2021 British Superbike Championship Round Four Thruxton
Images by David Yeomans
The Bennetts British Superbike Championship hits Hampshire this weekend (July 30 – August 1), as Britain’s biggest motorsport series returns to Thruxton for the first time since 2019, with VisionTrack Ducati’s Christian Iddon leading the standings.
Four different race winners and a further three riders have so far celebrated podium finishes this year, and Iddon arrives at the fourth round with a slender six-point advantage over his closest rival Jason O’Halloran. The pair have constantly swapped position at the top of the standings throughout the opening nine races of the season.
Iddon regained the lead in the standings after claiming his second win of the year in the final race at Brands Hatch, fending off race one winner Tarran Mackenzie, who elevated himself into third in the overall standings after his podium hat trick in Kent.
Christian Iddon
“I have never been to Thruxton on the Ducati, obviously we hadn’t at Knockhill either, but we had tested there. It will be a bit of an unknown for me, so I am interested to see how we get on. My philosophy is the same as always, I do my best every time I go out. it is nice to be leading the championship, I have had that for two consecutive rounds now. Certainly, the target is obviously to be leading the standings at the end of Sunday when we leave Thruxton. It’s a hard-fought championship and you never know who you are going to be up against, but at the moment there seems to be a couple of riders who stand out, who have been there every weekend. Myself and Jason have probably been the most consistent of those and it has been really, really close between us! There has been a swing in the championship and Jason is really strong and you can never count him out as he showed on Sunday morning after having a really difficult Saturday. I also think that Josh is going to be right up there, he is spectacular at Thruxton as he is at most tracks, and he had a very good end of Brands Hatch – I think we will see a good return to form for him. We have a good flow and I want to keep the ball rolling, which is much easier said than done! To maintain this consistency is no easy task in such a tight championship, but I will continue to do the best job I can.”
Christian Iddon
O’Halloran took his winning tally to four in the second race at Brands Hatch. The Australian has taken more victories than his rivals so far in 2021, only losing the lead in the standings courtesy of a crash in race two at Knockhill.
Danny Buchan came close to a podium return last weekend after his Knockhill double for SYNETIQ BMW and is just seven points adrift of Mackenzie ahead of the next three races, whilst his teammate Andrew Irwin will be wanting a repeat of 2019 when he claimed his first Bennetts BSB race win at the circuit.
Home hero Tommy Bridewell scored a pair of second places at Brands Hatch, to keep the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team in the top five ahead of their home round this weekend, just ahead of rookie wonder Rory Skinner on the leading FS-3 Racing Kawasaki.
Skinner’s teammate Lee Jackson is seventh with FHO Racing BMW’s Peter Hickman holding the final place in the all-important top eight in the standings ahead of the end of season Showdown.
Just adrift of the top eight ahead of the next three races of the season are Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW’s Bradley Ray and just two points adrift, Josh Brookes.
The defending champion scored his best result of the season last time out in fifth place, but is yet to return to the podium, and will be pushing to change that at the circuit where he was victorious in 2019.
Josh Brookes
“I definitely found an improvement in the final race at Brands Hatch. We made a step up from the Josh Brookesearlier race and if it’s confirmed that discovery is what we think it is, then that would be a positive step in the right direction. We will find out at Thruxton if it has worked so all I can do is remain positive. Thruxton is my favourite track of the year so I’m hoping it will all come together, and we can start to get the results we know we are capable of. I’d normally be saying I want wins but for now I’m hoping we can get on the podium, so that’s what I’m aiming for.”
2021 British Superbike Championship Round Two – Knockhill
Images by David Yeoman
British Superbike
Christian Iddon kicked off the weekend at Knockhill with a Superbike win in Race 1, holding off Australian Jason O’Halloran and Danny Buchan to win the opening race.
Danny Buchan
Danny Buchan then celebrated victory for SYNETIQ BMW in the second Bennetts British Superbike Championship race at Knockhill, becoming the third different race winner of the season as Rory Skinner delivered an incredible second place finish in only his fifth race.
Buchan then followed it up with a double victory, making a crucial move on Rory Skinner just a lap before the final Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend was red flagged.
Christian Iddon now holds the Superbike lead on 111-points, six-points ahead of Jason O’Halloran, with Buchan third. Josh Brookes is currently 11th on 38-points.
Bradley Perie took the British Supersport wins, with Ben Currie second in Race 1 and finishing 11th in Race 2. Perie now leads the standings from Jack Kennedy and Lee Johnston, with Currie fourth overall.
Ben Currie
Taylor Mackenzie and Fraser Rogers shared the Pirelli National Superstock wins, with Billy McConnell second in both races. South Australia’s Billy McConnell leads the standings on 56-points, from Taylor Mackenzie (50) and Fraser Rogers (32).
In the British Talent Cup Evan Belford won both races, with New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan racing to a 4-3 result. As a result Belford currently leads the standings from Johnny Garness and Casey O’Gorman, with Buchanan fifth.
2021 British Superbike Championship – Race 1
As Race 1 kicked off, O’Halloran launched off the pole position to grab the lead ahead of Iddon and Buchan, but the order shifted as the SYNETIQ BMW rider moved into second on the third lap with a decisive overtake.
Jason O’Halloran
Meanwhile Iddon had grasped the lead, but the VisionTrack Ducati rider soon was relegated to second as Buchan hit the front of the pack on lap six.
As Buchan tried to make a break on his chasing rivals he saved a huge moment, when he tucked the front at the hairpin, and his incredible reactions meant he may have lost the lead but he was able to regroup from fourth place.
Iddon had taken command at the front of the pack, but O’Halloran was stalking him all the way to the chequered flag as the pair continue their duel from Oulton Park.
Christian Iddon
Peter Hickman had taken advantage of Buchan’s mistake to move up a place into a potential podium position, but a problem on the final lap meant he was forced to retire the FHO Racing BMW, handing the final top three place back to his BMW rival.
Bradley Ray had a strong performance in fourth to score his best result of the season so far for the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW ahead of rookie Rory Skinner, who delivered a stellar performance to claim fifth place in only his fourth Bennetts BSB race with FS-3 Kawasaki.
Josh Brookes
Tarran Mackenzie bounced back from a crash in qualifying to score sixth after a battle with Ryan Vickers on the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki in the closing stages, as Tommy Bridewell, Lee Jackson and defending champion Josh Brookes completed the top ten.
2021 British Superbike Championship – Race 2
At the start of the race, Iddon had launched his VisionTrack Ducati into the lead on the opening lap ahead of Buchan, Peter Hickman and Skinner.
Danny Buchan
Hickman was fighting hard and within six laps, he had forced his way into second place with a move at the Hairpin, before Skinner also made the same pass a lap later on the SYNETIQ BMW.
It was a disastrous race for the championship leader Jason O’Halloran, who relinquished his position at the top of the standings when he crashed out unhurt on the eleventh lap.
Meanwhile in the leading pack, Iddon was holding off his rivals as Buchan had moved back into second position with Mackenzie and Skinner in close contention.
Christian Iddon
Buchan bided his time before executing a move at the Hairpin on the 17th lap to claim the lead and then despite initial early pressure, he was able to bridge a gap of just over a second to claim the first race win for the all-new BMW M 1000 RR.
The battle for second though took a turn on lap 20 as Skinner claimed the position by passing Iddon and he was able to hold off the pair behind him, scoring a superb second place for FS-3 Kawasaki.
On the final lap, the scrap continued for the final podium position as Mackenzie lunged ahead on the McAMS Yamaha to push Iddon back into fourth place at the chequered flag. The VisionTrack Ducati rider though moved ahead in the title standings.
Rory Skinner
Tommy Bridewell completed the top five, as he was able to gain positions after Hickman saved a huge off track moment after a promising start, which saw him in the podium fight for FHO Racing BMW, dropping him to seventh position.
2021 British Superbike Championship – Race 3
Mackenzie led the pack off the line at the start, but it wasn’t long before Skinner was on the attack and he instantly grabbed the lead at the Hairpin. The Scottish rider was heading the field as Iddon moved into second, pushing Makenzie into third by the end of the second lap.
