2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Round 7 – Snetterton

Images by Dave Yeomans

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British Supersport & GP2 Race One

Lee Johnston took his first win of the year in the Quattro Group British Supersport class, taking victory in a thrilling Sprint race. The ten lap race was a nail biting affair with Johnston, Kyle Smith, Ben Currie and Jack Kennedy trading places throughout.

Each rider took a turn at the front of the race, but taking the lead again on the penultimate lap, Johnston was able to edge away from the remaining trio to take victory. Currie eventually secured second place to close within two points of series leader Kennedy, who eventually finished third.

Charlie Nesbitt continued his dominant form in the GP2 class, taking another victory in the class ahead of Scott and Law.

British Supersport & GP2 Race One Results

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British Supersport & GP2 Race Two

Hel Performance/Bournemouth Kawasaki’s Jack Kennedy took victory in style at a scorching Snetterton after a race long battle with Ben Currie ended on the final lap, with Kyle Smith third.

It was Lee Johnston who grabbed the holeshot, but Ben Currie led the way after the opening lap ahead of Smith and Johnston. Championship battler Brad Perie crashed out on the opening lap after coming together with Harry Truelove.

On lap four it was Dynavolt Triumph’s Kyle Smith who took over at the front from Currie, but as they began to battle both Lee Johnston and Jack Kennedy joined the leading two to make it a four man dice for the lead. Former Champion Kennedy then hit the front on half-race distance and began to move forward, posting the fastest lap of the race, pulling seventh tenths of a second lead, but Currie quickly began to close the gap with five laps remaining.

Currie then hit the front with three laps to go, but Kennedy wasn’t going down without a fight, with the pair battling it out until the final lap where Kennedy got the better of the Australian, with Smith taking third.

British Supersport & GP2 Race Two Results

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Quattro Group British Supersport Championship Standings

Quattro Group British GP2 Championship Standings

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Pirelli National Superstock

Honda Racing’s Tom Neave extended his Pirelli National Superstock Championship lead with his third win in a row at Snetterton, whilst grabbing a new lap record, with Taylor Mackenzie coming a close second and Billy McConnell third.

Pole man Neave grabbed the holeshot and led the battle from the front, holding three tenths of a second gap over Alex Olsen and Billy McConnell, with Taylor Mackenzie closely following in fourth after the opening lap. The Honda Racing man then began to pull a sizeable gap, posting the fastest lap of the race as he looked to pull away from the FHO Racing BMW.

By half race distance it was Mackenzie who would be Neave’s nearest challenger after Olsen retired from the race, with McConnell third and Rees fourth, but the race leader had extended his gap over the chasing pack to over three seconds, setting a new lap record in the process. He would then maintain that gap to the flag to take his third win a row and extended his Championship lead.

Tom Neave

“That was probably the best fun I’ve had on a bike all year, normally you only pull point-one of a second each lap, but as soon as I got that two second lead on lap four or five, I enjoyed riding the Fireblade and hitting my points. Everything was working great, and I just reminded myself why I love racing bikes and why I do this. We knew coming into the weekend we can be strong here, we won here last year and we’re on a winning streak at the moment. You do put pressure on yourself and my rivals have been with me all weekend, so I’ve had to be on my A-game, but to pull it off in that style is exactly how I wanted to win!”

Pirelli National Superstock Race Results

Pirelli National Superstock Championship Standings

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Pirelli National Junior Superstock Race One

Jack Nixon extended his championship lead over Joe Talbot in Junior Superstock.

Young Aussie Seth Crump carded a 17th place finish and just missed out on the points.

Pirelli National Junior Superstock Race One Results

Pirelli National Junior Superstock Championship  Standings

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HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Race One

Cameron Dawson dominated the opening Hel Performance British Junior Supersport race, cruising to victory by over seven seconds. Launching off the line, he as unchallenged throughout the race, while Ash Barnes was second, narrowly beating Kam Dixon. Zak Shelton was fourth ahead of Joe Thomas and Lucca Allen.

HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Race One Results

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HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Race Two

Cameron Dawson did the Hel Performance British Junior Supersport double in dominant fashion at Snetterton, taking victory in race two by 0.423s ahead of Kam Dixon and Ash Barnes.

The first race winner made the best of starts from pole position and led from the opening lap, with Dixon and Barnes chasing him down hard. However, he rode a cool race, maintaining the gap to the chasing riders to take his fifth victory of the season, and his third in a row to extend his Championship lead.

HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Race Two Results

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HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Championship Standings

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Honda British Talent Cup Race One

Casey O’Gorman’s (Microlise Cresswell Racing) stunning return from injury continued in Race 1 at Snetterton, the number 67 escaping in the lead with Johnny Garness (City Lifting by RS Racing) before a crash for the latter. From there, O’Gorman kept the hammer down to keep four seconds in hand over the duel for second, which saw Carter Brown (City Lifting by RS Racing) take on teammate Evan Belford and come out on top.

Off the line, Garness made his customary super start to take the holeshot from O’Gorman, with Belford keeping third to make it an as-you-were initially. But the top two were immediately starting to pull away and make a gap, setting the scene for a duel for the win.

