Sunday double secures British Superbike Championship for Brookes

2020 British Superbike Championship Finale Sunday wrap

Josh Brookes has celebrated becoming the Bennetts British Superbike Championship for a second time, following a sensational title-deciding triple-header on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

Brookes was last crowned champion in 2015, and his performance this weekend in the final three rounds gave him a final 21-point advantage over closest rival Jason O’Halloran to seal the crown.

The title victory for VisionTrack Ducati means that the PBM team successfully defended their title, to score an incredible eighth Bennetts BSB Championship victory.

2020 British Superbike Championship finale

The championship momentum swung back in favour of the VisionTrack Ducati team following the penultimate event at Donington Park, and Brookes came into the final round with a 16-point advantage over teammate Christian Iddon.

The season started with a podium at the opening round at Donington Park, before disaster struck following a collision with Andrew Irwin, which left a zero point score finish to the opening weekend.

However Brookes rebounded at Snetterton to claim victory in the opening race, which he followed up with a podium finish, before another podium following a testing weekend at Silverstone.

Oulton Park was another tough start to the racing action, but claiming the victory in the final race in Cheshire, put Brookes back on the winning course and confident ahead of the return to Donington Park.

Two third places and a victory, as championship leader Glenn Irwin crashed out of the opening race, gave the Australian the edge coming into the title-decider.

Brookes had his lead reduced in the standings in the opening race to seven-points, but then on the final day of the season he claimed a commanding Round 17 victory before sealing the final win of 2020 to lift the title.

Jason O’Halloran had done everything he could to try and bag his first title; winning the dramatic opening race on Saturday and with teammate Tarran Mackenzie, they pushed the Australian all the way to the finish in the last race of the year.

O’Halloran’s third place in Round 18 gave him second in the standings, with Christian Iddon completing the 2020 top three for VisionTrack Ducati as the pair celebrated their strongest career result.

Josh Brookes

It feels awesome to win the title and a lot of my talking was done out on the track today. When I’m under pressure, I seem to be able to find that little bit more and get the results when I need to, which is exactly what I’ve done today. I had to ride aggressively in both races and although I only needed to finish third in the final race to clinch the championship, I didn’t want to win the title with a third, I wanted to win. It’s been a hard fought year and I was pushed hard all weekend but the bike worked really well and it felt natural to go out there and win so a big thank you to everyone at the PBM team.”

Josh Brookes – 2020 British Superbike Champion
Christian Iddon

When I left the pre-season test at Donington Park in 18th place, I would have settled Christian Iddonfor third in the championship but in reality, I’m disappointed. To take it to the final race of the season was always the plan and congratulations to both Jason and of course, my teammate Josh for winning the title. I can’t thank Paul Bird and the whole VisionTrack team enough, they have been superb and to end up first and third in the championship is a fantastic effort. And I guess I should be happy with being the best non-Australian in the standings!”

Paul Bird – VisionTrack Ducati Team Owner

That went to plan and congratulations to Josh who rode impeccably under such pressure. He never buckled at all and he deserves the championship, I’m just glad he got out of bed the right side today! I’d like to thank Stuart Higgs and his team for their hard work in getting the championship on although it’s been strange and sad without the fans. Well done to Christian too, he’s been a pleasure to work with this season and third in the final standings is a great achievement on his first year in the team. That’s eight titles and 123 race wins now so thanks to our sponsors, my friends and my family and a special mention for my dad, without whose help none of this would be possible so this one’s for him.”

Josh Brookes – 2020 British Superbike Champion
Andrew Irwin

“2020 when I look at it we had a lot of potential, we had a new bike, we won three races and it’s been a strong year. I finished sixth in the championship, we lost a few points here and there, so to finish sixth and only 54 points from Glenn it wasn’t such a bad year. This weekend I think we made big steps forward throughout and in the first race we made the most of what we could. The next two races were quite positive and to finish Round 17 fourth was good, we were almost the best of the rest as such. The final race was really strong, and I feel probably one of my best races this season, we made a massive step forward with the race time. I want to thank all the Honda Racing team for their hard work this season and believing in me when things got tough.”