Hickman was also getting stuck in, fighting for a podium position, firing the FHO Racing BMW ahead of Mackenzie on lap four.
Peter Hickman
Buchan was holding fourth position by lap ten, but ahead of him, Hickman had dived up the inside of Iddon at the Hairpin to claim second.
The VisionTrack Ducati rider was targeting his counterattack and as they reached the Hairpin the next time around, he dived up the inside ofs Hickman. Buchan also saw his opportunity when Hickman was forced to sit up, and he stuck the SYNETIQ BMW ahead, but the pair touched and they subsequently lost ground.
Buchan was determined to fight back for the podium and after hunting Mackenzie, he was able to edge ahead on lap 15, but the McAMS Yamaha rider instantly reclaimed the position. Buchan eventually made a move that stuck and he then had Skinner and Iddon ahead of him.
Rory Skinner
A lunge into the Hairpin put the SYNETIQ BMW rider back into second as Iddon was nudged back into third and then he was duelling with Skinner for the victory.
Skinner was fighting hard to hold the lead and as Buchan moved ahead the FS-3 Kawasaki rider was desperately trying to retaliate, but the race was red flagged when Glenn Irwin crashed a lap later, leaving his stricken Honda in the track.
Mackenzie held on to claim his second podium finish of the day for McAMS Yamaha with Iddon in fourth place to remain on top of the standings by six points ahead of the next round at Brands Hatch.
Bradley Ray was back in the top five for Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW ahead of O’Halloran, who bounced back from a race two crash to finish in sixth place.
Danny Buchan – 3-1-1
“To bring home wins for the SYNETIQ BMW team is fantastic – they’ve had a hard few years so to repay those guys on the new M 1000 RR is obviously a fantastic thing for everyone involved. It’s very early days in the project still and we’re still building on it, so I am over the moon. To get the double hasn’t quite sunk in just yet, but it’s fantastic. It was a hectic last race and there was a lot going on, and I sort of knew if I got in front I could pull a gap, so the plan was to get my head down and go and that’s what we started to do. I started to edge away and then the red flag came out, so I timed it right, lady luck was on my side there definitely, but credit to SYNETIQ BMW. To get two wins today is fantastic for them, so massive credit to the team, my sponsors and everyone involved.”
Danny Buchan topped the podium in races 2 and 3
Christian Iddon 1-4-4
“I’m delighted to get the win especially so early in the season. It’s been a bit of a strange day as I haven’t quite got the feeling with the bike I’m looking for although it’s doing what I want it to do. I have a lack of sensation at certain places on the track where I’ve been strong in the past, but the good thing is that our form is good and we’re improving all the time. I learned a bit more when Danny was ahead of me and have a small change to make for tomorrow which should help us further. The weather may have a part to play but we’re on the front row for the first race and whilst it’s very early days in the season, it’s definitely a case of so far, so good.”
Christian Iddon
Rory Skinner – 5-2-2
“I came into this weekend just hoping to build on the performance we had at Oulton Park – maybe get a top 10 or maybe be up there in the races for a while… I never expected to come home in P2! You know to be right up there with the best in the country in BSB in my second round on a superbike, I was blown away! I’m so, so happy with it and just have to say a massive thanks to FS-3 Kawasaki for giving me a home and giving me the best package possible. I had no plan; I was just going with the flow of things. I was watching my board and I just rode my heart out and to bring home podiums is amazing.”
Josh Brookes – 10-12-13
“It’s been a similar situation to Oulton in the sense that I’ve got no grip and it’s frustrating as a race winner and British champion to be rolling around in tenth. The bike’s not behaving badly or getting out of shape but for some reason the set-up is not there and in today’s race, I had three to four moments every lap. Christian’s settings and mine are as close as they’ve ever been but he’s won and I’m in tenth so it’s hard for us all to get our head around at the moment. All I can keep doing is relay the information to the team and hope something can be found. I’m sure our hard work and perseverance will see everything come good.”
Josh Brookes
Peter Hickman – DNF-7-8
“Disappointing weekend for us especially when we had the pace which was probably the most disappointing thing. We had the pace for the podium it just wasn’t meant to be this weekend. Everything that could go against us went against us. It looks like we could have a possible gearbox issue on the new motor, as in both races I missed a gear going into turn one and had to go straight on. Not ideal, not ideal in the slightest! But we have to take the positives and the positives are we’re fast, competitive and right at the front. So onwards and upwards, we will get things sorted for Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks time.”
2021 British Superbike Championship Round One – Oulton Park
Images by David Yeoman
Jason O’Halloran has dominated the opening round of the British Superbike Championship in style, adding two more wins to his Saturday victory to grab a handy lead in the championship. Defending Champion Josh Brookes took a 7-6 result on Sunday, improving but still struggling to resolve some issues from Saturday.
Jason O’Halloran made it three from three at Oulton Park
Jack Kennedy won the Supersport class, despite tying on points with Bradley Perie, with Aussie Ben Currie third overall with a 3-4 result.
Ben Currie
Taylor Mackenzie took the Superstock win, ahead of Luke Mossey and Billy McConnell. Levi Day finished seventh, just ahead of Brayden Elliott, with New Zealand’s Damon Rees 19th and Shane Richardson 21st.
Billy McConnell
Casey O’Gorman took the British Talent Cup win, with a double win, with Evan Belford and Carter Brown leaving the weekend tied on 36-points.
In the Junior Superstock it was Jack Nixon claiming the race wins and championship lead, with George Stanley and Joe Talbot second and third respectively. Aussie Seth Crump ran 15-19 and claimed a championship point.
Seth Crump
British Superbike
O’Halloran had been victorious in yesterday’s curtain raiser and he carried his momentum into today’s action for the McAMS Yamaha team.
Jason O’Halloran proved the man to beat at Oulton Park
O’Halloran hounded Iddon throughout the second race of the weekend, but despite several earlier attempts at a pass, he couldn’t get ahead.
Christian Iddon
The Australian was determined to return to winning ways at Oulton Park though and he pulled off an exuberant last corner move on Iddon into Lodge on the brakes to secure the win.
Peter Hickman meanwhile, had been battling in the early stages with the leading pair, before arm pump struck later in the race. The FHO Racing BMW rider showed determination to hold onto third place and claim the team’s maiden podium finish on its debut weekend – also the first for the new BMW M 1000 RR.
Peter Hickman
SYNETIQ BMW’s Danny Buchan was able to move his way up the order into fourth place, just ahead of Bradley Ray and Tarran Mackenzie, who had overcome a collision with Tommy Bridewell to regain ground before the chequered flag.
The rivalry between O’Halloran and Iddon continued in the final race of the triple-header as the pair went head-to-head for the final time in Cheshire. Iddon once again got a lightning start off the line to lead O’Halloran on the opening lap with Hickman again tucked into third after his pole position start.
Jason O’Halloran
O’Halloran was shadowing Iddon throughout the race and on more than one occasion looked to try to find a way ahead, but the VisionTrack Ducati rider kept holding him at bay.
The victory would once again come down to a final lap decider as O’Halloran made a brave overtake on the run down Lakeside to lead into Shell Oils corner.
Jason O’Halloran – P1
“It has been a great weekend and it couldn’t have gone any better, so I need to thank everyone at McAMS Yamaha. Race two was a comfortable race and Christian was setting a good pace and I was looking for somewhere to get ahead but it wasn’t working out. I got out of the seat and then got a good run out of Druids and was as close as ever so I just thought ‘let’s try’. I don’t know how I did get it stopped, but I did and then I just had enough to the line so I was happy with that. In the third race, I had been lining Christian up for a move at Shell, but when I tried there a couple of times I didn’t think I could make a clean pass as he was strong there. He gapped me in some other places and I was a bit worried as I knew it wasn’t just the two of us at the front. I left it until the last lap again and I got a great run out of Cascades and hung on to his draft a little bit and went for the move and got through. I thought he might have come back at me, but to start the season with three wins was a perfect weekend for me.”
