Scott Redding did the double at Assen on the weekend to push his way into the British Superbike Championship lead by 14-points over Josh Brookes.
A good start to the weekend by Tom Toparis in the Dickies British Supersport on Saturday unfortunately was followed up a DNF on Syunday.
Max Stauffer took seventh in the first International Junior Supersport race of the weekend – maching his qualifying result – and with improved confidence in the second bout looked set to challenge for a podium, but unfortunately crashed out with two laps to run.
British Superbike Race 1
Scott Redding hit the front early in the first bout ahead of Luke Stapleford, Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes. Bridewell was determined to move into second and did so by the end of the opening lap.
A lap later Ryan Vickers crashed out heavily which saw the BMW Safety Car deployed at the start of the fourth lap. The pack formed up behind with Redding, Bridewell, Stapleford and Brookes first in line with the race resuming on lap six.
Bridewell was pushing hard to take on Redding but on the ninth lap he reached his limit, crashing out at turn nine, with Christian Iddon also falling at the same corner, both riders were unhurt.
Redding broke from the pack at the front of the field, leaving Brookes embroiled in a huge battle for second with Showdown spoilers Stapleford and Jason O’Halloran who had hunted down the pair ahead of him.
By lap 14 the scrap had really intensified with Stapleford making a move on Brookes, only for the Australian to strike straight back to regain the position. As the laps counted down the trio in the battle for second were inseparable and on the penultimate lap Stapleford had the edge over Brookes and O’Halloran.
Brookes still had more fight left though and on the final lap he dived back into second place and as Stapleford drifted slightly wide, O’Halloran saw his opportunity and he was into third for McAMS Yamaha.
As Redding took the flag to claim his eighth win of the season ahead of Brookes, O’Halloran became the 12 different podium finisher of the season ahead of Stapleford, who scored his best result of the season for Buildbase Suzuki.
Xavi Forés was fifth for Honda Racing ahead of Showdown contenders Danny Buchan, Tarran Mackenzie and Peter Hickman who completed the top eight ahead of Bradley Ray and Hector Barbera.
Australian Ben Currie finished Race 1 in 15th.
British Superbike Race 2
Luke Stapleford launched his Buildbase Suzuki off the line to lead the pack into turn one ahead of Redding, Tommy Bridewell and Brookes as the second race of the Assen BSB weekend got underway. Brookes, the 2015 champion, was instantly on the attack and he moved into third after pushing past the Oxford Racing Ducati of Tommy Bridewell.
The pack was inseparable but a mistake from Stapleford exiting the final chicane on the third lap scattered the pack and it gave Bridewell the opportunity he needed to move into second with Brookes and Redding then hunting him down.
A lap later and a determined Brookes captured the lead with Stapleford separating the Be Wiser Ducati teammates with Jason O’Halloran and Danny Buchan also in close contention.
By lap seven Redding had made a decisive move into second and had Brookes in his sights before taking the lead a lap later with a dive down the inside. From there Redding tried to make a break, but he was hounded by Brookes.
Bridewell had his sights set on a podium to make amends for his crash in the opening race and by lap ten he had moved into third, to push Stapleford back down into fourth on the Buildbase Suzuki.
Redding then edged out his advantage, but the battle for second was becoming increasingly fierce; Brookes was holding off Bridewell, Buchan and Stapleford but with two laps remaining the Australian was under attack.
On lap 17 Bridewell moved into second and that pushed Brookes slightly off line, which gave Buchan the chance he needed to force through into third for FS-3 Racing Kawasaki. Despite his best counterattack, Brookes couldn’t regain the positions and he missed out on the podium by 0.311s, leaving Assen 14 points adrift of Redding in the standings.
Bridewell and Buchan scored their first podium finishes of the Showdown in the second race with Stapleford again just missing out after his best weekend of the season so far in fifth.
Honda Racing’s Xavi Forés led the next pack home to the chequered flag to hold off race one podium finisher O’Halloran and Showdown contender Peter Hickman in eighth. Dan Linfoot and Bradley Ray completed the top ten with Tarran Mackenzie ending a tough weekend in 13th.
Ben Currie had to settle for 17th in Race 2, matching his qualifying result, after 15th in Race 1.
Josh Brookes could barely have asked for a better weekend at the Cadwell Park BSB, with the two Superbike races seeing him record a 2-1 result to claim the 2019 King of the Mountain title, alongside a 12-point lead in the championship standings heading into Oulton Park.
Danny Buchan took the Race 1 win from Brookes and Tommy Bridewell, with Scott Redding a distant fourth. Race 2 saw the trio once again dominate, this time led by Brookes, with Bridewell runner up by 0.476s and Buchan a more distant third.
The results left Josh Brookes holding the Superbike championship lead on 271-points, with Scott Redding on 259, and Tommy Bridewell on 243, with the three riders confirmed as Title Fighters in the Showdown as a result.
Josh Brookes
“That’s the racing that I know I can do! In race one I didn’t have anything more for Danny, he deservingly won that race. Race two we went out with a new setting, a couple of little changes, I saw where Danny was stronger and realised where I wasn’t strong enough. Fortunately we were able to make a change to the bike to bridge that gap and then I had Tommy to battle with! It was a great race and Tommy was riding really, really well. I felt like I could see the way he was riding was every bit of the tyre it had, and then with a couple of laps to go I thought surely there’s got to be a little bit of a weakness in the grip area so I pounced to try and see if I could lead, and fortunately I was able to hold him at bay.”
British Superbike Race 1
In the opening race of the day Brookes launched off the pole position into the lead on the opening lap from Danny Buchan, Jason O’Halloran and Tommy Bridewell. However, Oxford Racing Ducati’s Bridewell was instantly trying to make a move and dived ahead of O’Halloran on lap three.
Buchan was all over Brookes, but it wasn’t until the eleventh lap that he could make a move, which he did at Mansfield to snatch the lead. The FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider continued to try to break away from the chasing Ducatis of Brookes and Bridewell, and at the chequered flag he managed to edge a gap of 1.047s.
Brookes kept Bridewell at bay as Scott Redding missed out on a debut podium at Cadwell Park. The Be Wiser Ducati rider was able to carve his way up through the field in a hard-fought race, running tenth over the opening laps before scoring a strong fourth place.
Peter Hickman had been chasing down Redding; the pair able to take advantage of a mistake from Christian Iddon who had been running fourth, but ran off track on the final lap and managed to salvage sixth place.
O’Halloran was seventh as he held off the second Tyco BMW of Glenn Irwin, who led his brother Andrew to the chequered flag.
Ryan Vickers completed the top 10 for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team ahead of Luke Stapleford and Gino Rea, who impressed on his debut with Bike Devil Sweda MV Agusta.
British Superbike Race 2
In race two Bridewell got off to a flying start, firing the Oxford Racing Ducati to the front of the pack ahead of Brookes and Buchan, with the BMWs of Hickman and Iddon in close pursuit.
The drama started early in the race, with Andrew Irwin colliding with Redding on the second lap, sending them both crashing out of the race. The Honda Racing rider was penalised with two penalty points for contact causing a crash which means, having reached a cumulative five penalty points, he will start from the back of the grid for the next race at Oulton Park.
At the front Bridewell was holding the lead until Brookes made a decisive move at Park corner on lap 12 and then he kept his rival at bay until the chequered flag with Buchan claiming another podium finish. The results mean that Brookes, Bridewell and Redding are now confirmed Title Fighters in the Showdown.
Iddon moved to within 21 points of the Showdown with a fourth place for Tyco BMW, holding off Hickman in the closing stages of the race with Glenn Irwin taking his best result of the season on the second Tyco BMW in sixth.
Ryan Vickers was seventh for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team to claim his best result of his rookie season ahead of Luke Stapleford and Xavi Forés with Billy McConnell completing the top 10 on his stand-in appearance for OMG Racing Suzuki.