Glenn Irwin

“Coming into this season off the back of last year it was about re-building and reminding myself of what I can do, and also the project of the all-new Fireblade, so there were lots of goals to come better again and do a better job than we did in 2018. I had to establish myself again and I think we did that, doing it on an all-new bike was never going to be easy but it’s testament to the team for giving us the package we had as we didn’t expect to be so strong so soon. We had very few difficult periods, but the ones we had we will look at as a team to improve the bike, but as I say there were a lot less of them compared to the good moments. I have really enjoyed working with the team, getting my mojo back, enjoyed winning a race again and fighting for podiums and to come racing again. For me that was a big thing, to come and enjoy my racing and be happy, and be happy away from racing. Personally it’s been a great season regardless of what the outcome was with the championship, it’s been a huge success. Thanks to all at Honda Racing, I feel we’re back!”
Glenn Irwin

Honda Team Manager Havier Beltran

“2020 started so strong for us and straight away the results were above our expectations if I’m honest. What that did, yes it gives you the motivation and drive but it also puts your expectations a lot further in front than we were able to reach with the development of the new Fireblade. I said to the guys if we’re to win this championship we have to be winning races and that’s where it let us down. But putting all that to one side all the highs and lows throughout Superbike and Superstock, we’ve had a great season we’ve learnt a lot and know a lot of areas where we can be a lot stronger for 2021. We’ve had the new Fireblade to develop and we should be proud of the success we’ve had with it to date, I’d like to thank all the team, Andrew, Glenn, Tom and Davey for all their hard work this year.”

Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Josh BROOKES Ducati 28m39.070
2 Jason O’HALLORAN Yamaha +1.085
3 Christian IDDON Ducati +10.880
4 Andrew IRWIN Honda +16.097
5 Lee JACKSON Kawasaki +16.246
6 Luke MOSSEY BMW +16.523
7 Danny BUCHAN Kawasaki +16.590
8 Peter HICKMAN BMW +17.889
9 Gino REA Suzuki +17.964
10 Tommy BRIDEWELL Ducati +19.935
11 Kyle RYDE Suzuki +24.559
12 Glenn IRWIN Honda +24.769
13 Jack KENNEDY Kawasaki +35.463
14 Taylor MACKENZIE BMW +46.244
15 Josh OWENS Kawasaki +56.940
16 Storm STACEY Kawasaki +57.039
17 Bjorn ESTMENT Suzuki +1m21.230
Not Classifeds
DNF Joe FRANCIS BMW 12 Laps
DNF Tarran MACKENZIE Yamaha 13 Laps
DNF Héctor BARBERÁ BMW 15 Laps
DNF Graeme IRWIN Kawasaki 16 Laps
DNF Bradley RAY BMW 18 Laps
DNF Brian McCORMACK BMW /
DNF Lachlan EPIS BMW /

Race Three Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Josh BROOKES Ducati 28m35.963
2 Tarran MACKENZIE Yamaha +0.578
3 Jason O’HALLORAN Yamaha +1.339
4 Christian IDDON Ducati +8.816
5 Andrew IRWIN Honda +8.882
6 Danny BUCHAN Kawasaki +9.042
7 Tommy BRIDEWELL Ducati +17.660
8 Peter HICKMAN BMW +17.827
9 Lee JACKSON Kawasaki +17.891
10 Gino REA Suzuki +18.028
11 Glenn IRWIN Honda +21.320
12 Luke MOSSEY BMW +26.027
13 Joe FRANCIS BMW +26.168
14 Bradley RAY BMW +27.224
15 Héctor BARBERÁ BMW +42.349
16 Taylor MACKENZIE BMW +49.018
17 Storm STACEY Kawasaki +53.163
18 Josh OWENS Kawasaki +53.603
19 Bjorn ESTMENT Suzuki +1m16.695
Not Classified
DNF Jack KENNEDY Kawasaki 10 Laps
DNF Kyle RYDE Suzuki 10 Laps
DNF Brian McCORMACK BMW 15 Laps
DNF Graeme IRWIN Kawasaki 18 Laps