Jason O’Halloran
Iddon tried to retaliate but had to settle for second, his third of the weekend to lead the charge for VisionTrack Ducati.
Christian Iddon – P2
“I think I’m going to lobby Stuart Higgs to see if we can get extra points for the most laps led in a race. It’s hard to take when you lead for that long and get overtaken on the final lap and although three second place finishes are obviously a great start, three wins would have been better. Jason had something more than us in certain parts of the circuit though and he had plenty of opportunity to weigh things up by sitting behind me for so long. I was half expecting him to come by, especially in the last race but I felt confident leading, and we can take away a lot of positives from the weekend.”
Christian Iddon
Bridewell meanwhile, had been desperate to make amends for his DNF in the previous race when the incident forced him to retire. He carved his way through from 12th position at the start and was soon piling the pressure on the riders ahead of him.
By lap 11, Bridewell was into fifth before he made a move on Hickman, who was beginning to suffer again from arm pump. He then targeted Mackenzie, hunting the McAMS Yamaha rider down before making a decisive pass on the brakes on lap 16.
Bridewell held off Mackenzie to the chequered flag to take the final podium position of the weekend with Hickman completing the top five.
Peter Hickman – P3
“Great weekend for myself and the FHO Racing BMW team, fantastic to get the first-ever podium for the team at round one and the first-ever podium for the M 1000 RR BMW. If we were offered a 4th 5th and podium from the weekend before we got there, we would have definitely taken it, especially when I was struggling with arm pump really badly this weekend, which is unusual for myself. I felt I had the pace to have been on the podium for all three races, if not to win one or two. That’s the way things go, but I will work to get that sorted before the next round. So leaving here on a positive, the bike has worked really well and shown its potential and it is only round one for us and look forward to getting to Knockhill. Finally, wishing my teammate Xavi all the best and look forward to getting him back with the team for Knockhill.”
Peter Hickman
It was a difficult weekend for defending champion Josh Brookes, the Australian ending today’s two races in seventh and sixth place respectively.
Josh Brookes – P6
“We’ve definitely made a step forward today especially in the last race although sixth place is a relatively small consolation. It’s important to always think about the positives though and irrespective of the position, I got a decent feeling with the bike again. I actually felt like I could be aggressive and attack into the corners and by doing that, the confidence slowly returned. I got further up the field and scored more points, but I’ve created a bit of a challenge for myself and need to put in some hard work ahead of the next round.”
Josh Brookes
Jason O’Halloran leads the Superbike standings as a result, on a perfect 75-points, with Iddon second overall on 60. Hickman is a distant third on 40-points, ahead of Mackenzie (34), Bridewell (32) and defending champ Josh Brookes on 25.
2021 British Superbike Championship – Oulton Park Results
2021 British Superbike Championship Round One – Oulton Park
Images by David Yeoman
Australian Jason O’Halloran has kicked off the 2021 British Superbike Championship in the best way possible, winning the opening race of the year’s first round, taking the win at Oulton Park ahead of Christian Iddon and Tommy Bridewell.
Oulton Park saw riders out on track for the opening race of the season
Iddon had hit the front of the pack on the opening lap as he launched off the front row to lead into Old Hall for the first time ahead of O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie.
As Iddon led the pack, O’Halloran was looking to make his move, but it wasn’t until lap eight when he could make it ahead with a move down the inside at Old Hall.
The VisionTrack Ducati rider tried to reclaim the position, edging ahead as the crossed the line on the tenth lap, but O’Halloran had the lead into Old Hall.
Jason O’Halloran topped the podium in Race 1, ahead of Christian Iddon and Tommy Bridewell
The McAMS Yamaha rider held off the challenge until the chequered flag as Iddon claimed second place for VisionTrack Ducati, with Bridewell in third continuing his successful weekend so far for Oxford Products Racing Ducati.
Jason O’Halloran – P1
“It feels absolutely great to claim the first win of the year! We’ve had probably the best pre-season I’ve ever had, I’ve topped the majority of the test sessions – but the first sessions that actually counted were this weekend and we got one lap so I was a bit unhappy about qualifying. I put my head down though in the race and got a really good start. I’ve done about three practice starts this weekend and fluffed them all so I’m glad I got that one right when it mattered! I just settled in to the race, I sort of knew my pace as I had done a pretty long run in FP3 and I could see Christian ahead. I was pretty happy with what he was doing, he wasn’t really getting away although there was a little gap, it was more of a yo-yo gap and I just picked my time. Once I got to the front I started to push it a bit more. I knew he would come with me because when you’re following you can tag on and get pulled away, and I was happy to just run my normal lines and learn as much as I could for tomorrow. I think we can still improve tomorrow, it’s a longer race as well which I think will play into our favour.”
Jason O’Halloran
Christian Iddon – P2
“To come away from the first race of the season with a trophy is obviously great but it was a hard race and after eight months away from racing it was quite a shock to the system. I don’t think I’ve been riding as well as I can do this weekend so I didn’t want to lead and when Jason came by, he pulled quite a gap straight away, but our bikes are so completely different these gaps can come and go and that’s what happened. We’ve definitely improved, and we’ll look to see if we can make further improvements for tomorrow, but 20 points is a good start to the season.”
Christian Iddon
Peter Hickman was just adrift of the leading trio to lead the BMW contenders to score fourth place on the FHO Racing BMW team debut at Oulton Park.
Mackenzie finished in a lone fifth place ahead of Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin and Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW’s Kyle Ryde after teammate Bradley Ray was forced to retire in the early stages of the race.
Lee Jackson scored FS-3 Kawasaki eighth place, maintaining his position ahead of Ryan Vickers and Josh Brookes as the reigning champion completed the top ten.
Josh Brookes – P10
“We’ve used testing to try a number of things with the bike and did so with optimism and we felt we had the package to come here and challenge for the win. For whatever reason though, that’s not happened and even though we eventually put in exactly the same settings as what we had last year, I haven’t been able to get anywhere near where I should be. We know what the issue is, we just need to work out how to solve it. Sometimes you can look at your own shortcomings which I can accept so we’ll sit down and have a good look at what we need to do to make a better fist of things in tomorrow’s races.”
Defending champion Josh Brookes finished 10th, with an issue proving hard to solve
It was a disappointing opening race for SYNETIQ BMW’s Andrew Irwin, who crashed out at Old Hall and Buildbase Suzuki’s Danny Kent, who slid off at Lodge.
2021 British Superbike Championship – Oulton Park Race 1 Results
Double defending BSB champions VisionTrack Ducati will get their title defence underway at Oulton Park this weekend with Paul Bird’s team looking to make it a hat trick of back-to-back titles, with Josh Brookes carrying the #1 plate on his factory-supported VisionTrack Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Josh Brookes
Brookes added the 2020 crown to his 2015 BSB success and remains with the team for a third successive season where he’ll once again be joined by Christian Iddon. Iddon, originally from Stockport but now living on Tyneside finished third in last year’s 18-race title chase and in his debut season with the PBM team scored his first win at Snetterton.
Both riders have undertaken an extensive pre-season testing schedule in the run up to the opening round of the season and are confident they can get off to a good start. At Oulton Park last year, Brookes won a race and Iddon followed him home, as well as bagging a pair of other second places around the Cheshire venue.
Josh Brookes
“Oulton Park is going to be interesting and I’m excited to start the season there. It’s a unique track and I have some good form there and a history of good results over the years which is a positive for us. We tried a lot of things in testing but as we know, the bike is a proven winner, so it’s been difficult to make massive improvements to it. But we never stop working and there is always something to try and refine. As for me, I’m more of a race guy than a tester and it’s all about getting results from the races so hopefully we can make a good start to the season.”
Josh Brookes
This season comprises a total of 33 races over the 11 rounds between next weekend and mid-October meaning a very busy schedule for teams and riders with every round being a triple-header. Both Brookes and Iddon know the importance of making a good start to help boost their title aspirations.