Jason O’Halloran finished 14th on the McAMS Yamaha in Race 2 and currently sits 10th in the overall standings.
2019 British Superbike Championship Round Seven – Thruxton
Images by Dave Yeomans
Thruxton saw an exciting weekend of racing conclude on Sunday, with Andrew Irwin claiming the opening Bennetts British Superbike race win of the weekend – his first win in the series – ahead of Scott Redding and Josh Brookes.
In Race 2 however, it was Josh Brookes who maintained his momentum at the high-speed Hampshire circuit to claim the victory for Be Wiser Ducati, regulating Irwin to second-place, while Peter Hickman completed the podium, with Aussie Jason O’Halloran just tenths of a second behind in fourth.
This marked O’Halloran’s second fourth place of the weekend in a solid result. Fellow Aussie Ben Currie was a DNF in Race 1, and came home in 20th in Race 2.
Taylor Mackenzie claimed the Superstock 1000 race win from Lee Jackson and Billy McConnell, with Richard Cooper launching into the lead from the start but finishing in fourth.
The Supersport class meanwhile saw Kyle Ryde take a narrow win in the second race of the weekend from Jack Kennedy with a tenth of a second between them, with Mason Law a distant third.
Bennetts British Superbike Race 1
At the start of Race 1 Peter Hickman launched off the front row to hit the front of the pack ahead of Andrew Irwin and Jason O’Halloran, but the Honda Racing rider hit the front of the field at the end of the opening lap.
His rival instantly hit back to retake the position on the next lap, but Andrew Irwin was back on the attack and he was back in the lead as the pack streamed across the line to start the third lap. O’Halloran though was in fourth place, but he put a move on Christian Iddon and then as the freight train of riders headed into Club on lap four, the Australian had been able to claim the lead for McAMS Yamaha.
As O’Halloran led, the pack had shuffled again and Iddon was then into second place ahead of Andrew Irwin, Hickman, Tommy Bridewell, Scott Redding, Danny Buchan and Josh Brookes on lap six.
A lap later and Andrew Irwin and Hickman were inseparable, but Redding was also on the move and he was into fifth on the leading Be Wiser Ducati. Meanwhile O’Halloran was holding off the chasing pack, but the lead group of nine riders were all in contention.
On lap ten Hickman moved back into the lead with Iddon then following him through on the brakes as the BMWs held first and second ahead of O’Halloran and Andrew Irwin. O’Halloran was ready to fight back, he made a move at Club a lap later and was back into second place.
The Smiths Racing BMW rider was trying to make a break from the pack, but his rivals could match his pace, while Iddon was dropping back and the Be Wiser Ducati pairing of Redding and Brookes were into fourth and fifth respectively with six laps remaining.
On lap 14 Andrew Irwin then went for a move to take the lead, pushing Hickman pack into second and into the clutches of Redding, O’Halloran and Brookes. Championship leader Redding made his move, lunging ahead of Hickman to move second with O’Halloran still pushing for his first podium of the season.
O’Halloran was back into second a lap later before hitting the front of the field on lap 16 as the final strategies were coming into play over the final five laps of the race. The McAMS Yamaha rider was then holding off the pack that had again changed with Andrew Irwin back in second ahead of Brookes and Redding.
With two laps remaining Andrew Irwin had scythed his way back to the front of the pack with O’Halloran then back in second with Brookes and Redding fighting for third, however the 2015 champion was hungry for a top three finish and he was up to second, but on the final lap Redding was ahead of his teammate again.
On the final run into Club Redding looked to try and make a move on Andrew Irwin for the lead as equally Brookes was looking to move ahead of his teammate, however the Honda rider had the edge to cross the line ahead of the Be Wiser Ducati pairing.
O’Halloran just missed out on his first podium finish of the season ahead of Hickman and Buchan, who had worked his way through the pack into sixth. Xavi Forés had another strong performance to hold on to sixth place in the standings ahead of Tommy Bridewell and Luke Mossey. Ryan Vickers was back inside the top ten in his rookie season for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team.
Bennetts British Superbike Race 2
The second race had started with a battle for the lead between O’Halloran and Brookes with Hickman and race one winner Andrew Irwin in the mix, but on lap nine the race was red flagged as light rain began to fall.
When the race restarted, Hickman had the jump off the line to lead on the opening lap from Brookes, Andrew Irwin and Bridewell. On the second lap Brookes was coming under fire from a determined Honda Racing rider, but Dan Linfoot was also on the move and he was up into third ahead of Hickman.
However a crash for Glenn Irwin at the Club chicane caused another red flag when the stricken Tyco BMW was in the middle of the track and leaking fluid. The Racesafe marshals worked to clear the scene before the race was restarted again with an eight-lap sprint to the chequered flag.
On the final restart Brookes wasn’t taking any prisoners and he fired himself into the lead and then went to make a break, eventually crossing the line 4.276s ahead of the chasing pack to claim his fifth victory of the season for Be Wiser Ducati.
The battle for second ensued behind with Andrew Irwin and Hickman banging fairings in their quest to break into the top six in the standings. The pair were trading blows with Bridewell, Hickman, Iddon, O’Halloran and Redding also all in the mix.
However, a mistake on lap three saw Redding run on at Club and having not completed the re-join into the race correctly, he was issued a long lap penalty. The Be Wiser Ducati rider had three laps to complete the long lap as the race laps counted down, however he failed to do so, and despite crossing the line in a podium position, he was given the ride through equivalent penalty of 15 seconds. That dropped him down to 22nd and outside of the points.
Andrew Irwin meanwhile had his strongest weekend of his career claiming a second place in race two, ahead of Hickman who was third to take the first podium finish for the new BMW S1000 RR.
O’Halloran had completed his best performance of the season to finish in fourth place for McAMS Yamaha, holding off Bridewell in the closing stages.
Iddon equalled his best race result of the season in sixth place ahead of Xavi Forés, who just dropped outside of the top six in the points ahead of Cadwell Park. Buchan maintained his position inside the top six with an eighth place ahead of Luke Mossey and Linfoot who completed the top ten.
Andrew Irwin – 1-2
“Thruxton has probably been the best weekend of my life, it’s one that you never think will happen! I’ve had so much fun riding this weekend. We did loads of homework on Friday and Saturday and the Fireblade has been so good in all sessions, the boys did an awesome job! It is such an amazing feeling to win! I think I passed Jason going into the last lap or something like that and I felt like I had some tyre left. The pace was funny it went up and down a lot with whoever went to the lead. I just wanted to put a strong lap together on the last lap. It is a dream come true, it’s been a tough road to get here, the best road and I’ve learnt a lot along the way. Whenever I won a Supersport race, I only won one but my team-mate helped me along the way so this feels like my first proper win that I’ve ever got so I’m delighted and I can’t thank Honda enough for all their hard work.”
Josh Brookes – 3-1
“Tyre conservation is on your mind all weekend here at Thruxton so with the second race going from 20 laps to 13 laps and then down to eight laps, I could ride exactly how I wanted to and just went full speed as the tyre was always going to last eight laps.I just got my head down and went for it and whilst it may not have been as close as the first race, I enjoyed it a lot more. The field is so level now, every race is tough but Pirelli have done a great job with the tyres and they’re a little bit easier to manage around here now and although I still wanted more from myself, I was happy with the first race podium.I got pushed around a bit too much on track and needed to find a little bit more confidence, so the second race win has given me exactly what I needed and it’s great to be back on the top step.”
Jason O’Halloran – 4-4
“It was good to get some solid finishes. I am a little bit disappointed not to be on the podium as I felt we had really good pace in both races. We’ll take fourth today, the boys have done a good job. I’ve said it the last couple of rounds, if we get a full weekend without any issues in practice and qualifying and we’ll be back up the sharp end and that’s what we’ve done this weekend. Everybody has done a great job and it feels nice to have some momentum and build through the first two days of the weekend. I had a crash at Snetterton and to be honest I’ve had a bit of an issue with my left shoulder, so I have to thank my physio and the physio team at the track. We’ve got a couple of weeks off before Cadwell, so I’ll try and get a bit fitter and see if we can carry this momentum to Cadwell.”
