Bennetts British Superbikes – Round 9
24th-26th September – Oulton Park

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The 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown kicked off at Oulton Park overnight (24/25/26 September) as the eight Title Fighters set up for the final crucial phase of the season.

After 24 races and a total of seven different race winners and a total of 12 podium finishers, the final Title Fighter positions were decided at Silverstone, and now the leading contenders are on track for the first Showdown clash in Cheshire.

Josh Brookes claimed his first podium finishes of the season last time out at Silverstone and he carried the momentum into the opening day of the Showdown, waiting until the final minutes of the session to launch his way to the top.

Josh Brookes – P1

“I am obviously happy to finish the day on top, we haven’t topped a day after free practice this year, so obviously that’s a positive!

“The changes we’ve been making at recent rounds, I would say the last three or four, have been quite outside of a range I would normally work in. Before coming here, I was a little bit pessimistic that that could work at this circuit due to its nature, so we’ve made some other adjustments to counteract the fact that the circuit is so undulating and that wheelie is always an issue.

“What is surprising is the area we’re able to make the bike work now – I never would’ve dreamed of trying some of the settings we’ve got in the bike currently in years before, but I’ve been forced into it through lack of performance. When we’ve discovered a problem we are now having to make new changes to get past it.

“I can never expect to be anywhere at the moment because the season has been so up and down for me, nothing surprises me. When you’ve been quick before you always know that you can do it again. If you’ve never been fast I suppose it’s hard to set a point that you’d like to get to, or a point you think you can get to.

“But having set lap times before, won races before, won championships before, I already know what it feels like to go quick, so I’m always trying to repeat what I’ve done in the past and not only repeat what I’ve done in the past but if you can, set a new standard. So at the moment I’m not surprised by anything I’m doing because it’s all things I’ve done before.

“In recent times I haven’t had the results, so we’ve been forced to make changes that don’t feel natural to try and find a solution to these problems. As the year’s gone on we’ve understood better, so now we can actually put something together that works.”

Tommy Bridewell had been the pace-setter up until the final five minutes of the day, but the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider was nudged down the order after Brookes’ final sequence of laps, and he was then eased into third when Peter Hickman struck to take second on his final lap.

Jason O’Halloran holds a 30-point advantage in the standings as the McAMS Yamaha rider bids to go one better this season after finishing runner-up last year. O’Show was fourth fastest overnight ahead of Christian Iddon; it was this pair who had taken the fight for victory down to the wire at the Cheshire circuit earlier in the season.

Gino Rea was the first of the Showdown spoilers in sixth, holding off Lee Jackson by just 0.003s to claim sixth place as they edged ahead of Bradley Ray, who crashed out unhurt at Knickerbrook.

Glenn Irwin was ninth fastest for Honda Racing, holding off Danny Buchan who had set the pace in this morning opening session. Andrew Irwin held onto eleventh place just ahead of Tarran Mackenzie, who was the final rider to complete the SUPERPICKS 12 who progress directly into Q2 on Saturday.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Oulton Park, Friday Free Practice

1. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 1m:34.201s
2. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +0.173s
3. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.270s
4. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.285s
5. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.522s
6. Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.579s
7. Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +0.650s
8. Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.653s
9. Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.719s
10. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.777s
11. Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.918s
12. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.989s

Bennetts British Superbikes Championship Standing

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Quattro Group British Supersport Championship Standings

Quattro Group British GP2 Championship Standings

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Pirelli National Superstock Championship Standings

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Pirelli National Junior Superstock Championship  Standings

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HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Championship Standings

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Honda British Talent Cup Championship Standings

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Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au