Christian Iddon
“I’m really excited to get racing again although it’s very disappointing we won’t have a full Christian Iddoncontingent of spectators for this round, especially with it traditionally being my local track. But I’ll be doing my best to put on a good show for those at Oulton Park as well as those watching on television and listening on BSB Radio. I feel much more relaxed on the bike than I did last year so hopefully we can make that count and kick the season off well. A good haul of points is important at round one to give us a stable platform for the season ahead.”
Christian Iddon
Sadly, for the opening round, because of the delay in easing of government restrictions, only 4,000 fans will be allowed to attend each day but those missing out on attending can rely on live television and radio coverage until hopefully fans will be allowed back into circuits from round three at Brands Hatch in late July.
John Mowatt – Team Co-Ordinator
“As a team we are really looking forward to getting the season underway as it seems such a long time since we last rode competitively. Testing has gone well, and the idea was to try as many things as possible, so we know what works and what doesn’t so we achieved what we set out to do. We are now looking to get our season off to the strongest possible start at what is our local circuit and for the first time since 2019, in front of some spectators.”
2021 British Superbike Championship Silverstone Test
Images by David Yeomans Photography
Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin has completed the Silverstone BSB test on top of the time-sheets, setting the fastest ever BSB lap by 0.090s, in a strong start to the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship. Day two saw a reshuffle of the fastest riders, as Australia’s Jason O’Halloran was pushed down the sheets, with Josh Brookes suffering a nasty crash that ended his day.
A crash for Josh Brookes ended his day early
The top 17 riders were covered by just 0.988s on combined times after the two days on circuit, with four different manufacturers represented in the top four positions ahead of next week’s second test at Snetterton.
Jason O’Halloran was fastest Aussie
Glenn Irwin’s lap record-breaking time came in the penultimate session of the test, with the Honda Racing rider putting himself firmly at the head of the times, although McAMS Yamaha rider Tarran Mackenzie was also under the existing record and just 0.016s adrift of his rival.
Glenn Irwin – P1
“It has been a really productive test and one of two halves; yesterday the pace was slower than last year and you put it down to conditions, but it was also similar conditions today. I think we all know how to ride, but I think you forget all the niche things that make you compete at this level and I feel we did that better today. I improved today and we had a lot that we needed to get through here. We tried some new things that we thought might not even work, but the lap time in the third session was really good and I was happy. In the final session I was on another faster lap so I was buzzing, but I came across another rider in the last sector so didn’t get to complete it, but it has been a good day and the team have worked amazing. We can’t be complacent as we don’t know what everyone else is working on, but I feel strong and we can now look forward to the next test at Snetterton.”
Glenn Irwin
Tarran Mackenzie – P2
“The first day of the test was a bit of a nightmare for a few reasons out of our control, but things went a lot better on Thursday! It was nice to have a full day of trying things and getting a better feeling for the bike. The setting is very similar to what we ran last year so it’s just a case of fine tuning that. I had a good first session and then built on from that. We called it a day in the last session as it was a bit too cold and we’d done everything we needed to do. We are going to Snetterton with a good feeling on the bike and feeling confident, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Tarran Mackenzie
Silverstone again proved to be a strong circuit for the Buildbase Suzuki team and after setting the pace at lunchtime, Danny Kent’s time in that session put him third overall on the combined times as he proved to put his track knowledge to use as he prepares for his new campaign.
Danny Kent – P3
“I’ve got to be happy with that at the end of the day. This, really, was my first proper go on a Superbike with a good team around me that know the bike and have the experience, so to come away in the top three; it feels good. I was a bit worried; you have thoughts about if you’ll be fast enough when it comes to it and people have asked that question of me – and understandably maybe – but I think today’s answered those questions, and confidence is pretty high at the moment. The objective at this test was to just get comfortable, and I wanted to come away feeling like the bike was mine, and we definitely achieved that. The bike felt great and the team have done a really good job. They’ve got so much experience at this level I just rode the bike and let them make any changes they wanted to make. The result was it made doing the lap times so easy and I think with a more experienced rider than me onboard it could easily have topped the times. I just kept making the odd mistake when pushing hard and I’d over ride and do the wrong things to go fast. So I’ve got a bit of learning to do still but I think I could have gone faster. Plus we lost nearly two sessions with a crash on Wednesday morning. Being at Silverstone made it easier as I know that track, and I know it’ll be harder at Snetterton. But I also know the bike can go fast there. It’s just going to be a case of putting the laps in, learning the circuit, the bike, and keep building that connection. For the first day back it feels pretty good.”
Danny Kent
Kyle Ryde showed impressive pace with the new BMW M 1000 RR to post the fourth fastest time for the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW team, he had topped the timesheets in the final session of the test, despite conditions meaning the pace couldn’t match what was set earlier in the day.
Jason O’Halloran
Jason O’Halloran had set the pace on the opening day of testing action and the McAMS Yamaha rider ended the test fifth fastest overall, holding off the second Buildbase Suzuki of Gino Rea and the SYNETIQ BMW pairing of Danny Buchan and Andrew Irwin.
Jason O’Halloran – P5
“The first day couldn’t have gone any better for us. We focused on trying the new engine on day one and turned our focus to the chassis on the second day. I was a bit nervous about changing the chassis as we didn’t change a lot last year, I’d ridden the same bike all year and we had a good year so it took me a bit of time to adjust to it. Once I started to use the benefits of the new settings, it started to come to me and I started to feel really good. We just worked through our programme, got through everything we needed to get through. In the third session I did a long run and set my best lap on the last lap of the run. We came in, made a few changes and went back out and bettered that time again and by that point the tyre had done 31 laps. To be doing 53’3 with 31 laps on a tyre is exactly where we need to be for race day here. The final session was just a bit too sketchy for me, as nice as it would have been to have stuck some fresh rubber in and gone for a time!”
Jason O’Halloran
Christian Iddon held ninth place on combined times for VisionTrack Ducati, his teammate and reigning champion Josh Brookes suffered a high-speed crash in the final session, which ended his day prematurely leaving him in P12 overall. The Australian was able to walk away from the crash but sustained a finger injury.
Josh Brookes
“I’ve taken a lot of skin off the little finger and there is a risk of infection as it’s down to the bone but apart from that I’m OK and my finger is fine. There are no other injuries so it’s just a case of getting it cleaned up. I’m still working out what happened in the crash, but the track was cooling down and I perhaps carried a bit too much brake so maybe that’s what happened. The test was good to a point, but we did a lot of experimenting and didn’t really find a lot that improved our existing package. It’s now a case of working on what we know best and finding the consistency we need.”
Josh Brookes
Christian Iddon – P9
“I’m really happy with the way the test has gone, everything is good. Silverstone is unique as Christian Iddoneveryone ends up with very similar lap times, it’s just one of those tracks. My aim over the two days was to experiment with a few ideas and to try some stuff we didn’t get round to trying last year, mainly to do with tyre life and some other settings. We achieved what we needed and in the last session, I just did a race run rather than chasing a lap time. It was unfortunate for Josh to crash and hope his finger injury is not too serious.”
Christian Iddon
Ryan Vickers completed the top ten for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team, edging out FHO Racing BMW’s Xavi Forés by just 0.038s.
2021 British Superbike Championship
Silverstone Test
Images by David Yeomans Photography
Australia’s Jason O’Halloran has set the initial benchmark as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship testing at Silverstone kicked off on Wednesday as the McAMS Yamaha rider topped all four sessions, edging out title rival and reigning champion Josh Brookes by 0.358s on the combined times.
Jason O’Halloran tops Day 1 of the BSB Silverstone test
The Australian’s best time came in the second session of the day before lunch, with the McAMS Yamaha contender continuing to build momentum in the team’s first test of the season.
Jason O’Halloran – McAMS Yamaha
“To be honest it was great to get back out on the bike. The first session was a little bit patchy, so we just did some laps to get the feeling back. The second session was really good for us. It was pretty much an identical bike to the one I rode here last year. In the lunchbreak, the boys changed the engine and we tried the 2021 spec, which we tried this afternoon for the last two sessions. Although we ended up at the top, this slowed us down a bit – when you put a new spec in you have to work through things like fuelling and throttle cables, so we’ve just been doing laps this afternoon to get things to my liking.Compared with how I felt on the previous bike, the changes we’ve made have been really positive and I feel comfortable, we’ve just got to tweak it to make it my own again. We’ll do that tomorrow and also some chassis stuff, so we can look forward to that tomorrow.”