Xavi Forés – 7-7
“To be honest I feel frustrated this weekend, I had good pace to be on the podium, but starting towards the back of the grid was hard to manage. The first few laps here are crazy and I had to adapt quite a bit to be strong in the first part of the race. The second race I did the third fastest lap, which means I am always improving lap-by-lap. Coming home with two seventh place finishes is good for me, especially at this kind of track where I have not ridden before and it’s not easy for me to defend my position. I feel if we can improve our qualification for the next races we will be so much more competitive. Good job from all the team, we had a great weekend and especially with Andrew’s win and podium, I feel we now have a really good package with the Fireblade.”
Scott Redding has proven unstoppable across both BSB Superbike races at Snetterton, with Australian Josh Brookes hot on his heels. Redding claimed both wins and Brookes was regulated to runner-up in each race for a Ducati 1-2, with MacKenzie and Bridewell sharing the final podium positions. Redding leads the standings, with Josh Brookes now three-points off Bridewell in third.
Jason O’Halloran took ninth in Race 1, however a crash in Race 2 delivered a DNF result, and made for his third crash of the weekend. Ben Currie returned from injury and laid claim to 19th in Race 1, however was directed not to take part in Race 2 due to pain from his injury, with recovery ongoing.
Jack Kennedy took the Supersport Sprint win ahead of Brad Jones and Alastair Seeley, while the feature race saw Rob Guiver claim the win from Sean Nearv and Josh Day. Jack Kennedy leads the Supersport standings to Thruxton.
Billy McConnell also made a strong return to the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 series claiming fourth despite his lengthy lay-off and surgeries, with fellow Aussie Levi Day happy coming home in seventh. Richard Cooper took the race win from Lee Jackson and Taylor Mackenzie. Richard Cooper leads the standings, with Day 10th and McConnell 14th.
Superbikes Race 1
At the start of the race one Tarran Mackenzie got an incredible launch off the line to lead the pack on the opening lap ahead of Brookes and Redding with Tommy Bridewell in fourth. The rider was not happy to settle where he was though and was instantly on the attack, moving ahead of Redding into Agostini for the first time.
On the fourth lap Bridewell had moved into second with a decisive dive down the inside at Riches, pushing Brookes back into third. At the front, Bridewell claimed the lead ahead of Mackenzie as Redding moved into third. Bridewell tried to make a break from the pack but he made a mistake into Agostini a lap later and crashed out unhurt.
Redding had cut through into second and with Bridewell out of the race he captured the race lead, but behind there was an intense battle between Brookes and Mackenzie with the pair trading blows for several laps. The fight between the pair gave Redding the opportunity to edge out a gap, but Brookes was then able to get the better of Mackenzie and keep him behind over the closing stages.
Danny Buchan maintained his position inside the top six in the standings with a fourth place, but the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider had a lonely end to the race. However behind him there was a scrap between the Honda Racing pairing; Xavi Forés and Andrew Irwin colliding on the final lap, but both formation flying to the finish line with the Spaniard having the edge at the chequered flag.
Peter Hickman was also in the group and he held off Luke Mossey for seventh place ahead of Jason O’Halloran who had a strong race to carve through the field from his seventh row start on the second McAMS Yamaha. Christian Iddon completed the top ten, passing his teammate Michael Laverty in the final moments of the race on his return after his Knockhill injury.
Superbikes Race 2
In race two Brookes had the perfect start off the line to lead the pack into Riches for the first time ahead of Redding, Bridewell and Mackenzie. Jason O’Halloran meanwhile had also made a good start to move into fifth on the second of the McAMS Yamahas. The Australian though crashed out on the fourth lap at Brundle, ending his race prematurely.
At the front Brookes held the lead until there were just three laps remaining as Redding made a dive down the inside on the brakes at the end of the Bentley Straight to take the lead. The race one winner was able to hold off his Be Wiser Ducati teammate to the finish line.
However it was a double disaster for Mackenzie who crashed out at Wilson on lap eleven as he bid to close down Bridewell for the final podium position. The Oxford Racing Ducati rider bounced back from his race one crash to claim third place and maintain his second place position in the championship standings ahead of Brookes.
In the battle for fourth place Irwin scored his best result of the season so far for Honda Racing, holding off Peter Hickman and Iddon who had a strong performance despite still recovering from his Knockhill injuries.
Hector Barbera had an impressive performance on his first visit to Snetterton on the Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki, taking the chequered flag ahead of Forés who maintained his position inside the top six in the overall standings.
Michael Laverty and Luke Mossey completed the top ten, whilst Buchan and Josh Elliott failed to score points after both crashing in individual incidents on the sighting lap.
Scott Redding
“I felt better with the bike in race two, I felt more comfortable and more confident but I didn’t know whether I could be faster. Then when I passed Josh I went faster, so I learnt I need to believe in myself a bit more. I tried to see what the other guys were doing with the tyres in the race as I didn’t want to break away and then have an issue later on. Again, I’m still learning, I’m still a rookie in this class and I don’t know the tracks. I’m really happy and I had a wicked time this weekend the fans have been amazing, we’ve had great fun, the reception was amazing. To come back with a pole and two race wins – I can’t take much more. To be a Monster athlete and for them to have an event here and for me to win the Race of Aces Trophy just puts the icing on the cake really.”
Josh Brookes 2-2
“I felt really strong at the end of the first race and whilst I was being a little bit conservative in the early stages, the battle I had with Tarran Mackenzie cost both of us time and it allowed Scott to make a bit of a break. By the time I got up to second, it was too big a gap to bridge but it was a good start to the day. We made a slight change in between races and it allowed me to push to the limit so with a good start, I felt comfortable out front. I felt like I was controlling the race well but when Scott came by, he seemed to have just a little bit in reserve and had enough of a gap so I couldn’t get back by. Given where I was on Friday, I’ve got to be happy with two second place finishes, so we’ll work hard to find that bit extra to try and get back on the top step at the next round.”
Andrew Irwin scored his best result so far this season, closing his gap to the top-six thanks to a 5-4 result, achieving his goal of dual top-six results.
Andrew Irwin 5-4
“I keep saying I want two-top sixes near enough every round we’ve been to, it’s what I wanted and we’re coming away from here with a fifth and fourth, which is a step in the right direction! At Knockhill we finished the last race in fifth and we are starting to be where we belong inside the top-six, and hopefully we can continue to close the gap to the Showdown. We took six points out of Xavi this weekend, so we go to Thruxton looking to take another set of points out of him to try and close that down. I’m really happy, the team are working so hard and the Fireblade is working well, so I’m pleased with the progress and the fourth place finish today!”
Hickman remains in seventh place in the overall standings but has made up ground towards Xavi Fores who holds sixth position, with a crash during qualifying a rare mistake, which was then followed up with strong results in a seventh and fifth across the two races.
Peter Hickman 7-5
“Overall, it’s been a strong weekend and after being in the top three for most of practice, it was a real shame I made a small mistake in qualifying as it cost me a second row start at least. We’re still having an issue with getting the bike stopped and we’re still running a stock engine so it was hard going in both races and although seventh in race one was a good effort, I knew I could improve upon it in race two. I was further back on the grid, but I made a good start and am really pleased to have finished fifth and also close in a little bit on Fores in sixth. Snetterton has never been one of my best circuits but the next two rounds are Thruxton and Cadwell, places I really enjoy and go well at so I’m looking to take full advantage and claw back the deficit I currently have.”
Xavi Forés collected valuable points with sixth in Race 1 and eighth in Race 2, holding onto sixth in the standings.
