Integro Yamaha’s Jack Kennedy has collected his fifth pole position on the bounce in the 2019 Dickies British Supersport Championship at Knockhill, with Kyle Ryde and Brad Jones joining him on the front row.
It was Kennedy who started the session the strongest, leading the way at the top of the time sheets after posting a strong time early on.
The defending Champion continued to improve on his time, pulling a heathy gap over second place, making sure he secured his fifth pole position of the year.
Kyle Ryde will start from second on the grid after nicking it from Brad Jones in the dying moments of the session.
Row two will see Jamie Perrin start from fourth with local lad Rory Skinner fifth and Championship leader Seeley rounding out the second line in sixth.
Pos
Name
Entry
Time
1
Jack Kennedy
Yamaha – Integro Yamaha
49.024
2
Kyle Ryde
Kalex – Kovara projects by RS Racing
49.145
3
Brad Jones
Yamaha – Integro Yamaha
49.267
4
Jamie Perrin
Chassis Factory – Nova Racing Transmissions/Go Racing
49.413
5
Rory Skinner
Kawasaki – Watermans Team MSR
49.566
6
Alastair Seeley
Yamaha – EHA Yamaha
49.779
7
Lee Johnston
Yamaha – Ashcourt Racing
49.799
8
Richard Kerr
Triumph – Campbell Motorsport
50.011
9
Sam Wilford
Honda – IDWe Racing
50.073
10
Mason Law
ABM Triumph – ABM Quattro Racing
50.093
11
Ben Wilson
Kawasaki – Gearlink Kawasaki
50.147
12
Sam Munro
Kawasaki – Munro Racing
50.163
13
Kurt Wigley
Yamaha – Sorrymate.com Racing
50.184
14
Bradley Perie
Yamaha – Diamond H Racing
50.199
15
Jake Archer
Kalex – Kovara projects by RS Racing
50.206
16
Harry Truelove
Yamaha – Truelove Property & Construction
50.252
17
Charlie Nesbitt
Yamaha – Hisc/Rapid Fulfillment Racing
50.333
18
Ross Twyman
Kawasaki – Gearlink Kawasaki
50.409
19
Ross Patterson
Yamaha – RPMMoto.com / Mayfair Homes Ltd
50.633
20
Phil Wakefield
Yamaha – PWR
50.809
21
Thomas Strudwick
FTR Moto – Case FTR Moto / Spirit Motorcycles
50.819
22
James Mclaren
Suzuki – Fog Racing
50.829
23
Jorel Boerboom
Honda – JB50 Racing
50.870
24
Alan Naylor
Yamaha – Donkey Box Racing
53.610
British Superstock 1000
Buildbase Suzuki’s Richard Cooper notched up his eighth victory of the season, coming back from third, to extend his Championship lead over Taylor Mackenzie at Knockhill.
Just minutes before the start of the race drops of rain began to fall, but not enough for the riders to change tyres and set-ups on the grid.
From the lights it was Cooper who grabbed the holeshot, but the end of the opening lap Mackenzie led from Rouse with the Championship leader Cooper in third.
By half-race distance Cooper had caught Mackenzie, who had cleared off at the front, in the process setting a new lap record. It only took ‘Coopes’ a lap to pass the Bathams Racing BMW man and he quickly cleared off.
The Nottinghamshire man controlled the lead until the flag, taking his eighth victory of the season, with Mackenzie and Rouse rounding out the podium.
Scott Redding cemented his earlier race win by completing a hat trick at Donington Park on Sunday, taking victory from Xavi Forés and Tommy Bridewell to end the triple-header weekend on the top step of the podium, and with a six-point championship lead.
Scott Redding may have ruled the day, but Josh Brookes claimed a 4-5 result on Sunday, and expressed his disappointment at not being on the podium. Jason O’Halloran meanwhile had a rough weekend with a 7-0 result, while in the Superstock 1000 Levi Day claimed sixth, with fellow Aussie Brayden Elliott 19th.
British Superbikes Race 2
In the second race of the weekend Redding narrowly claimed a second Bennetts BSB victory as the Be Wiser Ducati rider made a decisive move on Forés at Roberts to take the lead before the race was red flagged for rain.
At the start of race two, Forés led Christian Iddon and Bridewell, but again an aggressive Bridewell dived into second before moving into the lead with a pass into Redgate on the second lap. Forés had taken it back though by the end of the lap and Iddon had moved back into second for Tyco BMW.
Bridewell had been pushing for the lead again and on lap eight he forged ahead of the Honda until the sixteenth lap when Forés made a move on the brakes into Roberts to regain the position. As the pair diced at the front Redding had again had a slow launch off the line and he was having to carve his way through the order from tenth place on the opening laps.
Redding wasn’t inside the top five until lap 11 when he had Josh Brookes and Tarran Mackenzie ahead of him and the three scrapped it out before the race one winner made a move on the McAMS Yamaha rider and his own team-mate before pushing to bridge the gap to the leading pair.