British Superbike Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Josh BROOKES (Ducati) 288
2 Jason O’HALLORAN (Yamaha) 267
3 Christian IDDON (Ducati) 258
4 Glenn IRWIN (Honda) 226
5 Tarran MACKENZIE (Yamaha) 215
6 Andrew IRWIN (Honda) 172
7 Tommy BRIDEWELL (Ducati) 168
8 Lee JACKSON (Kawasaki) 157
9 Kyle RYDE (Suzuki) 137
10 Danny BUCHAN (Kawasaki) 131
11 Luke MOSSEY (BMW) 95
12 Gino REA (Suzuki) 89
13 Bradley RAY (BMW) 76
14 Peter HICKMAN (BMW) 71
15 Ryan VICKERS (Kawasaki) 45
16 Jack KENNEDY (Kawasaki) 34
17 Héctor BARBERÁ (BMW) 32
18 Joe FRANCIS (BMW) 24
19 Keith FARMER (Suzuki) 10
20 Alex OLSEN (BMW) 8
21 Taylor MACKENZIE (BMW) 7
22 Storm STACEY (Kawasaki) 4
23 Markus REITERBERGER (BMW) 2
24 Dan LINFOOT (Yamaha) 2
24 Josh OWENS (Kawasaki) 1
25 Graeme IRWIN (Kawasaki) 1

British Supersport Championship & British GP2 Cup

Rory Skinner concluded his dominant Quattro Group British Supersport Championship season with another dominant win. Harry Truelove launched off pole position to take the holeshot ahead of Brad Jones and Ben Currie. As they started the second lap, series leader Skinner sliced his way into third as the leading four riders were covered by less than half a second.

A mistake at Druids by Truelove saw the two Tyser Yamaha riders find their way through before a big crash from Truelove just two corners later saw him tumble out of contention. Wasting no time, Skinner was into the lead and soon setting a string of fast laps to edge away from Jones.

As the race reached the halfway stage, Bradley Perie was holding third ahead of Ben Currie, Lee Johnston and Korie McGreevy. Maintaining positions until the final lap, Skinner eventually took the win by 4.003s. Perie eventually secured seconds whilst Jones was third ahead of Australian Ben Currie.

Tom Toparis was the tenth Supersport machine home to round out a highly creditable, but injury interrupted, last minute entry in the BSB Supersport ranks.

Mason Law took the GP2 class victory to secure the 2020 title for the Moto2 machines.

Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Rory SKINNER Yamaha 23m38.191
2 Bradley PERIE Yamaha +4.003
3 Brad JONES Yamaha +4.073
4 Ben CURRIE Kawasak +4.113
5 Korie McGREEVY Yamaha +9.746
6 Lee JOHNSTON Yamaha +9.835
7 Mason LAW GP2 Spirit +19.608
8 James WESTMORELAND Kawasaki +21.593
9 Alastair SEELEY GP2 ABM Quattro +21.846
10 Richard KERR Triumph +21.962
11 Charlie NESBITT GP2 ABM Quattro +22.059
12 Tom OLIVER GP2 Chassis Factory +22.778
13 Luke HEDGER Triumph +30.735
14 Cameron HORSMAN GP2 Chassis Factory +33.124
15 Jake ARCHER GP2 Kalex +33.279
16 Tom TOPARIS Yamaha +33.394
17 Kurt WIGLEY Yamaha +35.626
18 Dan JONES GP2 FTR +39.557
19 Gary JOHNSON Triumph +49.078
20 Phil WAKEFIELD Yamaha +51.748
21 Tomás DE VRIES GP2 Chassis Factory +51.801
22 Cameron FRASER GP2 Chassis Factory +1m01.476
23 Mark CONLIN Yamaha +1m31.743
24 David KRAWIEKCI Yamaha +1 Lap
25 Cedric BLOCH Kawasaki +1 Lap
Not Classifieds
DNF Jorel BOERBOOM Honda 3 Laps
DNF Jack SCOTT GP2 Harris 8 Laps
DNF Rob HARTOG MV Agusta 12 Laps
DNF Harry TRUELOVE Yamaha 13 Laps

Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Rory SKINNER (Yamaha) 270
2 Brad JONES (Yamaha) 174
3 James WESTMORELAND (Kawasaki) 152
4 Bradley PERIE (Yamaha) 147
5 Lee JOHNSTON (Yamaha) 118
6 Harry TRUELOVE (Yamaha) 103
7 Richard KERR (Triumph) 98
8 Ben CURRIE (Kawasaki) 91
9 Rob HARTOG (MV Agusta) 76
10 Kurt WIGLEY (Yamaha) 61
11 Korie McGREEVY (Yamaha) 54
12 Jamie PERRIN (Yamaha) 43
13 James ROSE (Kawasaki) 41
14 Ross PATTERSON (Yamaha) 41
15 Phil WAKEFIELD (Yamaha) 41
16 Tom TOPARIS (Yamaha) 30
17 Alan NAYLOR (Yamaha) 18
18 Scott SWANN (Yamaha) 12
19 Ricky TARREN (Yamaha) 11
20 Gary JOHNSON (Triumph) 8
21 Luke HEDGER (Triumph) 7
22 Keenan ARMSTRONG (Kawasaki) 6
23 Mike NORBURY (Kawasaki) 6
24 Ben WOTTON (Triumph) 6
25 Mark CONLIN (Yamaha) 5
26 Grant McINTOSH (Yamaha) 5
27 Michael DUNLOP (Yamaha) 3
28 David KRAWIEKCI (Yamaha) 3
29 Cedric BLOCH (Kawasaki) 1

British Superstock 1000

Danny Kent took a thrilling victory in the final Pirelli National Superstock 1000 race of the year as Chrissy Rouse was crowned Champion. It was an action-packed race, but disaster struck Championship contender Tom Neave who crashed out on the opening lap.

This left a five river battle for the win but as the race progressed it came down to a three-way scrap between Kent, Dan Linfoot and Chrissy Rouse. Despite a last lap challenge from Linfoot, Kent was able to hang on to the win whilst Rouse completed the podium in third to secure the 2020 crown.

Lewis Rollo was fourth ahead of Billy McConnell, the South Australian coming home fifth while countryman Brayden Elliott rounded out his season with a 13th place finish.

Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Danny KENT Kawasaki 20m8.083
2 Dan LINFOOT BMW +0.044
3 Chrissy ROUSE BMW +0.566
4 Lewis ROLLO Aprilia +1.591
5 Billy McCONNELL BMW  +1.614
6 Tim NEAVE Suzuki  +6.663
7 Keith FARMER Suzuki +10.264
8 Luke HEDGER Kawasaki +13.282
9 Jordan WEAVING Suzuki +17.073
10 Ian HUTCHINSON BMW 20.017
11 Shane RICHARDSON BMW +21.019
12 Davey TODD Honda +21.167
13 Brayden ELLIOTT Suzuki +22.083
14 Joe SHELDON-SHAW Suzuki +22.557
15 Shaun WINFIELD Honda +32.613
16 Michael RUTTER BMW +33.179
17 Craig NEVE BMW +35.461
18 Lee WILLIAMS Kawasaki +36.166
19 Tom TUNSTALL Suzuki +43.424
20 Luke HOPKINS Kawasaki +48.916
21 Dani SAEZ GUTERREZ Kawasaki +51.227
22 Conor CUMMINS Honda +51.569
23 Ashley BEECH Suzuki +51.755
24 Josh WOOD Kawasaki +52.107
25 Dave MACKAY Suzuki +1m21.107
26 Robert HODSON Kawasaki +1m21.488
27 Ricky ELDER BMW +1m22.423
28 Ben BROADWAY Aprilia +1 Lap
Not Classifieds
DNF Rob McNEALY BMW 3 Laps
DNF David BROOK BMW 3 Laps
DNF Fraser ROGERS Kawasaki 11 Laps
DNF Tom WARD Kawasaki 11 Laps
DNF Luke JONES Aprilia 11 Laps
DNF Tom NEAVE Honda /

Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Chrissy ROUSE (BMW) 181
2 Tom NEAVE (Honda) 155
3 Lewis ROLLO (Aprilia) 130
4 Billy McCONNELL (BMW) 121
5 Tim NEAVE (Suzuki) 118
6 Danny KENT (Kawasaki) 113
7 Fraser ROGERS (Kawasaki) 82
8 Damon REES (BMW) 71
9 Luke HEDGER (Kawasaki) 59
10 Dan LINFOOT (BMW) 53
11 Jordan WEAVING (Suzuki) 47
12 Davey TODD (Honda) 46
13 Ian HUTCHINSON (BMW) 43
14 Brayden ELLIOTT (Suzuki) 35
15 Matt TRUELOVE (BMW) 28
16 Shane RICHARDSON (BMW) 25
17 Joe COLLIER (Suzuki) 23
18 David ALLINGHAM (Suzuki) 15
19 Luke JONES (Aprilia) 10
20 Keith FARMER (Suzuki) 9
21 Richard COOPER (BMW) 9
22 Leon JEACOCK (Suzuki) 8
23 Joe SHELDON-SHAW (Suzuki) 8
24 Shaun WINFIELD (Yamaha) 7
25 Johnny BLACKSHAW (Aprilia) 2
26 Luke HOPKINS (Kawasaki) 2


British Superstock 600

Rhys Irwin has taken the final Pirelli National Superstock 600 victory of 2020 in a hard fought battle at Brands Hatch, with brother Caolan Irwin second and TJ Toms third.

Champion of 2020 Ben Luxton grabbed the advantage from the opening lap, leading the pack with Caolan Irwin and TJ Toms second and third. By half race distance the battle at the front became a seven-man strong dice, with Caolan Irwin heading the pack.

But in a battle of attrition over the final four laps, the top four continued to swap places until the flag, with Rhys Irwin taking the victory from brother Caolan and TJ Toms, with Liam Delves fourth.

Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Rhys IRWIN Yamaha 18m24.133
2 Caolan IRWIN Kawasaki +0.360
3 TJ TOMS Yamaha +0.389
4 Liam DELVES Yamaha +0.537
5 Ben LUXTON Kawasaki +1.295
6 George STANLEY Kawasaki +1.958
7 Jack NIXON Kawasaki +2.534
8 Joe TALBOT Kawasaki +2.598
9 Simon REID Yamaha +3.842
10 Louis VALLELEY Kawasaki +10.345
11 Eugene McMANUS Kawasaki +11.229
12 James ALDERSON Triumph +11.426
13 Zak CORDEROY Kawasaki +13.024
14 Adam HARTGROVE Yamaha +21.846
15 Asher DURHAM Kawasaki +21.951
16 William LATHROPE Triumph +21.976
17 Aaron SILVESTER Yamaha +26.793
18 Daniel BROOKS Kawasaki +28.377
19 Owen JENNER Kawasaki +31.615
20 Trystan FINOCCHIARO Kawasaki +32.099
21 Nathan DRURY Kawasaki +32.184
22 Matthew BOWER Kawasaki +32.251
23 Conor WHEELER Yamaha +32.327
24 Josh COWARD Kawasaki +47.154
25 Toby REYNOLDS Yamaha +47.308
26 Harry FOWLE Triumph +52.767
27 Bradley RICHMAN Kawasaki +1m02.905
28 Kayla BARRINGTON Kawasaki +1m03.059
29 Jamie LE MASURIER Triumph +1m10.139
Not Classifieds
DNF James BULL MV Agusta 11 Laps
DNF Michael LARGE-TAYLOR Yamaha 11 Laps

Championship Points

Pos Rider Points
1 Ben LUXTON (Kawasaki) 165
2 Rhys IRWIN (Yamaha) 121
3 Zak CORDEROY (Kawasaki) 108
4 Caolan IRWIN (Kawasaki) 99
5 Liam DELVES (Yamaha) 75
6 Jack NIXON (Kawasaki) 69
7 Joe TALBOT (Kawasaki) 63
8 James ALDERSON (Triumph) 57
9 Simon REID (Yamaha) 51
10 TJ TOMS (Kawasaki) 46
11 Daniel BROOKS (Kawasaki) 46
12 George STANLEY (Kawasaki) 44
13 Eugene McMANUS (Kawasaki) 30
14 Adam McLEAN (Yamaha) 27
15 Kade VERWEY (Kawasaki) 20
16 Sam LAFFINS (Kawasaki) 18
17 Louis VALLELEY (Kawasaki) 13
18 Aaron SILVESTER (Yamaha) 12
19 Asher DURHAM (Kawasaki) 12
20 Adam HARTGROVE (Yamaha) 9
21 Connor THOMSON (Yamaha) 8
22 Conor WHEELER (Yamaha) 7
23 Luke VERWEY (Kawasaki) 6
24 Trystan FINOCCHIARO (Kawasaki) 4
25 Taylor MORETON (Kawasaki) 4
26 William LATHROPE (Triumph) 3
27 Christopher SINANAN (Kawasaki) 2
28 Matthew BOWER (Kawasaki) 1