Xavi Forés 6-8
“To be honest this weekend has been harder than I expected; I like the track and enjoyed my laps but honestly from the first day I had a small issue with the bike and was never able to solve it, and for the races it was not so easy to manage. Race 1 I was trying to defend my position and had a good battle with Andrew, but at the end I got some important points and finished in the top-six. I did expect a little more and especially in the second race, but the first part was really, really bad for me, I never felt a good grip on the apexes, especially in the first ten laps. After that I was able to manage a little more and able to almost have the same pace as the top-four, but unfortunately it was too late and sometimes it’s quite frustrating when you lose so much gap at the start. But anyway, sixth and eighth isn’t so bad for my first time here in Snetterton and I am looking forward to Thruxton in order to keep the Showdown still alive! I want to say thanks to all the team, we made a good job inside the box and see you at Thruxton!”
Mackenzie took a spot on the podium in Race 1 and got a good start in Race 2 before the Ducatis started to pull away in the early stages. Initially trying to save his tyre, the 23-year-old began to close the gap but lost the rear at Wilson on lap 11.
Tarran Mackenzie 3- DNF
“Race one was obviously really good. I ended up third and felt like I put together a good race in the first two thirds, but the last third was a bit difficult. When I saw Tommy went out it was hard to go with the two PBM bikes so I settled for third. In race two I didn’t get the best of starts, held my position in fourth and the Ducatis got away a bit. I was trying hard to catch them and setting quite a good pace. I was slowly catching them towards the end, but ended up losing the rear and then losing the front from that. I feel like I’m riding really well, it was another solid weekend and we were in the top two for a lot of it. I’m really happy, to be honest. Finishing fourth would be OK but I’d rather finish third for podium points. I’ll keep trying and come back at Thruxton even stronger.”
Bad luck awaited Australian rider Jason O’Halloran when he endured three crashes at Snetterton, the first two in practice and open qualifying, while ninth in Race 1 from the seventh row was a good result. Unfortunately in Race 2 a third row start saw O’Halloran move up to fifth only to crash out.
Jason O’Halloran 9 – DNF
“I’m OK, I’ve got a little bit of an injury on my left hand where you can see the bone on my knuckle but other than that I’m alright. Thanks to the guys at the medical centre for cleaning it up and patching it up. I was happy with the first race, we haven’t been able to do a lot of laps this weekend so to get 16 laps under our belt was really beneficial. We came from 21st to ninth and kept fighting all the way to the end. We made some changes for race two and, starting from a better position, we got away well and I was feeling comfortable in fifth. All was looking good until I highsided out! We’ve a few things to work on for Thruxton and look for a clean smooth weekend. We’ve go the pace, the potential is there with both me and the bike, we’ve just got to have a clean smooth weekend and it’ll come together.”
Australian Ben Currie also made his return from injury, riding home to 19th in Race 1, but was advised by the team manager not to race in the second race due to the pain he was suffering in his foot.
Ben Currie
“I didn’t opt not to race I was told not to. Sorry to my sponsors!”
Danny Buchan of the FS3-Racing Kawasaki team took victory in the opening race at Knockhill, marking the fifth different winner in the premiere class in five rounds.
Scott Redding scored top honours in the second bout to reclaim the championship lead from Tommy Bridewell.
Josh Brookes went 8-4 for the weekend, while fellow Aussies Jason O’Halloran and Ben Currie failed to finish either race.
Jason O’Halloran suffered machine problems in both races which saw organisers give him the black-orange flag forcing his retirement from both races.
For Ben Currie his return from injury turned out to be a little premature with his injured foot not coping with the stress of the racing conditions which forced the young Victorian to pull out of the races.
In Superstock 1000 Levi Day suffered a DNF in race one due to a loosening boot starting to come adrift from his foot which forced him to pit. He then closed out the weekend with a 14 place result.
British Superbikes
BSB Superbikes Race 1
At the start of the opening race Tarran Mackenzie launched off the front row to lead the pack from pole-sitter Xavi Forés and Buchan with Christian Iddon and Jason O’Halloran in close contention. A moment for Forés dropped him behind Buchan on lap five and then the FS3-Racing Kawasaki rider was hunting down Mackenzie at the front.
Buchan was piling the pressure on Mackenzie at the front and with a decisive move at the Hairpin on lap five and then posted consistent lap times to begin to make a break from the pack. Mackenzie though crashed out of contention before mid-race distance ending his chance of a podium finish.
Buchan was untroubled at the front but behind the battle for second place went down to the wire as Scott Redding was cutting through the pack from his 16th place grid start; by the final ten laps the Be Wiser Ducati rider had closed down the battle for second with Forés leading Iddon.
Redding had closed the gap and with three laps to go he made a move at turn five on Iddon to move ahead of the Tyco BMW rider and then repeated the move a lap later to move into second place as Forés held third.
Redding celebrated a determined second place finish ahead of Forés and Iddon who claimed Tyco BMW’s best result of the season. Tommy Bridewell was fifth ahead of Bradley Ray and Luke Mossey. Luke Stapleford and Glenn Irwin completed the top ten.
BSB Superbikes Race 2
In race two Redding returned to the top of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship podium at Knockhill, mastering the Scottish circuit to claim the race two victory for Be Wiser Ducati and move back to the top of the standings by four points.
At the start of the race Mackenzie claimed the initial advantage into turn one, but Buchan carved ahead just a corner later to put the FS3-Racing Kawasaki back at the front of the field. Redding was in third and he moved second on lap two with a move at the Hairpin on the Be Wiser Ducati.
Iddon had been sitting in eighth place but a crash at turn four on the third lap left the Tyco BMW with a fractured left fibula. The BMW Safety Car was deployed and as the pack formed up behind, Buchan, Redding and Mackenzie were the leading trio with Josh Brookes, Ray and Bridewell next in line.
Redding was instantly on the attack when the race resumed and after two laps he had pulled a decisive move on Buchan to take the lead. Buchan and Mackenzie then were embroiled in a battle for second, but Bridewell was also on the move and desperate to forge his way further up the order.
By lap 17 Buchan had made a move on Redding to regain the lead, but a lap later an unfortunate crash saw the FS3-Racing Kawasaki rider tumble out of the action unhurt. That gave Redding the advantage he needed and he was able to hold the advantage until the race was red flagged on lap 25 when Ray suffered a mechanical failure and subsequently affected the track conditions.
Mackenzie had been eager to make amends for his race one crash and he was able to hold off Bridewell in the closing stages as the pair completed the race two podium with Brookes and Andrew Irwin completing the top five.
Peter Hickman had been giving chase to Ray before his technical problem and that meant the Smiths Racing BMW rider claimed sixth place ahead of Dan Linfoot and Mossey who held off Glenn Irwin and James Ellison.
Danny Buchan – Race One Winner
“It’s still not sunk in yet and I’m pretty overwhelmed by it, it was such a long first race. At the beginning of the race I actually hit Taz (Mackenzie), I hit his exhaust going down the straight. It was a good race and I knew I could do a good job, mid race onwards I settled into a rhythm and brought the bike home and took my first win. Credit to the FS3 team for all their hard work that they have put in, to pick up my first win and the team’s first BSB win, it has been a long time coming. I’ve been trying and trying it’s been a stressful three years for everyone around me. Thanks to all my family and friends who have always supported me.”
Scott Redding – Race Two Winner
“Scotland is great! Danny (Buchan) is the man at Knockhill this weekend – he has been strong in the wet and dry. He won the first race so he had that confidence, I was confident as well as I came through I knew I had the pace. I didn’t really want to lead. I wanted to learn as I am still learning the tracks so when he came by he was pulling away, but I could catch him so I was like, just stay there. The Safety Car came out and I just thought, ‘ok regroup’, we went again and he had a little moment and I thought should I just stay behind? And I thought no I will just try and lead a little bit and see how it goes. I led a couple of laps and felt good, then I think I ran a bit wide in to one of the corners and Danny came by and I thought, that’s alright I will try and stay and learn. I learnt a little bit through the chicane and I thought I will just stay here and have a dig at the end and he lost the front and I thought, oh now I am leading again! I picked my pace up and then it was done. The race was good, I am happy to have the win with the second this morning; people said will Redding manage the British tracks once we get to Knockhill – now we know!”
