Mackenzie wins Silverstone opener

Saturday wrap from Silverstone

Images Dave Yeomans


Tarran Mackenzie claimed a spectacular victory in the seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone this afternoon, becoming the sixth different race winner of the season to give McAMS Yamaha their first win in 2020.

Danny Buchan scored the hole-shot

At the start of the race, Danny Buchan launched off the pole position to lead the pack for the Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki team, however it was short lived as Andrew Irwin was instantly on the attack and stormed ahead before they crossed the line for the first time.

Andrew Irwin

Buchan was under fire from the opposition and soon it was the Honda Racing pairing at the front of the field, with Andrew leading Glenn and soon Jason O’Halloran was also in the fight for the lead, with Buchan then in fourth.

Glenn Irwin

On the fifth lap, Glenn Irwin grabbed the lead from his brother and the pair looked like they would try and break the pack, however O’Halloran was in close contention, and Kyle Ryde was into fourth and proving to be a threat on the Buildbase Suzuki.

Kyle Ryde

By lap eight Ryde had moved ahead of O’Halloran for third with the Australian also having his team-mate for company, as Mackenzie sliced his way through the field from his fourth row start position.

Mackenzie wasted no time in getting ahead of O’Halloran and by lap 12 he was into third place, before passing Andrew Irwin a lap later. The Honda Racing rider was trying to fight back, but a mistake into Brooklands meant he lost serious ground and then would have to do the work all over again.

At the front Mackenzie was soon putting the pressure on Glenn Irwin and a decisive move on lap 16 put him into the lead for McAMS Yamaha, with Glenn Irwin then having Ryde for company in the tussle for second place.

Ryde wasn’t able to make a move stick until lap 22 when he was able to move into second and then a lap later O’Halloran also carved ahead of Glenn Irwin to push him out of a podium position. On the final lap Mackenzie had the margin he needed to claim an emotional victory and his first of the season.

Ryde meanwhile celebrated his first ever Bennetts BSB podium finish, making him the eighth different finisher in the top three in 2020, with Buildbase Suzuki the fifth different team to celebrate a podium result.

Glenn Irwin and Andrew Irwin finished in fourth and fifth ahead of a huge contest for sixth place with Josh Brookes holding off Lee Jackson, Christian Iddon, Danny Buchan and Tommy Bridewell, who started last on the grid, completing the top ten.

Tarran Mackenzie – P1

My last podium was at Snetterton at round five last year so I was pretty emotional. I had a really strong start to last year and then broke my wrist at Thruxton, and after that it just became difficult with injuries and not having the confidence and I reset in the off season. During lockdown I worked really hard, and then thought ‘when I get to round one I will be strong and back up the front where I know I can be, and it didn’t happen. Then it didn’t happen at Snetterton and in the last race at Snetterton I had good pace, for a podium if not a win, so that gave me a lot of confidence. For me and probably the team as well, we didn’t understand the front tyre maybe as much as some other people did, and that was really hard. It was understanding it and getting the feeling and the confidence, and once I got that back, I knew coming in to this weekend I could be strong. I have been strong here since I started riding a Superbike, so I was really annoyed in qualifying to be starting 12th. I didn’t expect to be getting a win – maybe a podium, because of my pace I had in practice, but I got a really good first couple of laps. I came through to fifth or sixth, then picked them off and pulled a gap. I was really surprised to see I had a gap. I had to use my tyre a lot at the start and the middle of the race to make some ground on the leaders, so starting on the front row tomorrow should help that. I can maybe conserve it a little bit. The last couple of laps I just backed off slightly as I didn’t want to make any mistakes. It felt like a long nine laps when I was in front, but I am really happy so a big thank you to the McAMS Yamaha team, I am over the moon and can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Kyle Ryde – P2

It’s been quite a few practices I have topped now and not really had a decent race, but that was the perfect race. The strategy we had was pretty good. I was really pleased when Taz came past me halfway through the race because it gave me an understanding of what I could do and gave me the same braking markers as qualifying. I was struggling at the start of the race being stuck behind a couple of people and I really lost my rhythm. Then when Taz set the pace, that got me a podium. It nearly got me a win but he was that fast! I would just like to thank the Buildbase Suzuki team, they deserve this just as much as me. We have had a bit of bad luck but they have fixed it and I can’t wait for tomorrows races.