Jason O’Halloran
Brookes meanwhile was consistently close and the defending champion set his best lap of the day in the third session, which put him 0.074s clear of his teammate Christian Iddon as the VisionTrack Ducati pairing locked out the final top three positions.
Josh Brookes
Kyle Ryde was the leading BMW rider onboard the all-new M 1000 RR, the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW rider was fourth fastest on the combined timings, setting the second fastest time in the final session of the day as he pushed for a final run before the chequered flag.
Kyle Ryde
Xavi Forés marked his return to Bennetts BSB action with the all-new FHO Racing BMW team by holding fourth place in the final session of the day, putting him in fifth place on the combined times as the Spaniard saved his best until last ahead of day two tomorrow.
Xavi Forés
The overall combined times featured five different manufacturers in the top seven and Buildbase Suzuki’s Danny Kent bounced back from an earlier crash to lead their charge in sixth place with Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin in seventh place overall.
Tommy Bridewell and Oxford Products Racing Ducati set their best time in the final session of the day, putting him into eighth place and just ahead of Gino Rea on the second of the Buildbase Suzukis with Tarran Mackenzie in tenth place, ending the day early following a crash in the final session.
2020 British Superbike Championship Round Four Oulton Park Sunday wrap
Images Dave Yeomans
British Superbike Race Two
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) celebrated his second victory of the weekend on Sunday at the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, riding a perfect race from opening lap to the chequered flag, winning from Christian Iddon and Danny Buchan.
Jason O’Halloran
O’Halloran had started from pole position but he had VisionTrack Ducati’s Iddon for close company with Buchan also in the breakaway trio in the later stages of the race as they replicated their podium finishing performances of Saturday.
O’Halloran’s victory was all the more crucial in the championship standings as there was a huge disappointment for leader Glenn Irwin when he was forced to retire with a technical problem, slashing his advantage from 30-points before the race, to just five.
Jason O’Halloran
Josh Brookes was able to make strides forward in more ways than one, as the former champion on the second of the VisionTrack Ducatis carved his way through from seventh on the opening lap into a fourth place at the chequered flag.
Lee Jackson on the second of the Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasakis also showed his rapid pace to claim fifth place after making a move on Andrew Irwin on the final lap with Bradley Ray also in the pack in eighth. Luke Mossey and Peter Hickman completed the top ten, just ahead of Tommy Bridewell on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati.
Jason O’Halloran claimed the Race 2 win from Iddon and Buchan
Race Two Results
Pos
Rider
Nat
Man.
Gap
1
Jason O’HALLORAN
AUS
Yamaha
28:33.4
2
Christian IDDON
GBR
Ducati
0.214
3
Danny BUCHAN
GBR
Kawasaki
1.129
4
Josh BROOKES
AUS
Ducati
4.305
5
Lee JACKSON
GBR
Kawasaki
10.648
6
Tarran MACKENZIE
GBR
Yamaha
11.478
7
Andrew IRWIN
GBR
Honda
11.819
8
Bradley RAY
GBR
BMW
12.611
9
Luke MOSSEY
GBR
BMW
12.683
10
Peter HICKMAN
GBR
BMW
15.078
11
Tommy BRIDEWELL
GBR
Ducati
16.756
12
Gino REA
GBR
Suzuki
17.067
13
Kyle RYDE
GBR
Suzuki
28.05
14
Ryan VICKERS
GBR
Kawasaki
33.193
15
Héctor BARBERÁ
ESP
BMW
34.056
16
Storm STACEY
GBR
Kawasaki
43.211
17
Josh OWENS
GBR
Kawasaki
56.294
18
Graeme IRWIN
GBR
Kawasaki
57.078
19
Brian McCORMACK
IRL
BMW
01:36.8
NOT CLASSIFIED
DNF
Glenn IRWIN
GBR
Honda
DNF
Taylor MACKENZIE
GBR
BMW
DNF
Jack KENNEDY
IRL
Kawasaki
DNF
Joe FRANCIS
GBR
BMW
DNF
Bjorn ESTMENT
RSA
BMW
DNF
Tom WARD
GBR
Kawasaki
DNF
Keith FARMER
GBR
Suzuki
British Superbike Race Three
O’Halloran became the eighth different winner of the season on Saturday for McAMS Yamaha, and he was able to follow it up with a second consecutive win in Round 11 earlier on Sunday, however O’Halloran was denied the chance to claim the first hat trick of wins in the 2020 Bennetts British Superbike Championship as Josh Brookes hit back in fighting form in race three.
Josh Brookes
Brookes was able to turn the disappointment of earlier in the weekend into a stunning victory in Round 12, holding off his VisionTrack Ducati teammate Iddon and Jackson to celebrate the final win in Cheshire.
Brookes had managed to hold the lead into Old Hall for the first time ahead of double race winner O’Halloran and Iddon with the Kawasaki pairing also in close contention. Iddon was looking for a way to move ahead of O’Halloran, and on lap three he powered head over his Australian rival as he bid to keep him at bay.
He then had his teammate in his sights, and he was looking for a chance to make a move. Iddon went for a dive on the brakes into Lodge on the eighth lap, but a determined counterattack put Brookes back at the front before they crossed the line for lap nine.
Jason O’Halloran
Iddon was still pressing Brookes and with three laps to go, he looked set to make a move at Hizzy’s, but it cost him ground and gave his teammate the edge he needed over the final laps to claim his second win of the 2020 season.
Meanwhile Iddon was under pressure from O’Halloran and Jackson as the scrap for the final podium positions continued, which went down to the wire on the final lap, with Iddon able to hold strong in second place.
For O’Halloran the chance of a hat trick of podiums ended at the final corner when Jackson made a determined move at Lodge to grab third place and hold the 0.096s advantage at the chequered flag.
Josh Brookes claimed the final race win of Oulton Park from Iddon and Jackson
O’Halloran claimed fourth place, but a determined weekend for the McAMS Yamaha rider now launches him into second in the title fight ahead of Donington Park and just two points adrift of Glenn Irwin, who ended the final race of the weekend in sixth place for Honda Racing.
Josh Brookes – P1
“Up until the final race, it had been a very difficult weekend and I hadn’t been able to push very hard or do much overtaking but the team have given me loads of support and never stopped working. The bike they gave me for the last race was brilliant. I had really good pace earlier in the day but I wasn’t able to sustain it all the way to the end which was why I dropped back to fourth so we got our heads together and made some more changes. The result meant I wasn’t able to lap as quickly but I could lap more consistently and keep it all the way to the end. I’ve won a fair few BSB race before, but I’m pleased to get a win again today and this one was particularly enjoyable.”
Josh Brookes
Christian Iddon – P2
“I didn’t manage a win this weekend but I’m really happy with three second place finishes. In the first race, I looked at Jason’s back wheel for 18 laps but simply wasn’t able to do anything about and it was a really hard race, harder than Saturday for sure; it was actually quite difficult to breathe the pace was that hot! I was hanging it out as best I could, but Jason pulled the pin at the end and it was another second for me. In the final race, this time it was Josh in front of me, but I felt stronger than him mid-race. But then I messed up the chicane near the end and that was that. I had to go from attacking to defending but I’ve taken a good haul of points across the three races and the championship’s back on now.”
Christian Iddon
Jason O’Halloran – P4
“I had a feeling we would be strong this weekend, but I didn’t know how it was going to go! We were fast from Friday, I had a great feeling from the first lap, we qualified on pole, won the first race, won the second race and then had a good scrap in the second race for the win and fair does to them as they rode well. I nearly run into the back of Christian into the last corner and had to roll off, so that helped Lee get the speed on me to the line. All in all it has been a fantastic weekend, we came in 44 points down and now we’re two points behind in the championship so I’m really looking forward to getting to Donington Park. It’s a track I enjoy, we had a great round there on the national track and I think our package can be really strong there. We are in it. There are six races left and it’s all to play for and I’m going to give it my all.”
