Haslam out in front as Toseland shows form

Haslam won the opening race in the Spanish sun on his Alstare Suzuki before finishing fourth in a disjointed race two to extend his lead over Max Biaggi to 18 points after three rounds.

Double WSB champion James Toseland, from Sheffield, made his first impression since returning to the series from MotoGP as he picked up a third in race one, while a third British rider Leon Camier was impressive in race two before crashing out from the lead.

Veteran Noriyuki Haga won the second race but Haslam was delighted to stay at the top of the standings after a testing afternoon.

"To come away from Valencia with a race win and a little bit more of a lead in the championship is probably better than I expected," said Haslam.

"We've worked really hard this weekend and it was always going to be a close contest.

"The win in the first race was a bit strange as I didn't feel that fast but the rising temperature was affecting everyone and reducing tyre grip so it was just a case of getting into a rhythm and holding on to the lead.

"Race two was a bit disappointing really. In the first part I was making good progress and felt comfortable.

"On the restart I had to work hard again to get through to fourth but the front three were gone and I was struggling for rear grip so settled for fourth place and the championship points."