Josh Brookes – 8-4
“To be honest, I’m glad to be leaving Knockhill as it hasn’t been a great weekendand I’m disappointed for the whole team as everyone’s been working hard and putting in as much effort as always. It just hasn’t clicked for me this weekend and although it started well on Friday, it came to a halt after that and we never really progressed with our pace stuck at that level. The weather made it tough although it was the same for everyone, but we made some small improvements for the second race and salvaged a half decent result with fourth. I wish we were going to Snetterton straightaway to clear my head but it’s been a good circuit to me in the past and I’m confident the Be Wiser Ducati will work well there so I’ll be looking to bounce back strongly and get back to the front.”
Xavi Forés – 3-11
“It’s been a bitter sweet weekend at Knockhill, but we do have many positives to take away. I wasn’t expecting at all to take the pole position yesterday, or finish on the podium! Being back on the podium after the results at Brands was like a victory for me and the team, I’m happy as we were there in dry conditions, so we are making good steps with the Fireblade, but we do still have some work to do. The second race was hard, I started from 13th and made it hard work for myself to get back up into the leading pack. During the race I felt I was defending rather than attacking and it was hard work, the wind at the circuit also picked up and that didn’t help. But I think moving to the next round we have to take the positives with us from this weekend and remind ourselves that we can be up there, have the pace and finish on the podium.”
Tarran Mackenzie – DNF-2
“I’m leaving with a smile on my face, which is nice I was very annoyed with myself for crashing out of the first race. There was a backmarker in front of Danny and I tried to stick to the left as the inside of the track was so wet and I was on the dirty part of the track and it caught me out. Fortunately we made amends in race two. I put together a good pace towards the end of the race, Scott was probably a bit too far away but it got cut short anyway. It’s nice after what happened at Brands, I’m happy to finish second and come away with some solid points.”
Jason O’Halloran – DNF-DNF
“We worked hard this weekend and were fourth quickest overall after practice. Then the rain came for qualifying and I ended up eighth on the grid but I was feeling good for race day. Conditions were really hard in race one with a narrow dry line. I was up to fifth when I unfortunately had to retire with a technical problem. I was given a penalty for race two and ended up 21st on the grid, but I made my way into the group fighting for the top ten before unfortunately having to retire again with a technical problem. Snetterton is up next, somewhere I love racing so I’m looking forward to that already.”
Josh Brookes retained his King of Brands crown by claiming a stunning double victory at Brands Hatch at the fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, ensuring he’s in with a fighting chance of securing the Integro Triple Crown after winning the opening two of the six-race contest.
Brookes delivered a masterful performance in the first race of the weekend to stake his claim on the Integro Triple Crown. The race was declared wet, but with the potential of a drying track pole-sitter Scott Redding opted for an intermediate rear tyre and on lap one he dropped straight through the pack. Despite changing conditions during the race, the Donington Park triple race winner had to nurse his Be Wiser Ducati home in 22nd place.
Brookes was sitting eighth on the opening lap after a steady start off the line, but at the front Dan Linfoot was leading Tommy Bridewell before the pair changed positions on the second lap as the Oxford Racing Ducati rider emerged ahead.
Bridewell and Linfoot were inseparable as they continued to edge an advantage but then Linfoot was ready to try and make a break, passing his Ducati rival into Paddock Hill Bend on lap 15 to reclaim the lead as Brookes continued to carve his way up the order.
Brookes had dispensed with the pack ahead of him and was closing down the leading pair and by lap 17 the 2015 champion had bridged a nine-second gap from the midpoint of the race to tail Bridewell before making a move at Druids.
Brookes then had Linfoot in his sights with three laps remaining and a lap later he fired the Be Wiser Ducati ahead at Clearways to hit the front of the pack for the first time and then hold the advantage to the chequered flag. The win gives Brookes the first of the six race wins in the Integro Triple Crown and the chance to bag a potential £75,000 prize.
Linfoot became the eighth different podium finisher of the 2019 season to claim the first top three finish of the season for the Santander Salt TAG Yamaha team, with Bridewell crossing the line third to move to the top of the championship standings.
Danny Buchan had been another rider to scythe his way through the pack to move up into the top five before making a move on Peter Hickman with four laps to go to claim fourth place, with the Smiths Racing BMW rider completing the top five at the chequered flag.
The Tyco BMW pairing were battling for sixth place with Keith Farmer getting the better of his teammate Christian Iddon on the final lap and Jason O’Halloran dropping to eighth after starting the race in a potential podium position. The lone McAMS Yamaha rider had been running in third until the midpoint of the race, but he was forced to hold off an attack from Andrew Irwin on the leading Honda Racing Fireblade and Glenn Irwin on the Quattro Plant – JG Speedfit Kawasaki who completed the top ten.
Race Two
At the start of race two Brookes launched off the line to lead the pack into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time ahead of Redding and Linfoot with Bridewell also in close contention. The Oxford Racing Ducati rider was on a mission and he made a move on race one podium finisher Linfoot on lap four to move into third with the Be Wiser Ducatis ahead of him.
Bridewell was pushing to make a move on Redding and by lap ten he was on his back wheel, with the Donington Park triple race winner running wide into Paddock Hill Bend, giving Bridewell the opportunity he needed to take the advantage into Druids.
Bridewell was reeling in Brookes and shadowing him for the lead but it wasn’t enough for the 2015 champion to be displaced from the lead and he withstood the pressure from his championship rival to take the chequered flag first and claim the Bennetts Rewards King of Brands title.
Redding was able to return to the podium after the disappointment of race one in third place but behind there was another intense battle between Buchan and Linfoot with the FS3-Racing Kawasaki rider taking the place at half race distance and holding off the Santander Salt TAG Yamaha to the finish.
Iddon was embroiled in a battle of the BMWs from which he emerged the victor, getting the better of Hickman and Farmer after a race-long duel with the Tyco BMW pairing split by the Smiths Racing BMW.
O’Halloran was ninth on the sole McAMS Yamaha with Glenn Irwin holding off Luke Mossey, Andrew Irwin and Xavi Forés for tenth place. It was a disappointing race for Brands Hatch local Bradley Ray who crashed out unhurt at Hawthorns.
Josh Brookes
“It’s great to get a couple of wins towards that big cash prize but I’ve got to be focused on the championship – that’s my main concern, main goal, my main focus, I’m championship orientated so that’s why I’m most pleased with today’s results.
“It’s been a tough weekend. Fortunately I’ve been able to be at the front for most of the weekend, most of the sessions, and that final race I got away to a good start, pulled a small gap for a few laps and then it snuck out to about 1.5 I got on my board and I was thinking ‘okay, this is good, I might be able to control the race and not have to risk too much and not destroy the tyres too much and just work with that’.
“And then all of a sudden my board showed Tom was second and then that I only had .3 of a gap so that plan had to be dropped, and I started going quicker and quicker.
“On our bikes it shows our best lap time we’ve done, so you each lap you can use that as a reference whether you’re going quicker than your previous best lap or slower – and I was almost exactly zeros on the dash almost every lap.
“If I did make a little mistake in the early part of the lap and lost a couple of tenths, I just tried harder and squeezed a bit more out and got it back at the end of the lap. Even doing that Tom just stayed with me the whole race, like he said our bikes are so evenly matched.
“Everything I tried to do to break away from him, he could match it with his speed. I was thinking to myself, as long I don’t make any mistakes he can’t ride faster, he can’t physically make something happen different than what we’re already doing. I did actually make once mistake, but it was a bit earlier in the race and he wasn’t able to capitalise on that.