Glenn Irwin – P6
“The first race today, for sure it was annoying to have to retire, we’ve had a pretty perfect record with no crashes and that’s a big part of the quest of what we want to achieve. In the last race I was doing some maths with the championship standings and I threw everything at it to try and pass Danny, which would have meant if Jason stayed where he was we would have been equal in the championship. But Lee passed Jason, which meant we’ve just kept the title lead. This was probably our weakest track so far, but it’s a new bike and this year we didn’t expect to be where we are. So I think we need to remind ourselves of that and we probably would have been happy with fifths and sixths here this weekend without the success we have enjoyed. That last race was the fastest of the weekend and I gave it all I could as I know what’s at stake, I also felt I owed the team a stronger performance, I felt more ready before that last race after the set back. Thanks to the boys, we did make positive changes and it’s the best the bike was all weekend, thank you.”
Glenn Irwin
Race Three Results
Pos
Rider
Nat
Man.
Gap
1
Josh BROOKES
AUS
Ducati
28:32.8
2
Christian IDDON
GBR
Ducati
+1.622
3
Lee JACKSON
GBR
Kawasaki
+1.803
4
Jason O’HALLORAN
AUS
Yamaha
+1.899
5
Danny BUCHAN
GBR
Kawasaki
+10.176
6
Glenn IRWIN
GBR
Honda
+10.362
7
Bradley RAY
GBR
BMW
+13.112
8
Peter HICKMAN
GBR
BMW
+16.968
9
Tarran MACKENZIE
GBR
Yamaha
+17.792
10
Luke MOSSEY
GBR
BMW
+18.232
11
Tommy BRIDEWELL
GBR
Ducati
+20.673
12
Gino REA
GBR
Suzuki
+20.808
13
Kyle RYDE
GBR
Suzuki
+29.825
14
Héctor BARBERÁ
ESP
BMW
+36.983
15
Ryan VICKERS
GBR
Kawasaki
+37.18
16
Joe FRANCIS
GBR
BMW
+27.528
17
Jack KENNEDY
IRL
Kawasaki
+37.866
18
Keith FARMER
GBR
Suzuki
+39.71
19
Josh OWENS
GBR
Kawasaki
+49.076
20
Taylor MACKENZIE
GBR
BMW
+49.465
21
Graeme IRWIN
GBR
Kawasaki
+1:01.149
NOT CLASSIFIED
DNF
Bjorn ESTMENT
RSA
BMW
DNF
Brian McCORMACK
IRL
BMW
DNF
Tom WARD
GBR
Kawasaki
DNF
Storm STACEY
GBR
Kawasaki
DNF
Andrew IRWIN
GBR
Honda
British Superbike Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Man
Points
1
Glenn IRWIN
Honda
178
2
Jason O’HALLORAN
Yamaha
176
3
Josh BROOKES
Ducati
168
4
Christian IDDON
Ducati
166
5
Tommy BRIDEWELL
Ducati
134
6
Tarran MACKENZIE
Yamaha
125
7
Kyle RYDE
Suzuki
120
8
Lee JACKSON
Kawasaki
115
9
Andrew IRWIN
Honda
105
10
Danny BUCHAN
Kawasaki
90
11
Bradley RAY
BMW
74
12
Luke MOSSEY
BMW
57
13
Peter HICKMAN
BMW
43
14
Gino REA
Suzuki
36
15
Ryan VICKERS
Kawasaki
34
16
Héctor BARBERÁ
BMW
31
17
Alex OLSEN
BMW
8
18
Joe FRANCIS
BMW
8
19
Jack KENNEDY
Yamaha
7
20
Dan LINFOOT
Yamaha
2
21
Taylor MACKENZIE
BMW
1
22
Storm STACEY
Kawasaki
1
23
Keith FARMER
Suzuki
1
British Supersport
Rory Skinner climbed back to the top step of the Quattro Group British Supersport podium with a close-fought victory in the Feature race. It was race one victor Brad Jones who grabbed the holeshot, but current series leader Skinner was in close contention. As the leading duo began to pull away from the pursuing pack, the battle for third started to heat up as James Westmoreland, Lee Johnston and Harry Truelove continued to trade places throughout the opening half of the race.
Rory Skinner
Back at the front, Skinner had found a way past his team mate but was unable to shake off Jones. Pulling away from the pursuing pack, by the halfway stage they had built a seven second lead over the rest of the field.
Remaining in flying formation, the closing stages of the race saw Skinner try and edge out a small lead over his team mate but Jones was quick to respond. As they started the final lap, the pair were separated by just 0.1s, but Skinner was able to fend off the fast-charging Jones.
The battle for third remained just as intense as three contenders were joined by Bradley Perie and the GP2 machines of Mason Law and Jack Scott. Trading places throughout the final stages, it eventually went down the way of Perie, with Truelove securing fourth ahead of Westmoreland, Johnston and the leading GP2 machine of Charlie Nesbitt.
1) Bradley Jones, 2) Rory Skinner, 3) Harry Truelove
British Supersport Race
Pos
Rider
Man.
Gap
1
Rory Skinner
Yamaha
–
2
Brad Jones
Yamaha
+0.303s
3
Bradley Perie
Yamaha
+14.168s
4
Harry Trulove
Yamaha
+14.232s
5
James Westmoreland
Kawasaki
+14.544s
6
Lee Johnston
Yamaha
+15.163s
British Supersport Standings
Pos
Rider
Man
Points
1
Rory SKINNER
Yamaha
170
2
Brad JONES
Yamaha)
102
3
James WESTMORELAND
Kawasaki
94
4
Bradley PERIE
Yamaha
82
5
Lee JOHNSTON
Yamaha
72
6
Harry TRUELOVE
Yamaha
70
7
Richard KERR
Triumph
54
8
Jamie PERRIN
Yamaha
43
9
Ben CURRIE
Kawasaki
40
10
Rob HARTOG
MV Agusta
38
11
Ross PATTERSON
Yamaha
36
12
Korie McGREEVY
Yamaha
32
13
Kurt WIGLEY
Yamaha
27
14
Phil WAKEFIELD
Yamaha
25
15
James ROSE
Kawasaki
21
16
Scott SWANN
Yamaha
12
17
Tom TOPARIS
Yamaha
11
18
Ricky TARREN
Yamaha
8
19
Keenan ARMSTRONG
Kawasaki
6
20
Ben WOTTON
Triumph
6
21
Grant McINTOSH
Yamaha
5
22
Alan NAYLOR
Yamaha
5
23
Michael DUNLOP
Yamaha
3
24
Mike NORBURY
Kawasaki
1
Superstock 1000
Chrissy Rouse cruised to victory in the second Pireli National Superstock 1000 race, taking victory by 1.9s. Leaping off the line, Rouse was immediately able to grab the holeshot and then control the race from the front, not being challenged over the 14 laps.
Chrissy Rouse
Behind him, race one victory Lewis Rollo had a lonely race in second place whilst third place saw Fraser Rogers claim the final rostrum position. Tim Neave finished fourth, ahead of Australian Brayden Elliot, Hedger, McConnell and Hutchinson.
Superstock 1000 Race (Top 15)
Pos
Rider
Nat
Man.