Redding had closed in on the pair and on lap 17 he was able to move ahead of Bridewell and then Forés a lap later before the red flag to claim his second race win of the weekend for the Be Wiser Ducati team.
Brookes was able to hold off Mackenzie for fourth place ahead of Iddon and Jason O’Halloran who was embroiled in an intense battle with Hector Barbera on the leading Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki in the closing stages. Peter Hickman and Keith Farmer completed the top ten.
In the final race Be Wiser Ducati’s Redding had his best start of the weekend to hit the front of the pack into Redgate for the first time with pole-sitter Barbera, Forés and Brookes in close contention as the pack streamed down Craner Curves for the first time.
Forés grabbed the lead at Redgate on lap two as Brookes moved into second with Redding back in third and Iddon and Bridewell shuffling up the order. On the sixth lap Forés went wide at Coppice, giving Brookes the room he needed to move ahead.
Redding was into second place by lap eight with a move on Forés into Redgate and then two laps later the former MotoGP contender was in the lead and pushing for a breakaway. The battle was then on for second place and a big moment for Brookes on the 16th lap at Roberts on the brakes saw him run on to avoid contact and dropped him down the order, finishing the race in fifth place.
Mackenzie was holding second place for the McAMS Yamaha team but he was demoted back to third when Forés launched ahead at the Old Hairpin with six laps to go. The battle for second continued with Mackenzie and Forés trading blows, but the Spanish contender had the edge with two laps to go and then Bridewell was pushing for the final podium position.
Bridewell made a lunge at Roberts on the final lap to narrowly cross the line ahead of Mackenzie on the final lap to claim third place.
Iddon was sixth on the Tyco BMW after teammate Keith Farmer crashed out with two laps to go at Roberts. Peter Hickman was seventh ahead of Andrew Irwin and the Buildbase Suzuki pairing of Bradley Ray and Luke Stapleford completed the top ten.
Scott Redding (1-1)
“I just showed to myself the confidence and belief that I’ve got, which is something that I’ve been working on over the past years. It just feels amazing to be back in a fighting position and winning races. It’s not easy out there, those guys are so strong the first few laps and I just need a bit of time to find my way, and they attack and that’s great racing so I was a bit more fortunate to kind-of get out of it. I led a bit then Xavi came past and I thought ‘he’s going again’. He was going so fast in the beginning and then I managed to close the gap a little bit to him and Brookes and go through I thought ‘right, just be consistent’, that’s my strongest point – I can be very consistent every lap of the race and I managed it perfectly. I was just understanding more the tyres because I’m still very new to the Pirellis and all the races I’ve done so far this year I’m always attacking I’m always trying to get the best I can. That’s the first race [race 3] where I could control and kind-of learn the tyres, so I learned over the three races and I’m very happy.”
Xavi Fores (2-2)
“Honestly I didn’t expect this weekend to finish the way it has, yesterday I was happy to get my first BSB podium, but today we got two more! We’ve worked really hard with the Fireblade to be fast and consistent with the lap times. The second race today I felt a lot worse, I had a lot of spin and I was trying to manage the situation throughout the race. I lost some time battling with Tarran, which I did enjoy but losing the time wasn’t so good, as once I had passed him for the final time the gap to Scott was too much. But leaving here with a third and two second places is great and more than a win for me, especially after the first two rounds. Brands is next and the last time I was there was in 2006, it’s a lovely track and I hope to keep my level across the weekend and hope to see the podium again soon!”
Tarran Mackenzie (5-4)
“The first race was OK. I didn’t come through fast enough and towards the end of the race I started to chip away at a podium, but unfortunately the rain stopped play. In the last race I started seventh so had a bit of work to do from the start, but I came through. Someone made a mistake at the last chicane and I passed two or three of them and then chased down Josh and Scott. I got past Josh and felt like I was making good inroads on Scott but then Xavi came past me and we probably scrapped a little too much for two or three laps allowing Scott away. I thought I was OK for third, but made a mistake at McLeans and that enabled Tommy to get close enough to pass into the final chicane. I’m gutted to miss the podium, but I can’t complain with a fourth and good points for the championship.”
Josh Brookes (4-5)
“Finishing in fourth and fifth isn’t what we go racing for and the results have been disappointing today. Everything felt like it was going to plan in the first race and I was catching the leaders but just after mid-race, I lost both grip and a bit of performance with the bike whilst I also eased off a bit more than some of the other riders when the rain began to fall. In the second race, I got sucked in a bit when I was in the draft of Scott and made a mistake going into the chicane which obviously lost me a lot of time. After that it was damage limitation so the results, for me personally, have been less than acceptable so we’ve got some work to do ahead of the next round.”
Andrew Irwin (12-8)
“The weekend has been difficult to be honest and 12th in Race 1 really isn’t good enough! We did start to find some rhythm and then it was red flagged, I think we could have moved forwards, perhaps not much but I think we could have chased down 10th at least. Race 2 was better; I got a really good start but made a few silly mistakes throughout. I do feel that we did make some steps forward and turned a bit of a corner in some areas, so it’s a positive and we have to continue in this manner. Now we’re heading to Brands where I have been fast in the past, so I know I can be fast there. Well done to Xavi and the team for the podiums this weekend, it’s great to see the Fireblade being competitive and show what it can do!”