“Fortunate to get the win and bring it home, it was really a tough race and he pushed me to the end and to get the King of Brands trophy again is great.”
Dan Linfoot
“I’m leaving Brands Hatch much happier, I’m a lot more relaxed knowing my bike is back to normal. Obviously, the podium in race 1 was mega! It was wet but it was a hard race, I rode well and we had good pace so that has got me smiling! Then with the second race being dry I’m just really happy that we made it to the flag and I could push every lap and not have the chatter issues I’ve had previously and throughout the whole first part of the season really. It’s nice now I know that I can build every lap and get to the flag without any technical issues. The season starts here and with a second and a fifth in the bag I’m taking away a good handful of points which was what my target was at round one. We’ve got a little bit of catching up to do now to try and challenge for a Showdown spot.”
Peter Hickman
“It’s been a very good weekend for both myself and the team and although it was a bit of a culture shock coming back to the short circuits after the TT, I had two good races. I struggled a bit in practice initially but made a breakthrough in qualifying and went on to pick up some good points. Race one saw very changeable conditions and although it would have been nice to have got a podium, fifth place was a good result especially as I haven’t ridden the new Smiths BMW much in the wet. Seventh in the second race was ok and I have moved up from 12th to eighth in the rider standings and a lot closer to the top six so we’re slowly but surely getting close to where we want to be.”
Jason O’Halloran
“After qualifying on the front row yesterday, we were expecting a lot better than what we got today. The first race was really tricky in the wet conditions, I started quite well but I had a problem with a lack of feeling at the front end and slowly drifted back. I started the second race on row four, which was always going to be difficult. The first lap was something else, there were people left, right and centre and I ended up 15th on lap one. I got back up to ninth and then didn’t have any more pace to close down the gap, so we had to bring it home for some points. We have some work to do; we have to improve the feeling with the bike. We’ll put our heads together and try and improve our race pace. I need a better feeling in race conditions.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Brands Hatch, Race 1 Results
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Knockhill
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) 145
Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) 131
Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) 124
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 108
Danny Buchan (FS3-Racing Kawasaki) 94
Xavi Forés (Honda Racing) 75
Supersport 600
Alastair Seeley took victory in the opening Dickies British Supersport race at Brands Hatch, powering past title rival Jack Kennedy on the run to the line. It was the EHA Racing Yamaha of Seeley who grabbed the holeshot, but the GP2 machine of Kyle Ryde had sliced his way through as they crossed the line at the end of lap one.
Seeley, Ryde, Kennedy and Brad Jones traded places throughout the opening five laps before spots of rain saw the red flag deployed. Declared a wet race, the restart began in dry conditions and saw the quintet again battling at the front but as the rain returned it allowed Bradley Perie and Ben Wilson to both take turns leading the race.
Coming down to the final lap, Seeley led at the start but Kennedy moved through to lead on the run into Clearways. Coming onto the straight Kennedy held the lead but Seeley was able to power through to take the win by just 0.026s. On his debut ride on the GP2 machine, Mason Law took the win ahead of Jamie Perrin and Kyle Ryde.
Integro Yamaha’s Jack Kennedy was back to winning ways in the Brands Hatch Dickies British Supersport Feature race, cruising to his fifth victory of the season by 2.103s. As he did in yesterday’s Sprint race, Kyle Ryde stormed to the lead off the line on his GP2 machine to control the race for the opening laps. A fast charging Seeley took over front running on lap five, moving from third to first in one move however just one lap later saw Kennedy take over front running.
A series of fast laps from Kennedy saw him able to extend his lead, eventually climbing to two seconds by the chequered flag. Brad Jones again finished third place, eventually passing Ryde on track in the closing stages.
Kyle Ryde took his seventh British GP2 victory of the year, finishing fourth overall, just ahead of fellow GP2 rider Jamie Perrin. Sam Wilford completed the podium, seventh overall just one place behind Harry Truelove.
[/vc_column_text]
Pos
Rider
Gap
1
Alastair SEELEY
0.000
2
Jack KENNEDY
0.026
3
Brad JONES
0.629
4
Ben WILSON
1.763
5
Charlie NESBITT
1.833
6
Bradley PERIE
2.367
7
Richard KERR
4.135
8
Mason LAW
14.281
9
Jamie PERRIN
15.767
10
Harry TRUELOVE
25.559
11
Kurt WIGLEY
29.341
12
Ross TWYMAN
29.804
13
Ross PATTERSON
30.740
14
Kyle RYDE
30.763
15
Josh OWENS
32.862
16
Jorel BOERBOOM
35.651
17
Sam WILFORD
39.671
18
Jake ARCHER
39.989
19
Phil WAKEFIELD
43.045
20
Tomás DE VRIES
46.475
21
Thomas STRUDWICK
47.464
22
William WHITE
1:00.587
23
Alan NAYLOR
1:23.029
DNF
Dominic PETTIT
6 Laps
Pos
Rider
Gap
1
Jack KENNEDY
0.000
2
Alastair SEELEY
2.103
3
Brad JONES
12.223
4
Kyle RYDE
12.287
5
Jamie PERRIN
20.673
6
Harry TRUELOVE
26.188
7
Sam WILFORD
30.205
8
Charlie NESBITT
35.915
9
Ben WILSON
38.808
10
Richard KERR
38.880
11
Bradley PERIE
38.935
12
Rory SKINNER
45.364
13
Kurt WIGLEY
47.147
14
Ross PATTERSON
48.860
15
Ross TWYMAN
55.665
16
Thomas STRUDWICK
56.651
17
William WHITE
56.985
18
Phil WAKEFIELD
1:05.972
19
Jorel BOERBOOM
1:06.434
20
Jake ARCHER
1:07.254
21
Tomás DE VRIES
1:17.926
22
Louis VALLELEY
1 Lap
23
Alan NAYLOR
1 Lap
24
Dominic PETTIT
1 Lap
DNF
Mason LAW
2 Laps
DNF
Josh OWENS
6 Laps
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Alastair SEELEY
175
2
Jack KENNEDY
145
3
Brad JONES
132
4
Harry TRUELOVE
79
5
Richard KERR
68
6
Ben WILSON
67
7
Tom OLIVER
57
8
Bradley PERIE
55
9
Kurt WIGLEY
54
10
Charlie NESBITT
45
11
Rory SKINNER
43
12
Lee JOHNSTON
37
13
Ross TWYMAN
33
14
Ross PATTERSON
26
15
Tatsuya YAMAGUCHI
19
16
Eugene McMANUS
18
17
Matt WIGLEY
16
18
Ian HUTCHINSON
14
19
Phil WAKEFIELD
13
20
William WHITE
6
21
Alan NAYLOR
4
22
Ryan DIXON
3
23
Grant McINTOSH
3
24
Dominic PETTIT
2
25
Jason LYNN
1
26
Paul JORDAN
1
[/vc_column][/vc_row]
British Superstock 1000
Richard Cooper and Lee Jackson shared the victories from the opening Pirelli National Superstock 1000 race at Brands Hatch, with the Buildbase Suzuki man losing out on the double on the line in the second-half.
It was Cooper who grabbed the best leap from the line in the opening 16 lapper, and led the opening lap. FS-3 Racing’s Lee Jackson quickly came past and started to pull a gap on the chasing pack.
The Buildbase Suzuki man quickly got back into a rhythm and found a way past Jackson with ten laps to go, however Mackenzie was lurking behind in third.
After a bunch of exciting overtakes between the leading three, it would be Championship leader Cooper who took the first-half victory from Jackson and Mackenzie.
The second-half saw once again Cooper, Jackson and Mackenzie battle it out at the front. The trio swapped places all race long, but it was Jackson who nicked the second-half victory from Cooper on the line with Mackenzie third.