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup

South Australian Levi Day took his fifth win of the season at Brands Hatch in the final Ducati Tri-Options race of the season with Elliot Pinson second and Craig Neve third, as Josh Day took the title with a fifth place finish.

It was David Shoubridge who grabbed the holeshot after making a great start from the second row, but after the opening lap Levi Day led the way ahead of Pinson with Shoubridge in close proximity, with Josh Day down in seventh.

By half race distance Pinson took over at front as he looked to take his first victory of the season, but he then became embroiled in a battle with Levi Day, with Shoubridge just behind. However on the final lap Levi Day made his way past Pinson at the front to take his fifth win of the season, with Josh Day crossing the line fifth to take his second Championship in a second.

Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Levi DAY BPS Racing 15m14.545
2 Elliott PINSON Symcirrus Motorsport +0.308
3 Craig NEVE CN Racing +3.769
4 David SHOUBRIDGE AH Performance +3.860
5 Josh DAY  Host-it.co.uk Racing Team +13.629
6 Samuel COX Sam Cox Racing +14.841
7 Dijon COMPTON Ducati +17.034
8 Carl STEVENS Freeman Harris Racing Ducati +19.161
9 David JONES Dragon Racing +19.382
10 Seb BULPIN SBR +20.583
11 Michael TUSTIN Jones Dorling Racing +20.697
12 Edmund BEST Symcirrus Motorsport +22.271
13 John McGUINNESS Lund Group +32.230
14 Ewan POTTER AH Performance +43.124
15 Matthew JONES Dragon Racing +43.214
16 Lee McLAUGHLIN J.A.B Racing +43.234
17 Craig KENNELLY Resideo Racing +43.396
18 Richard SPENCER-FLEET RSF Racing/Army  Road Race T +43.491
19 Matt STEVENS Tech 5 Racing +43.929
20 John REYNOLDS Fins Motorcycles +59.140
21 Hiro ARAZEKI JWF Motorsport +59.662
22 Peter HASLER Art of Racing +1m00.078
23 Mike LONG True Heroes Racing +1m02.518
24 Andre COMPTON Lund Group +1m02.725
25 Tom STEVENS Tech 5 Racing +1m02.984
26 Lee DEVONPORT Art of Racing +1m06.766
27 Ian FLEETWOOD Quarry Plant Ltd +1m16.414
28 Stephen TAYLOR  Bike Iconics +1m17.604
29 Jimmy BUCHANAN Architectural Coatings Ducati +1m36.375
30 Murray HAMBRO Legless Racing +1 Lap
31 Matthew FLOWER My Ductwork Ltd +1 Lap
Not Classified
DNF Ben FALLA Ducati – True Heroes Racing 6 Laps
DNF Andy BOOTH Ducati – ARBRacing.com 8 Laps

Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Josh DAY 216
2 Levi DAY 209
3 David SHOUBRIDGE 119
4 Elliott PINSON 117
5 Craig NEVE 108
6 Samuel COX 77
7 John McGUINNESS 74
8 Michael TUSTIN 70
9 Edmund BEST 68
10 Dijon COMPTON 66
11 Carl STEVENS 60
12 David JONES 35
13 Mark CHEETHAM 28
14 Matthew JONES 23
15 Alberto SOLERA 19
16 Ewan POTTER 16
17 Richard SPENCER-FLEET 15
18 Seb BULPIN 14
19 Ben FALLA 14
20 Hiro ARAZEKI 14
21 Sam MIDDLEMAS 13
22 Lee DEVONPORT 9
23 Matt STEVENS 8
24 Craig KENNELLY 5
25 Lee McLAUGHLIN 2
26 Peter HASLER 1

Source: MCNews.com.au

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