Jason O’Halloran (7-0)
“It’s not been the easiest of weekends. We’ve been chasing something all weekend, made some changes for Saturday and improved the feeling but in the first two races I struggled at the start. For the third race we made some more changes but I was quite far back on the grid which made things difficult. The bike felt much better, I had a lot more confidence on the brakes and I felt like I could ride the bike how I wanted to again. I’m really happy with that and I’ll take that away from this race as obviously a crash isn’t ideal. It’s our third DNF of the year, which isn’t what we want. I want to go fast and be at the front, I don’t want to be messing around in seventh or eighth so we have to keep pushing and looking for the feeling we are after. Once we nail that on the head I’m confident we’ll be at the front.”
Bennetts British Superbike Race 3 result
Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati)
Xavi Forés (Honda Racing) +1.196s
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) +1.779s
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +1.857s
Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +2.004s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +9.220s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +10.334s
Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +12.952s
Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +18.966s
Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) +21.979s
Bennetts British Superbike standings after Donington Park
Scott Redding 115
Tommy Bridewell 109
Tarran Mackenzie 108
Josh Brookes 74
Xavi Fores 70
Danny Buchan 68
Josh Elliott 52
Andrew Irwin 48
Christian Iddon 44
Jason O’Halloran 42
Pirelli National Superstock 1000
Lewis Rollo took his maiden Pirelli National Superstock 1000 win at Donington Park, mastering the difficult wet conditions to cross the line three seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
As he did on yesterday’s two races, Richard Cooper grabbed the holeshot however Rollo had soon moved through, extending his lead each lap.
Behind him, Alex Olsen held second for most of the race, but a fast final few laps from series leader Cooper saw him grab second place at the final chicane. Taylor Mackenzie finished fourth ahead of Luke Jones and Levi Day.
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Race 2
Lewis Rollo 1:17.722
Richard Cooper +3.173
Alex Olsen +3.280
Taylor Mackenzie +5.883
Luke Jones +23.235
Levi Day +29.393
Lee Jackson +41.407
Eemeli Lathi +41.510
Tim Neave +44.269
Milo Ward +45.600
Tom Neave +52.130 …19. Brayden Elliot
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship Standings
Be Wiser Ducati’s Scott Redding claimed the fastest time at the official BSB Official Test at Portimao on Day 1 from Honda Racing’s Xavi Forés, with only 0.026s separating the two, despite a crash earlier in the day leaving Redding on the back foot.
Forés was fast straight out of the blocks, putting his track knowledge to good use to maintain a position at the top of the times throughout the day, before he was pipped in the closing stages by Redding.
Redding had been inside the top five before lunch, but a crash at turn five ended his morning session prematurely, whilst Josh Brookes climbed the order to third in the final ten minutes, nudging Tommy Bridewell down to fourth.
Andrew Irwin had a strong opening day on the second Honda Racing Fireblade, holding a position inside the top three before ending the day in fifth place as Brookes and Bridewell improved in the final 20 minutes.
Tarran Mackenzie didn’t attempt a time attack in the closing stages of the day, but his earlier time put him sixth fastest ahead of Team WD-40’s Claudio Corti and Luke Mossey, who had been running inside the top five earlier in the day.
Jason O’Halloran had been making strides forward in the afternoon with the McAMS Yamaha but a crash in the afternoon at turn 13 when he lost the front sidelined him from the remainder of the day despite being uninjured. Danny Buchan completed the top ten for FS3-Racing Kawasaki.
Ben Currie continued his Superbike learning curve to finish the opening day 13th quickest while Billy McConnell trailed Gary Johnson in the Superstock 1000 ranks.
BSB 2019 Portimao Test Day One Times
Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:44.502s
Xavi Forés (Honda Racing) +0.026s
Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.175s
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) +0.731s
Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.824s
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.923s
Claudio Corti (Team WD-40 Kawasaki) +1.010s
Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki) +1.021s
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1.040s
Danny Buchan (FS3-Racing Kawasaki) +1.082s
Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki) +1.113s
Glenn Irwin (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.315s
Ben Currie (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.964s
Matt Truelove (McAMS Yamaha) +2.124s
Ryan Vickers (RAF Kawasaki) +2.440s
Jack Kennedy (Macadam Yamaha) +2.682s
Fraser Rogers (Gearlink Kawasaki) +2.871s
Alastair Seeley (Be Wiser Ducati) +3.017s
Sam Coventry (Team 64 Kawasaki) +3.593s
STK Gary Johnson (RAF Kawasaki) +3.855s
STK Billy McConnell (OMG Suzuki) +4.074s
STK Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +4.502s
STK Tom Neave (Honda Racing) +4.636s
SS Brad Jones (Macadam Yamaha) +4.786s
SS Harry Trulove (Yamaha) +5.002s
STK Eemeli Lahti (Staff Quick Connect Kawasaki) + 5.132s