Gap
1
Chrissy ROUSE
GBR
BMW
22:49.8
2
Lewis ROLLO
GBR
Aprilia
+1.969
3
Fraser ROGERS
GBR
Kawasaki
+3.695
4
Tim NEAVE
GBR
Suzuki
+6.246
5
Brayden ELLIOTT
AUS
Suzuki
+8.402
6
Luke HEDGER
GBR
Kawasaki
+12.698
7
Billy McCONNELL
AUS
BMW
+16.43
8
Jordan WEAVING
RSA
Suzuki
+16.56
9
Ian HUTCHINSON
GBR
BMW
+16.655
10
Tom NEAVE
GBR
Honda
+16.858
11
Damon REES
NZL
BMW
+22.03
12
David ALLINGHAM
GBR
Suzuki
+22.129
13
Shane RICHARDSON
NZL
BMW
+22.302
14
Luke JONES
GBR
Aprilia
+22.965
15
Davey TODD
GBR
Honda
+25.183
Superstock 1000 Standings
Pos
Rider
Man
Points
1
Chrissy ROUSE
BMW
141
2
Tom NEAVE
Honda
114
3
Lewis ROLLO
Aprilia
89
4
Tim NEAVE
Suzuki
82
5
Tilly McCONNELL
BMW
74
6
Damon REES
BMW
71
7
Fraser ROGERS
Kawasaki
64
8
Danny KENT
Kawasaki
55
9
Luke HEDGER
Kawasaki
37
10
Davey TODD
Honda
34
11
Brayden ELLIOTT
Suzuki
32
12
Jordan WEAVING
Suzuki
32
13
Ian HUTCHINSON
BMW
31
14
Matt TRUELOVE
BMW
23
15
Joe COLLIER
Suzuki
23
16
Dan LINFOOT
BMW
20
17
Shane RICHARDSON
BMW
17
18
David ALLINGHAM
Suzuki
10
19
Richard COOPER
BMW
9
20
Leon JEACOCK
Suzuki
8
21
Shaun WINFIELD
Yamaha
6
22
Luke JONES
Aprilia
3
23
Joe SHELDON-SHAW
Suzuki
3
24
Luke HOPKINS
Kawasaki
2
Superstock 600
Ben Luxton extended his series lead in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 race with a second victory in the final race at Oulton Park. It was race one winner Luxton launched off the line to hold 0.5s lead over Caolan Irwin by the end of the opening lap. However, as the race began to heat up Zac Corderoy soon took over front running, leading the way at the end of lap four ahead of the Irwin brothers and Alderson.
Ben Luxton
A red flag on lap six saw the race called to a halt. A six lap restart saw Corderoy grab the holeshot to lead for much of the race, but as they headed onto the final lap it was Luxton leading from Caolan Irwin. At the chequered flag Luxton was able to fend off Corderoy with Irwin completing the podium.
Superstock 600 Results (Top 15)
Pos
Rider
Nat
Man.
Gap
1
Ben LUXTON
GBR
Kawasaki
10:12.3
2
Zak CORDEROY
GBR
Kawasaki
+0.218
3
Caolan IRWIN
IRL
Kawasaki
+0.477
4
Rhys IRWIN
IRL
Yamaha
+0.646
5
James ALDERSON
GBR
Triumph
+1.091
6
Sam LAFFINS
GBR
Kawasaki
+4.406
7
Jack NIXON
GBR
Kawasaki
+6.23
8
Joe TALBOT
GBR
Kawasaki
+6.455
9
Liam DELVES
GBR
Yamaha
+6.602
10
Daniel BROOKS
GBR
Kawasaki
+6.822
11
Adam McLEAN
GBR
Yamaha
+13.459
12
Connor THOMSON
GBR
Yamaha
+16.853
13
Asher DURHAM
GBR
Kawasaki
+19.228
14
Conor WHEELER
GBR
Yamaha
+19.3
15
Matthew BOWER
GBR
Kawasaki
+25.982
Superstock 600 Standings
Pos
Rider
Man
Points
1
Ben LUXTON
Kawasaki
113
2
Zak CORDEROY
Kawasaki
83
3
Rhys IRWIN
Yamaha
71
3
Caolan IRWIN
Kawasaki
52
4
Daniel BROOKS
Kawasaki
42
5
Liam DELVES
Yamaha
42
6
James ALDERSON
Triumph
39
7
Joe TALBOT
Kawasaki
37
8
Jack NIXON
Kawasaki
32
9
Simon REID
Yamaha
32
10
Adam McLEAN
Yamaha
27
11
Kade VERWEY
Kawasaki
20
12
Eugene McMANUS
Kawasaki
20
13
Sam LAFFINS
Kawasaki
18
14
George STANLEY
Kawasaki
13
15
Aaron SILVESTER
Yamaha
11
16
Connor THOMSON
Yamaha
8
17
Adam HARTGROVE
Yamaha
7
18
Conor WHEELER
Yamaha
7
19
Luke VERWEY
Kawasaki
6
20
TJ TOMS
Kawasaki
5
21
Trystan FINOCCHIARO
Kawasaki
4
22
Asher DURHAM
Kawasaki
4
23
Taylor MORETON
Kawasaki
4
24
Christopher SINANAN
Kawasaki
2
25
Matthew BOWER
Kawasaki
1
British Junior Supersport Championship
Owen Jenner was back on the top step in the Hel Performance British Junior Supersport Championship, taking the win by 3.3s. It was Jenner who grabbed the holeshot, but the young rider was not able to get away over the opening laps as nine riders stayed within one second of each other.
Owen Jenner & Seth Crump
As the race began to play out though, Jenner was able to steadily pull away to take another win. Australian Seth Crump finished second 3.314-seconds off the winner, while Dawson completed the podium in third place.
1) Seth Crump, 2) Owen Jenner, 3) Cameron Dawson
Junior Supersport Race (Top 15)
Pos
Rider
Nat
Man.
Gap
1
Owen JENNER
GBR
Kawasaki
18:57.4
2
Seth CRUMP
AUS
Kawasaki
+3.314
3
Cameron DAWSON
GBR
Kawasaki
+4.324
4
Oscar PINSON
GBR
Kawasaki
+4.521
5
Joseph THOMAS
GBR
Kawasaki
+5.213
6
Declan CONNELL
GBR
Kawasaki
+5.568
7
Lewis JONES
GBR
Kawasaki
+6.703
8
Kam DIXON
GBR
Kawasaki
+7.088
9
Lewis JONES
GBR
KTM
+13.937
10
Lucca ALLEN
GBR
Kawasaki
+17.309
11
Kier ARMSTRONG
GBR
KTM
+17.394
12
Cameron HALL
GBR
Kawasaki
+19.918
13
Chloe JONES
GBR
Yamaha
+20.384
14
Rossi BANHAM
GBR
Yamaha
+20.473
15
Lynden LEATHERLAND
GBR
Kawasaki
+20.959
Junior Supersport Standings
Pos
Rider
Man
Points
1
Owen JENNER
Kawasaki
156
2
Seth CRUMP
Kawasaki
120
3
Brody CROCKFORD
Yamaha
85
4
Cameron DAWSON
Kawasaki
76
5
Zak SHELTON
Kawasaki
66
6
Oscar PINSON
Kawasaki
61
7
Osian JONES
Kawasaki
59
8
Adon DAVIE
Kawasaki
49
9
Joseph THOMAS
Kawasaki
47
10
James McMANUS
Kawasaki
43
11
Ash BARNES
Kawasaki
41
12
Lewis JONES
KTM
40
13
Kam DIXON
Kawasaki
39
14
Kier ARMSTRONG
KTM
38
15
Cameron HALL
Kawasaki
31
16
Lynden LEATHERLAND
Kawasaki
27
17
Lewis JONES
Kawasaki
20
18
Jake HOPPER
Kawasaki
20
19
Andrew SMYTH
Kawasaki
16
20
Chloe JONES
Yamaha
16
21
Christopher JOHNSON
Kawasaki
11
22
Lucca ALLEN
Kawasaki
11
23
Declan CONNELL
Kawasaki
10
24
Finn SMART
Kawasaki
8
25
Kai DICKINSON
Kawasaki
7
26
Harris BEECH
Yamaha
7
27
Mcauley LONGMORE
Kawasaki
4
28
Alessandro VALENTE
KTM
4
29
Rossi BANHAM
Yamaha
2
Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup
Levi Day doubled up on Ducati TriOptions Cup victories with a last lap overtake in the second race of the weekend. Elliot Pinson grabbed the holeshot, maintaining the lead over the opening few laps before current series leader Josh Day took over front running. Pulling a small gap over the pursuing pack, his lead began to decrease as Levi Day moved up to second and began setting a string of fast laps.