Bathams Racing’s Taylor Mackenzie took his first victory of 2019 in wet conditions on Sunday, storming ahead of Richard Cooper and Lee Jackson.
It was Cooper who grabbed the holeshot, and he and Taylor Mackenzie pulled a gap on the chasing pack. However, the duo were quickly caught by Lewis Rollo who posted the fastest lap of the race in the process.
Rollo crashed out with eight laps to go leaving Mackenzie and Cooper to battle it out at the front, and it would be the Bathams Racing man who crossed the line for the victory with Cooper second and Jackson third.
South Australian Levi Day scored two top-ten finishes.
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
Tyco BMW’s Keith Farmer set the pace after the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship free practice sessions at Donington Park on Friday afternoon, firing the new S1000 RR to the top of the times ahead of Saturday’s Datatag Qualifying and opening race of the triple-header weekend.
Tommy Bridewell had initially set the benchmark, but in the closing ten minutes the Tyco BMW contender forged ahead to set the pace for the first time since returning to the Superbike class after lifting the Superstock title last season. The session saw an incredibly close field with 0.893s covering the top 18 riders.
Farmer edged ahead of 2015 champion Josh Brookes by just 0.036s with Scott Redding in third after he led the pack in the opening session for the Be Wiser Ducati team with joint championship leader Bridewell holding fourth place at the chequered flag.
Keith Farmer Fastest on Friday
“I am very happy with how the session went this afternoon; I am still learning the Superbike and we haven’t changed much today between the first and second free practice sessions. We started the day good and to finish the opening day fastest is mega. It is the first time for me on the BMW in BSB and I am looking forward to raceday tomorrow. Hopefully we can have a good qualifying and can get a good start so that we can get away with them at the front and see what we can do.”
Hector Barbera had an impressive debut in Bennetts BSB, leading the Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki charge in fifth, moving ahead of Luke Mossey and Tarran Mackenzie who is tied on points with Bridewell at the top of the standings.
Peter Hickman was eighth fastest ahead of Christian Iddon and Luke Stapleford, who completed the top ten for the Buildbase Suzuki team.
Josh Brookes was on form at Oulton Park BSB, claiming both Superbike race wins on the Be Wiser Ducati, firing himself up into the top six, with 50 championship points to his name, after a tough season opener, just 14-points off the current leaders.
Brookes had been strong throughout the weekend as the 2015 champion arrived in Cheshire determined to make amends for a non-point score at the Silverstone season opener. The Be Wiser Ducati ace became the third different rider to claim a victory in 2019 as he held off Tommy Bridewell in the opening race. Ducati also became the third race-winning manufacturer so far this season, marking the first triumph for the new V4R.
Brookes and Bridewell made a breakaway at the front of the pack with the Oxford Racing Ducati rider shadowing the Australian throughout the 17 lap race but he couldn’t find the opportunity to make a pass and, despite piling on the pressure, the Be Wiser Ducati team emerged victorious.
Jason O’Halloran had initially been holding third place over the opening laps but the McAMS Yamaha rider was soon under threat as Danny Buchan carved his way up the order from sixth to close in on the Australian by the tenth lap.
O’Halloran was defending but the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider was determined, made his move and gradually edged out an advantage to the finish line. The battle for fifth went down to the wire between Scott Redding and Peter Hickman, with the Bennetts BSB rookie holding off the challenges of the Smiths Racing BMW rider despite his circuit knowledge to claim a hard-fought fifth place.
Keith Farmer was the leading Tyco BMW to cross the finish line at the chequered flag, claiming seventh place as teammate Christian Iddon was forced to retire despite battling in the top five during the opening stages of the race.
At the start of the second race Brookes again launched to the front of the pack on the Be Wiser Ducati ahead of O’Halloran and Bridewell, but the Oxford Racing Ducati rider was instantly on the attack and on the second lap and moved ahead of the McAMS Yamaha.
O’Halloran was fighting hard but he was soon under pressure from Iddon and Buchan. Iddon edged the Tyco BMW down the inside at Old Hall on lap four with Buchan then diving down the inside at Lodge to push O’Halloran back down the order.
Redding was also on the move and he was shadowing O’Halloran for fifth place; which he grabbed on the run into Old Hall at the start of the sixth lap as Mackenzie closed in on the pair. Mackenzie was pushing his teammate and he also made a move as the Australian continued to push on despite still suffering from a shoulder injury from last week’s test.
As Brookes held off Bridewell for the win in the closing stages, Buchan celebrated his third consecutive podium finish for FS3-Racing Kawasaki, with Redding holding fourth after fending off the final push from Mackenzie over the closing laps.
Josh Brookes
“It has been a really great weekend and the result that the Be Wiser Ducati team deserved and we can move on from Silverstone. Race one was a really positive start and then before race two I knew Tommy was going to be a big threat. But I was also a bit worried about Danny because I knew he’d come through the pack quite strong in race one, and in that race he was starting a lot further up the grid so I was thinking it could be the three of us battling out at front. I just wanted to try and stay clear of any trouble, and I knew Tommy was right behind me in both races. I just put as many fast laps together as I could, the race pace was a lot quicker in race two than race one, so I just looked at my board and I kept seeing plus zero. I knew that one of us (Bridewell) was going to have to break but finally I was able to get a little buffer and then it kind-of crept out so it made the end of the race a bit easier for me but this was a perfect weekend.”
Iddon claimed his best result of the season in sixth place for Tyco BMW ahead of O’Halloran and Farmer who battled with his McAMS Yamaha rival until the finish. Andrew Irwin managed to get the better of rookie Ryan Vickers in the closing stages to finish ninth ahead of the Superbike rookie.
Jason O’Halloran
“It’s good to score some points! I was really happy with fourth in race one, but in race two I struggled a bit and ended up seventh. We had to salvage as many points as we could after not scoring at Silverstone, but it wasn’t easy as unfortunately last week at the test I had a small slip off at Hizzy’s and fractured my right humerus just near my shoulder… I haven’t said a lot about it as I wanted to keep my head down and everyone focused on what we were doing, but riding Oulton Park with a slightly broken bone is not ideal. We’ve got a few weeks now before Donington, so I’ll keep on with the therapy, get fit and healthy and hopefully be back to full fitness.”
Tarran Mackenzie
“It’s been a tricky weekend, race one was difficult as I out braked myself into Lodge on the first lap, making it hard work for myself as I re-joined 17th! I managed to finish eighth which wasn’t too bad and then had a better starting position in race two. I got stuck behind a rider for a bit too long, two or three laps, but once I got past I managed to chase after Jason, Christian and Scott and finally caught Scott, but I was a little bit too late to take fourth! Fifth place doesn’t sound great, but after the weekend I’ve had I’m happy with that. We’ve got a good feeling on the bike and I’m looking forward to my home round in a couple of weeks’ time.”
BSB Superbikes Results
Pos
Name
Gap
1
Josh Brookes
27’07.841
2
Tommy Bridewell
0.204
3
Danny Buchan
3.543
4
Jason O’Halloran
7.307
5
Scott Redding
10.529
6
Peter Hickman
10.648
7
Keith Farmer
15.758
8
Tarran Mackenzie
16.147
9
Ryan Vickers
16.859
10
Josh Elliott
19.364
Pos
Name
Gap
1
Josh Brookes
28’38.183
2
Tommy Bridewell
2.686
3
Danny Buchan
7.035
4
Scott Redding
9.37
5
Tarran Mackenzie
9.614
6
Christian Iddon
12.572
7
Jason O’Halloran
16.142
8
Keith Farmer
16.171
9
Andrew Irwin
20.801
10
Ryan Vickers
21.027
Tarran MACKENZIE (Yamaha) 64
Tommy BRIDEWELL (Ducati) 64
Danny BUCHAN (Kawasaki) 55
Josh ELLIOTT (Suzuki) 52
Josh BROOKES (Ducati) 50
Scott REDDING (Ducati) 40
Andrew IRWIN (Honda) 31
Luke MOSSEY (Suzuki) 25
Jason O’HALLORAN (Yamaha) 22
Keith FARMER (BMW) 22
Luke STAPLEFORD (Suzuki) 20
Peter HICKMAN (BMW) 19
Ryan VICKERS (Kawasaki) 18
Dan LINFOOT (Yamaha) 16
Christian IDDON (BMW) 15
Pirelli Superstock 1000
Richard Cooper took his third Pirelli National Superstock 1000 victory of the season with a last lap, last corner move on Taylor Mackenzie. Mackenzie launched off the line to be the early race leader but the Buildbase Suzuki of Cooper had found a way past by lap three and set about building a small lead over the pursuing pack.