Glenn Irwin – P4

Today in terms of the championship it was a really good race, I’m happy with that side of things and also happy with the fourth. I’m a little disappointed having led the race, but we have something to work on for tomorrow’s longer races. It’s a positive day, no trophy for this one but we extend our championship lead by 30 points and as I keep saying, if we take it race by race and can extend the points lead each time we’re doing a good job. So 30 is good and we’ll try and increase it more tomorrow.

Andrew Irwin – P5

I have to take today’s race as a positive, the past three races we’ve had, the results weren’t fantastic so it’s better than those. I led a race again which was a nice feeling after a difficult period, unfortunately I made a mistake around lap ten, which lost me a couple of seconds and I lost touch with the leaders. I think all in all it was a good race and we can take the positives from it and come back stronger for tomorrow’s two longer races.”

Andrew Irwin
Josh Brookes – P6

That was a tough race and definitely not where we wanted to be. I didn’t have the confidence early on to push like I needed to so lost a few places which compounded the situation. I’m just lacking confidence in the bike in the early laps which leaves me vulnerable but that gives me lots of work to do later in the race when I get into a rhythm. But that’s no good in a race and we need to improve early on. I need to find speed in the last sector as the rest of the lap is ok but, in this series, you can’t give the opposition a head start. We plan some changes in warm-up to hopefully give us that tiny bit of what we are missing.”

Brookes, Buchan, Jackson
Christian Iddon – P8

I felt pretty good from my poor grid position and for the first part of the race I was Christian Iddonrunning with the front bunch and was in a good position. It’s where I felt I should have been and then we encountered some issues which we’d not had all weekend, but they decided to rear their ugly head and I struggled massively. I was hoping to get a fifth place at worst but had one or two other issues in the final stages and I was lucky to finish. I’m still up there in the championship but eighth place is a bit of a kick in the teeth. Hopefully, we can learn from today and do better tomorrow.”

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, Race One Results:
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha)
Kyle Ryde (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.105s
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.446s

Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Tarran MACKENZIE Yamaha 22m7.214
2 Kyle RYDE Suzuki +0.105
3 Jason O’HALLORAN Yamaha +0.446
4 Glenn IRWIN Honda +1.855
5 Andrew IRWIN Honda +4.362
6 Josh BROOKES Ducati +4.944
7 Lee JACKSON Kawasaki +6.293
8 Christian IDDON Ducati +7.585
9 Danny BUCHAN Kawasaki +7.661
10 Tommy BRIDEWELL Ducati  +7.797
11 Luke MOSSEY BMW +7.877
12 Bradley RAY BMW +8.103
13 Héctor BARBERÁ BMW +8.713
14 Peter HICKMAN BMW +16.571
15 Ryan VICKERS Kawasaki +21.377
16 Taylor MACKENZIE BMW +32.466
17 Storm STACEY Kawasaki +32.848
18 Tom WARD Kawasaki +33.576
19 Graeme IRWIN Kawasaki +49.684
20 Brian McCORMACK BMW +1 Lap
21 Bjorn ESTMENT BMW +1 Lap
Not Classified
DNF Joe FRANCIS BMW 4 Laps
DNF Gino REA Suzuki 12 Laps
DNF Josh OWENS Kawasaki /

Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Glenn IRWIN (Honda) 131
2 Tommy BRIDEWELL (Ducati) 101
3 Christian IDDON (Ducati) 94
4 Josh BROOKES (Ducati) 92
5 Tarran MACKENZIE (Yamaha) 81
6 Jason O’HALLORAN (Yamaha) 81
7 Andrew IRWIN (Honda) 69
8 Kyle RYDE (Suzuki) 64
9 Lee JACKSON (Kawasaki) 61
10 Danny BUCHAN (Kawasaki) 34
11 Bradley RAY (BMW) 34
12 Luke MOSSEY (BMW) 33
13 Ryan VICKERS (Kawasaki) 28
14 Peter HICKMAN (BMW) 19
15 Héctor BARBERÁ (BMW) 18
16 Gino REA (Suzuki) 16
17 Alex OLSEN (BMW) 8
18 Jack KENNEDY (Yamaha) 7
19 Joe FRANCIS (BMW) 6
20 Dan LINFOOT (Yamaha) 2
21 Taylor MACKENZIE (BMW) 1

British Supersport Championship & British GP2 Cup

Rory Skinner continued his dominance in the Quattro Group British Supersport class, taking his seventh consecutive win of the season. It was James Westmoreland who grabbed the holeshot, but series leader Skinner immediately responded to be leading his team mate Brad Jones by 0.6s by the end of the opening lap. A rare mistake from Skinner on lap three saw him run wide and slip back to seventh, seeing Jones takeover the lead at the front.

With seven riders battling for the lead over the opening laps, Perrin, Perie and Jones all took turns leading, however impressive pace rom Skinner saw him set a new lap record, fighting back to the lead by the end of lap seven. Following Skinner through the pack, Lee Johnston was able to climb up to second, entering a fierce battle with Jones and Perrin.

Supersport Race One Podium
P1 Rory Skinner
P2 Lee Johnston
P3 Brad Jones

Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Rory SKINNER Yamaha 16m57.443
2 Lee JOHNSTON Yamaha +3.052
3 Brad JONES Yamaha +4.223
4 Jamie PERRIN Yamaha +4.264
5 James WESTMORELAND Kawasaki +4.564
6 Ben CURRIE Kawasaki +4.619
7 Harry TRUELOVE Yamaha +4.865
8 Alastair SEELEY ABM Quattro  GP2 +5.507
9 Charlie NESBITT ABM Quattro  GP2 +9.774
10 Cameron HORSMAN Chassis Factory GP2 +9.835
11 Jack SCOTT Harris – J J Racing GP2 +11.419
12 Dan JONES FTR  GP2 +13.564
13 Richard KERR Triumph +14.098
14 James ROSE Kawasaki +14.345
15 Kurt WIGLEY Yamaha +14.415
16 Ross PATTERSON Yamaha +14.624
17 Joey THOMPSON Spirit +17.031
18 Jake ARCHER Kalex  GP2 +17.639
19 Tom OLIVER Chassis Factory GP2 +21.617
20 Cameron FRASER Chassis Factory  GP2 +26.333
21 Rob HARTOG MV Agusta +30.780
22 Phil WAKEFIELD Yamaha +35.259
23 Jorel BOERBOOM Honda +35.301
24 Matthew WIGLEY MW6R  GP2 +46.188
26 Mason LAW Spirit +2 Laps
Not Classified
DNF Korie McGREEVY Yamaha 3 Laps
DNF Scott SWANN Yamaha 3 Laps
DNF Bradley PERIE Yamaha 8 Laps
DNF Keenan ARMSTRONG Kawasaki 14 Laps

Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Rory SKINNER (Yamaha) 125
2 James WESTMORELAND (Kawasaki) 75
3 Bradley PERIE (Yamaha) 63
4 Lee JOHNSTON (Yamaha) 59
4 Brad JONES (Yamaha) 57
5 Richard KERR (Triumph) 38
7 Harry TRUELOVE (Yamaha) 38
8 Korie McGREEVY (Yamaha) 32
9 Ross PATTERSON (Yamaha) 29
10 Ben CURRIE (Kawasaki) 29
11 Rob HARTOG (MV Agusta) 26
12 Kurt WIGLEY (Yamaha) 23
13 Jamie PERRIN (Yamaha) 19
14 Phil WAKEFIELD (Yamaha) 18
15 James ROSE (Kawasaki) 15
16 Scott SWANN (Yamaha) 12
17 Tom TOPARIS (Yamaha) 11
18 Ricky TARREN (Yamaha) 8
19 Ben WOTTON (Triumph) 6
20 Grant McINTOSH (Yamaha) 5

With Skinner edging away at the front, Johnston too was able to pull a gap from Jones and Perrin who were battling for the final rostrum position. Coming down to the final lap, Jones was able to get the better of Perrin to complete the podium. James Westmoreland was fifth, ahead of Ben Currie, Harry Truelove and the leading GP2 machine of Alastair Seeley.