Levi Day
Coming down to the final lap, Levi was able to find a way through Josh to take his second win of the weekend. Pinson completed the podium in third ahead of Shoubridge, Cox and Neve.Owen Jenner was back on the top step in the Hel Performance British Junior Supersport Championship, taking the win by 3.3s. It was Jenner who grabbed the holeshot, but the young rider was not able to get away over the opening laps as nine riders stayed within one second of each other.
Levi Day
“What a birthday, done the double! Took the win in the second race of the Ducati Tri Options Cup today at Oulton Park, and set a new lap record also. What a great weekend shared with my amazing wife Katie Day and Max and my awesome team and sponsors. Darren, Paul and Nigel worked so hard to give me an amazing bike and it was awesome all weekend. A big thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday or sent me messages after the race, I’ll get back to you soon and really appreciate it all! Huge thank you to all the sponsors and people who make it possible for us to do this.”
Brayden Elliott to compete BSB Superstock 1000 for 2020
Australian Brayden Elliott has confirmed his 2020 plans, competing for the fourth year running in the BSB Superstock 1000cc Championship on a new 2019 Suzuki GSX-R1000R under No Bull Racing/CFS Filtration and with support from last year’s team CPE Motosport.
Brayden Elliott competing at Cadwell Park in 2019
2020 will mark the first year that Elliott will have a consecutive year riding for the same team in the British championship, with a packed pre-season testing regime already planned he aims to take advantage of the familiar team environment.
Brayden Elliott
“I’m extremely excited to get the 2020 season underway and for testing to begin. I haven’t ridden since the final round at Brands Hatch last October, so to say I am ready to ride is an understatement. This coming season is the first time since I began racing in the UK that my team situation will stay the same for a continuous season, the same manufacturer of bike, same team and most importantly same personnel surrounding me this year. I am also really looking forward to a fresh look this season, competing in Fluro orange to represent my title sponsor, CFS Filtration.
Brayden Elliott – Image by David Yeomans
“I’m extremely thankful that my long-term partnerships are once again continuing for another season as well as welcoming on board new companies to be a part of the journey. I’m very humbled by the support of individuals and businesses who believe in my racing and am confident I will do them proud on and off the track. I also need to thank my family and those close to me for continuing to support me in many ways to make this possible.”
Brayden Elliott – Image by David Yeomans
2020 National Superstock 1000 Championship calendar
Scott Redding claimed the 2019 British Superbike Championship title for Be Wiser Ducati over the weekend, fending of teammate Josh Brookes to take the win with a consistent performance at the Brands Hatch triple-header over the weekend. The result makes Redding the first rookie to win the BSB title, with just five-points separating the top two.
Scott Redding celebrates his win – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
The former MotoGP rider, who moves into the World Superbike Championship with Ducati next season, took a second place and a brace of thirds to secure the title over two days of fine and dry weather at the Kent circuit and in front of another massive crowd.
For 36-year-old Brookes, he couldn’t have done any more as he romped to a hat-trick of wins at his favourite track to reduce the deficit from 28 points arriving at Brands Hatch. Brookes took his tally of victories to ten for the season to finish runner-up in the series.
Scott Redding – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
The results saw Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team clinch their seventh BSB title and first ever one-two on their way to dominating the series with 21 wins from the 27 races. During the year, they secured no less than seven one-two finishes to be confirmed as worthy champions.
After their first and third place finishes on Saturday, the two riders followed that up with a bruising final lap to claim a thrilling first and second in Brookes’ favour in the second encounter to set up a thrilling finale.
Scott Redding – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
The final race of the season saw both riders start from the front row once more with Redding needing just a fifth-place finish to take his maiden BSB crown. Brookes again grabbed the lead off the line and ultimately led from start to finish to take his 49th career win to elevate him to the third most successful rider in BSB history.
Scott Redding
“After a few lean years, we came here to try and win the championship and we did it! It means so much to me to win this and I can’t thank everyone enough for all their support and Scott Redding it feels so good to have so many people behind me. I had a small problem in today’s second race and had to be so gentle on the bike and simply concentrated on finishing in third. In the first race today, I felt really comfortable and felt I could have a go at winning as that’s always my goal so I had a go on the last lap although I knew Josh would come straight back at me. The last thing I wanted to do was crash and I was very mindful of the fact I needed to finish so took the second place. I’m over the moon to have won the BSB Championship and we’re going to have a big party tonight!”
Scott Redding – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
Josh Brookes
“I came here with the objective of winning all three races and that’s exactly what I’ve done so I can’t not be happy with how this weekend has gone, it’s ultimately elsewhere where I’ve lost out on the championship. A championship is judged on the whole year, not just one weekend and there are opportunities at every round to get points. There hasn’t been any time this year Josh Brookes & Scott Reddingthough where I don’t think I could have done better but I can’t deny the fact I’m disappointed not to be returning in 2020 with the number one plate! I’m looking forward to next season and although Scott won’t be figuring, there’ll always be someone to step up and there’ll be plenty more challenges ahead.”
Josh Brookes – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
Race 2
At the start of the race, Brookes took the advantage from Jason O’Halloran and Christian Iddon with Tommy Bridewell in close contention. Redding was fighting back but running wide at Druids dropped him back into seventh and he had work to do to catch his title rival.
Brookes was trying to make a break but Christian Iddon had become his next challenger on lap three when he fired the Tyco BMW ahead of O’Halloran. However, Iddon was soon under pressure as Bridewell had moved into third place for Oxford Racing Ducati and was up to second by the end of the fourth lap.
Josh Brookes – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
Redding was carving his way through the chasing group and by lap seven he was into third place with a move on Iddon into Paddock Hill Bend. However he had to fight for the place with Iddon briefly reclaiming the position before the championship leader dived back ahead.
The leading trio then were a breakaway pack with Brookes ahead of Bridewell and Redding in third, but the former MotoGP rider was attacking hard and he waited until there were just two laps remaining to make his move.
Redding then had Brookes in his sight for the victory, but the 2015 champion wasn’t giving up without a fight and the pair’s battle for supremacy went down to the wire on the final lap.
Scott Redding – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
As the pair crossed the line inseparable going into Paddock Hill Bend for the final time, Redding made a move to claim the lead, but Brookes was determined and he made a lunge at Druids to regain the advantage.
Redding was looking for an opportunity but Brookes had the measure of his teammate as the pair crossed the line separated by just 0.119s, with Bridewell claiming third place.
Tarran Mackenzie had moved into fourth place behind for McAMS Yamaha to bounce back from his crash yesterday, pushing Iddon back into fifth with Danny Buchan holding sixth place ahead of O’Halloran.
Hickman was eighth in the penultimate race of the season with Andrew Irwin and Taylor Mackenzie completing the top 10.
Race 3
The final race of the season would decide the 2019 champion and at the start of the race Brookes instantly hit the front of the pack from Bridewell and Iddon, with Redding holding fifth behind Tarran Mackenzie.
Brookes and Bridewell continued to up the pace to try and gap the field, but behind Redding was soon piling the pressure on the Tyco BMW ahead of him and on the seventh lap he made his move to hold third place.
Josh Brookes – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
The championship leader had to claim a top five finish if Brookes won the race to still lift his first Bennetts BSB title, but he was still pushing hard to claim a podium on his final race in the series before moving to the world stage next season.
At the front of the field the gap between Brookes and Bridewell was just 0.2s but the 2015 champion was determined to end his season on a high and he held the advantage to the chequered flag to hold off Bridewell to the finish line.
Josh Brookes – 2019 BSB Round 12 Brands Hatch
Iddon was fourth to claim the Bennetts BSB Riders Cup title for Tyco BMW ahead of Peter Hickman and Tarran Mackenzie on the leading McAMS Yamaha, but only just from his teammate O’Halloran.
Buchan was eighth for FS3-Racing Kawasaki to hold off Andrew Irwin and Dan Linfoot who completed the top ten.