A string of fast laps from Mackenzie however saw the Bathams BMW rider close up, re-taking the lead on lap ten before Cooper took it back just two laps later. Coming down to the final lap, Mackenzie was back into the lead but a move into the final corner saw Cooper take the victory by just 0.148s. Alex Olsen was able to secure third place ahead of Lee Jackson and Billy McConnell.
Aussies Levi Day claimed 21st, with Brayden Elliott 27th.
Levi Day
“Wasn’t our race today! Damp but drying track with everyone on wets. A rider infront of me spun out on the grid and I had to take avoiding action, just clipping him but fortunately missing big impact. I lost a heap of positions and dropped down to 29th. Managed to fight back to 21st, not how we had hoped the race would go but did my best after the start drama! Big thanks to my team at IN Competition Aprilia and all my sponsors, AJN Steelstock and everyone in my corner! We will continue working hard for round 3 at Donington in three weeks time!”
Brayden Elliott
“Difficult weekend from start to finish. Letting myself down with poor qualifying making for such hard work to push forward during the race. With the help of my team I’m confident we can pin point a few areas to focus on and improve at Round 3!”
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Results
Richard COOPER GBR Suzuki 24:29.311
Taylor MACKENZIE GBR BMW +0.148
Alex OLSEN GBR BMW +0.683
Lee JACKSON GBR Kawasaki +4.309
Billy McCONNELL AUS Suzuki +15.042
Luke HEDGER GBR Kawasaki +24.909
Lewis ROLLO GBR Aprilia +25.420
Tom NEAVE GBR Honda +27.602
Andrew REID GBR BMW +31.173
Joe COLLIER GBR Kawasaki +31.395 …21. Levi DAY AUS Aprilia +1:03.053 …27. Brayden ELLIOTT AUS Suzuki +1:19.010
Richard COOPER 71
Taylor MACKENZIE 63
Alex OLSEN 58
Lee JACKSON 39
Eemeli LAHTI 26.5
Tom NEAVE 26
Lewis ROLLO 25
Luke HEDGER 24.5
Billy McCONNELL 21.5
Leon JEACOCK 12 …14. Levi DAY 8
British Supersport
Jack Kennedy cemented a perfect weekend at Oulton Park, completing the double in the Dickies British Supersport Championship; his fourth win from four races. In a carbon copy of yesterday’s Sprint race, the Appleyard Macadam Integro Yamaha rider controlled the race from the opening lap, steadily pulling away to take victory by 2.387s and extend his lead at the top of the standings to 20 points.
It was an action-packed battle for the final podium slots behind him though as Alastair Seeley and Brad Jones swapped paint every lap as they vied for second place whilst Kyle Ryde was in close contention in fourth. A red flag on lap 11 prevented a last lap showdown, leaving Seeley to take second, Jones third whilst Ryde was again the leading GP2 machine.
Jamie Perrin was the second of the GP2 machines in fifth overall, ahead of Harry Truelove, Lee Johnston and the third GP2 bike of Sam Wilford.
2019 British Superbike Championship Round Two – Oulton Park
Josh Brookes claimed the first Bennetts British Superbike Championship pole position for the new Ducati V4R at Oulton Park for the Be Wiser Ducati team ahead of the Monday races.
Josh Brookes – Be Wiser Ducati Pole position
“I’ve just turned up to Oulton Park with a clear mind and put Silverstone behind me. Luckily we had a test here so we had great momentum, got a good setting of the bike and came here and refined it a little bit further.
“The team have done a fantastic job, we have been working through a lot of fine tuning – nothing big at the moment because the bike’s already in good range so it’s nice to be in that zone where you can do some fine tuning and just work through little areas to just refine the bike, as opposed to having to make big changes and hoping that works.
“I think we’re in a fantastic position, all I can say is that I’m pleased and looking forward to the races tomorrow. I just hope now that I can put this one-lap speed into race-long consistency.”
The 2015 champion set his personal best lap of the Cheshire circuit to lap under the existing record to hold off rivals Tommy Bridewell and Peter Hickman who complete the front row ahead of Monday’s Bank Holiday races.
Brookes had been the fastest rider on track yesterday, but he continued to make strides forward as the Australian upped the pace to give him the edge in the final stage of qualifying to head off Bridewell as Hickman claimed the first front row start for the new BMW S1000RR in third.
A hectic Q2 saw an intense fight to be in the final nine for the last stage of Datatag Qualifying and impressively in only his second round on a Superbike, rookie Ryan Vickers qualified for the first time in Q3. He will start ninth on the grid for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team for tomorrow’s opening race.
Jason O’Halloran bounced back from an earlier crash in free practice to finish fourth fastest to head the second row from Christian Iddon on the Tyco BMW and Danny Buchan for FS-3 Racing Kawasaki ahead of tomorrow’s race one.
Scott Redding continues to try and grasp the technically challenging Oulton Park on his race debut at the track, firing himself into the top nine and qualifying seventh on the grid ahead of Keith Farmer.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship Oulton Park, Datatag Qualifying
Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:34.084s
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) +0.625s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.801s
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.856s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.929s
Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +0.938s
Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) +1.082s
Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW) +1.143s
Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) +1.259s
British Superstock 1000
Buildbase Suzuki’s Richard Cooper took his first pole position of the season at Oulton Park, just 0.419 from Taylor Mackenzie and Billy McConnell.
Cooper set the fastest time early on in the session, and Mackenzie set about chasing it down to leapfrog in to pole position. Although setting his fastest time late on, it wasn’t enough for the BMW man to take pole.
Rounding out the front row is OMG Racing’s Billy McConnell, with Lee Jackson fourth, Olsen fifth and Jones sixth.
Levi day qualified 13th while Brayden Elliott with start from position 32 on the grid.
British Supersport
Jack Kennedy has made it three victories from three races in the Dickies British Supersport Championship, cruising to a dominant victory in the opening Sprint race. It was Kennedy’s Appleyard Integro Yamaha team mate Brad Jones who grabbed the holeshot but the reigning champ had soon made his way past to lead at the end of the opening lap.
Jones did his best to fend of the advances of Alastair Seeley, but the former Champion made his move on lap four. At the front, Kennedy was able to continue to stretch his lead to eventually secure the victory by 3.601s and setting a new lap record in the process. Trying his hardest, Jones just could not find a way past the EHA Racing Yamaha of Seeley, missing out on second place by just 0.081s.
Kyle Ryde was again the leading British GP2 Cup machine, also his third win of the season, in fourth overall ahead of a strong ride from rookie Harry Truelove in fifth with Jamie Perrin sixth on the GP2 machine and Josh Owens seventh.
British Supersport Championship and GP2 Cup Oulton Park, Sprint Race
Jack Kennedy (Yamaha)
Alastair Seeley (Yamaha) +3.601s
Brad Jones (Yamaha) +3.682s
Kyle Ryde (Kalex GP2) +18.658s
Harry Truelove (Yamaha) +24.965s
Jamie Perrin (GP2) +25.752s
Dickies British Supersport Championship and GP2 Cup Championship Standings
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