Behind, Belford was locked in battle with Ollie Walker (Moto Rapido / SP125 Racing) and Brown, with the latter making a good gain from where he started. A couple of incidents then injected some drama for the frontrunners, one for Cormac Buchanan (Microlise Creswell Racing) as the Kiwi crashed out, and then one right at the front: a crash for Garness. The number 57 fell from the lead for the second time in three races, leaving O’Gorman alone in some fresh air.

From thereon out, the number 67 kept the hammer down to maintain the lead to the flag, crossing the line four and a half seconds clear. Behind him, the fight for third saw another big twist as Walker went for a 2-for-1 on both Belford and Brown, the 48 getting through and then losing it and sliding out. That left a vital duel for the points and podium, with Brown needing to make up the ground on Belford and getting it done as the number 74 moved through and kept it.

Harrison Crosby (Banks Racing) won a duel against an impressive step forward from Rhys Stephenson (Rocket Racing) for what became fourth, with James Cook (Wilson Racing) in a lonelier ride to sixth but some solid points after serious bad luck at Silverstone.

Jamie Lyons (C&M Motors Ltd / Tooltec Racing) took seventh in another lonelier ride, with Kiyano Veijer (Microlise Cresswell Racing) heading up a group fight for eighth ahead of Corey Tinker (CT Racing) and Harrison Dessoy (Thorneycroft56 Racing) completing the top ten; Dessoy with a best of the season by some distance. Mason Johnson (Johnson Racing) and JJ Cunningham (Thorneycroft56 JCRsupersport) were the final riders in that group.

Sullivan Mounsey (iForce Lloyd & Jones) made contact with Lucas Brown (Amphibian Scaffolding / SP125 Racing) and then suffered a DNF too, and Rossi Banham (MJL Racing) was another faller early on.

It’s now just 14 points from Belford back to O’Gorman, and after the show in Race 1 could that even change as soon as Sunday? Find out when the lights go out for Race 2 at 14:05 (GMT +1).

Honda British Talent Cup Race One Results

Honda British Talent Cup Race Two

After his second crash in three races on Saturday, Johnny Garness (City Lifting by RS Racing) needed to bounce back and he did so in style in Race 2 at Snetterton. With a breakaway top six squabble coming down to the final corner and the drag to the line, the number 57 played his cards right to take a valuable second win of the season. Casey O’Gorman (Microlise Cresswell Racing) retains his record of finishing first or second in every race he’s contested, however, as he came home in P2, with points leader Evan Belford (City Lifting by RS Racing) completing the podium to mitigate the damage after another strong ride.

It was Garness who took the holeshot from pole, as he nearly always does when afforded the opportunity, but O’Gorman was quick to strike in Race 2. But the number 57 found an answer and what looked like an early advantage for the two was not so on Sunday, with a tight top six breaking away this time around – Garness, O’Gorman, Belford, Carter Brown (City Lifting by RS Racing), James Cook (Wilson Racing) and Harrison Crosby (Banks Racing).

There was some drama early on as Sullivan Mounsey (iForce Lloyd & Jones), Lucas Brown (Amphibian Scaffolding/SP125 Racing) and JJ Cunningham (Thorneycroft56/JCRsupersport) crashed out, as did Julian Correa (Microlise Cresswell Racing), but at the front Garness pushed on with O’Gorman as his shadow.

This time though, there was no real pace advantage to be found and the top six remained locked together, lap after lap. O’Gorman was just ahead as the final lap began, but it wasn’t until the final corner where it would all ultimately be decided. The number 67 and number 57 swapped and changed positions, but then Carter Brown made his move. The number 74 went for a 2-for-1 as O’Gorman went to pass Garness, and it was Garness who got the best cutback. He gassed it to the line and was able to hold onto it for his second victory of the season, with O’Gorman also holding onto second and Brown losing out as Belford got past his teammate to take third.

Cook took fifth just 0.017 behind Brown over the line, with Crosby taking sixth a few tenths off but in some comfortable space.

Behind, Cormac Buchanan (Microlise Creswell Racing) took a lonelier seventh, with Ollie Walker (Moto Rapido / SP125 Racing) winning a duel against Jamie Lyons (C&M Motors Ltd / Tooltec Racing) for eighth. Corey Tinker (CT Racing) also carved out some space to complete the top ten.

Honda British Talent Cup Race Two Results

Honda British Talent Cup Championship Standings

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Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Race One

Josh Day continued his impressive form in the Ducati TriOptions Cup, however he was closely challenged by Elliot Pinson throughout the race. Launching off the line, Day led for the vast majority of the race, but a fast-charging Pinson was able to take the lead in the closing stages before Day took him back. Chris Walker completed the podium in third ahead of John McGuinness.

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Race One Results

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Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Race Two

Josh Day doubled up on Ducati TriOptions Cup win at Snetterton, holding off a fast-charging Elliott Pinson by just 0.004s. Leading from the start, Day was able to pull a small lead over Pinson, but a string of fast laps at the end saw Pinson chase him down. David Shoubridge was third ahead of Neve and Walker.

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Race Two Results

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Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au