Ben Currie #61 here chasing Harry Truelove and James Westmoreland

British Superstock 1000

Honda Racing’s Tom Neave claimed victory in the opening Pirelli National Superstock 1000 race at Silverstone, strengthening his lead in the series standings. New Zealand rookie Damon Rees grabbed the holdshot, leading Tim Neave and Chrissy Rouse over the line at the end of the opening lap. Tim Neave made his move into the lead on lap seven, with Tom Neave and Rouse swiftly finding a way past Rees too.

However, disaster struck Tim Neave just moments later when he tumbled out of the lead, leaving a four rider battle at the front. Tom Neave and Rouse were able to work together to break away from the pursuers, with the win eventually going the way of Neave. Danny Kent found his way past Rees to claim the final podium slot, with Lewis Rollo fifth.

Damon Rees #92 just missed out on a podium

Another Kiwi also scored a top ten finish with Shane Richardson coming home in P8 just ahead of South Australia’s Billy McConnel while his countryman Brayden Elliott unfortunately recorded a DNF.

Tom Neave – P1

I’ve not found myself in this position before so it’s all a bit surreal! We’ve got some really good momentum going now and I’m really enjoying riding the new Fireblade, the whole team is working together really well and we’re just going to keep our head down, feet on the floor and keep doing what we’re doing. We have another race tomorrow, but I’m just treating each race as a fresh start and thinking race by race, and trying not to think about the championship too much and just keep enjoying it.”

Superstock 1000 Podium
P1 Tom Neave
P2 Chrissy Rouse
P3 Danny Kent
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Tom NEAVE Honda 22m02.220
2 Chrissy ROUSE BMW  +0.650
3 Danny KENT Kawasaki  +5.153
4 Damon REES BMW +6.226
5 Lewis ROLLO Aprilia  +6.524
6 Fraser ROGERS Kawasaki  +9.214
7 Ian HUTCHINSON BMW  +9.316
8 Shane RICHARDSON BMW +13.061
9 Billy McCONNELL BMW  +1 Lap
10 Dan LINFOOT BMW +1 Lap
11 Davey TODD Honda  +1 Lap
12 Luke HEDGER Kawasaki +1 Lap
13 Jordan WEAVING Suzuki  +1 Lap
14 Shaun WINFIELD Yamaha +1 Lap
15 David ALLINGHAM Aprilia +1 Lap
16 Leon JEACOCK Suzuki +1 Lap
17 Matt TRUELOVE BMW  +1 Lap
18 Joe SHELDON-SHAW Suzuki  +1 Lap
19 Barry TEASDALE Kawasaki  +1 Lap
20 Daniel COOPER BMW  +1 Lap
21 Tommy PHILP BMW  +1 Lap
22 Craig NEVE BMW  +1 Lap
23 Jenny TINMOUTH BMW  +1 Lap
24 Luke HOPKINS Kawasaki +1 Lap
25 Tom TUNSTALL Suzuki +1 Lap
26 Lee WILLIAMS Kawasaki +1 Lap
27 Robert HODSON Kawasaki  +1 Lap
28 Stephen SMITH BMW  +2 Laps
29 Dave MACKAY Suzuki +2 Laps
30 Ben BROADWAY Aprilia  +2 Laps
Not Classified
DNF Rob McNEALY BMW  1 Lap
DNF Dani SAEZ GUTERREZ Kawasaki  1 Lap
DNF Josh WOOD Kawasaki 1 Lap
DNF Dave SELLARS Suzuki  10 Laps
DNF Luke JONES Aprilia 14 Laps
DNF Tim NEAVE Suzuki  17 Laps
DNF Brayden ELLIOTT Suzuki  20 Laps

