

Kenean Sofuoglu and Broc Parkes

Broc Parkes celebrates his race win in the World Supersport race.

Race two of the World Superbikes was almost a repeat of the first race

An emotional James Toseland achieved his first race double and commented “I’ve waited a long time for this moment and I can’t quite believe I have finally done it. It’s taken me seven years, but to get the Superbike double win at Brands Hatch was well worth the wait. The crowd here today have been absolutely amazing and I can’t thank them enough for their support.”

James’ championship rival Nori Haga recovered from a disappointing race one, to finish as runner up in race two.

Team mate Troy Corser round out the podium with a third place.

Championship Standings after Brands Hatch:

1. Toseland 355

2. Haga 289

3. Biaggi 286

4. Bayliss 258

5. Corser 227

This is likely to JT’s last appearence at Brands Hatch on a Superbike as it was announced just prior to the meeting that he will be going to race for the Tech 3 Yamaha team in Moto GP series.

Good luck James!