Championship Points

Pos Rider Points
1 Tom NEAVE (Honda) 86
2 Chrissy ROUSE (BMW) 76
3 Damon REES (BMW) 55
4 Billy McCONNELL (BMW) 43
5 Danny KENT (Kawasaki) 39
6 Lewis ROLLO (Aprilia) 34
7 Tim NEAVE (Suzuki) 33
8 Fraser ROGERS (Kawasaki) 30
9 Davey TODD (Honda) 27
10 Matt TRUELOVE (BMW) 23
11 Joe COLLIER (Suzuki) 23
12 Luke HEDGER (Kawasaki) 17
13 Jordan WEAVING (Suzuki) 15
14 Ian HUTCHINSON (BMW) 13
15 Richard COOPER (BMW) 9
16 Shane RICHARDSON (BMW) 8
17 Leon JEACOCK (Suzuki) 8
18 Dan LINFOOT (BMW) 6
19 Brayden ELLIOTT (Suzuki) 5
20 Shaun WINFIELD (Yamaha) 5
21 Luke HOPKINS (Kawasaki) 2
22 David ALLINGHAM (Aprilia) 2
23 Joe SHELDON-SHAW (Suzuki) 1

British Junior Supersport Championship

Osian Jones claimed the opening win in the opening British Junior Supersport bout ahead of Cameron Dason and Zak Shelton while young Australian Seth Crump just missed the podium, crossing the line in P4.

Osian Jones leading the British Junior Supersport race

Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Osian JONES Kawasaki 16m20.940
2 Cameron DAWSON Kawasaki +0.606
3 Zak SHELTON Kawasaki  +0.667
4 Seth CRUMP Kawasaki +0.876
5 Owen JENNER Kawasaki +0.936
6 Kier ARMSTRONG KTM +1.364
7 James McMANUS Kawasaki +5.067
8 Lynden LEATHERLAND Kawasaki +7.511
9 Cameron HALL Kawasaki +19.849
10 Jake HOPPER Kawasaki +22.557
11 Lewis JONES KTM +23.840
12 Alessandro VALENTE KTM +24.298
13 Christopher JOHNSON Kawasaki +24.385
14 Finn SMART Kawasaki  +24.536
15 Lucca ALLEN Kawasaki  +25.012
16 Andrew SMYTH Kawasaki +28.737
17 Rossi BANHAM Yamaha  +28.808
18 James ROSE Kawasaki +28.919
19 Mcauley LONGMORE Kawasaki +39.236
20 Ben TAYLOR Kawasaki +40.538
21 Bradley WILSON Kawasaki +46.300
22 Kai DICKINSON Kawasaki +46.689
23 Samuel LAIDLOW Kawasaki +50.061
24 Luke GILBY Kawasaki +1m04.228
Not Classified
DNF Brody CROCKFORD Yamaha 1 Lap
DNF Ash BARNES Kawasaki 1 Lap
DNF Declan CONNELL Kawasaki 4 Laps
DNF Adon DAVIE Kawasaki 4 Laps
DNF Kam DIXON Kawasaki 4 Laps
DNF Oscar PINSON Kawasaki 6 Laps
DNF Joe ELLIS Kawasaki 8 Laps
DNF Chloe JONES Yamaha 14 Laps
DNF Lewis JONES Kawasaki 

Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Owen JENNER (Kawasaki) 106
2 Seth CRUMP (Kawasaki) 80
3 Cameron DAWSON (Kawasaki) 53
4 Osian JONES (Kawasaki) 48
5 Brody CROCKFORD (Yamaha) 44
6 Zak SHELTON (Kawasaki) 42
7 Adon DAVIE (Kawasaki) 39
8 Ash BARNES (Kawasaki) 32
9 Oscar PINSON (Kawasaki) 32
10 Joseph THOMAS (Kawasaki) 29
11 Lewis JONES  (KTM) 26
12 Lynden LEATHERLAND (Kawasaki) 25
13 Cameron HALL (Kawasaki) 24
14 Kier ARMSTRONG (KTM) 23
15 Kam  DIXON (Kawasaki) 14
16 Chloe JONES (Yamaha) 13
17 Christopher JOHNSON (Kawasaki) 11
18 James McMANUS (Kawasaki) 10
19 Jake HOPPER (Kawasaki) 10
20 Finn SMART (Kawasaki) 8
21 Kai DICKINSON (Kawasaki) 7
22 Harris BEECH (Yamaha) 7
23 Mcauley LONGMORE (Kawasaki) 4
24 Alessandro VALENTE (KTM) 4


Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Race One

Josh Day took victory in a last lap Ducati TriOptions Cup thriller. It was title rival Levi Day who grabbed the holeshot to be leading across the line at the end of the opening lap, with Elliot Pinson in second. However, just moments later Pinson crashed out unhurt, promoting Ed Best and Josh Day up to podium.

With both Days edging away from the pursuing pack, they maintained positions until the final lap. Finding their way through backmarkers, it came down to the final corner and Josh Day was able to grab victory by just 0.068s. Best had a lonely race in third place, nine seconds behind the leading duo, but some seven seconds ahead of David Shoubridge in fourth.

Craig Neve claimed fifth place, ahead of John McGuinness, Alberto Solera, Carl Stevens and Sam Middlemas.

Levi Day – P2

“Gave it everything today and had an epic battle with Josh Day, but couldnt quite get it done! Crossing the line in 2nd place by 0.068 of a second! We go again tomorrow for race 2 and as always will give it my all! Thank you to my team for giving me a great bike, we both went under the previous lap record today by a decent amount. I’ll start tomorrow race from P2. Thanks to all the sponsors who make it possible!”

Race Results

Pos Rider Time/Gap
1 Josh DAY 14m17.625
2 Levi DAY +0.068
3 Edmund BEST +9.300
4 David SHOUBRIDGE +16.689
5 Craig NEVE +20.136
6 John McGUINNESS +20.273
7 Alberto SOLERA +20.757
8 Carl STEVENS +20.846
9 Sam MIDDLEMAS +28.507
10 Dijon COMPTON +29.714
11 Michael TUSTIN +31.745
12 David JONES +32.191
13 Hiro ARAZEKI +43.478
14 Richard SPENCER-FLEET +43.807
15 Ben FALLA +44.764
16 Matt STEVENS +45.715
17 Craig KENNELLY +45.828
18 Peter HASLER +51.205
19 Ewan POTTER +51.994
20 Lee DEVONPORT +53.029
21 Tom STEVENS +53.181
22 Andre COMPTON +53.570
23 Ian FLEETWOOD +1 Lap
24 Mike LONG +1 Lap
25 Matthew FLOWER +1 Lap
26 Andrew HOWE +1 Lap
27 Andy BOOTH +1 Lap
Not Classified
DNF Mark EVANS 1 Lap
DNF Jimmy BUCHANAN 6 Laps
DNF Thomas RAWSTHORNE 7 Laps
DNF Matthew JONES 10 Laps
DNF Murray HAMBRO 10 Laps
DNF Elliott PINSON 14 Laps
DNF Samuel COX

Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Josh DAY 125
2 Levi DAY 84
3 Elliott PINSON 65
4 Edmund BEST 58
5 Craig NEVE 52
6 David SHOUBRIDGE 48
7 John McGUINNESS 45
8 Samuel COX 40
9 Michael TUSTIN 34
10 Carl STEVENS 29
11 Mark CHEETHAM 28
12 Dijon COMPTON 27
13 Sam MIDDLEMAS 13
14 Richard SPENCER-FLEET 12
15 Hiro ARAZEKI 12
16 Alberto SOLERA 9
17 Ben FALLA 5
18 David JONES 4
19 Matthew JONES 3
20 Matt STEVENS 3
21 Ewan POTTER 3
22 Peter HASLER 1

Source: MCNews.com.au

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