Qualifying
Josh Brookes secured his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship pole position of the season at Oulton Park this afternoon, gambling on tyre choice in the opening moments of the session to set the pace for VisionTrack Ducati by 1.522s ahead of BikeSocial Race 1.
The track was damp at the start of the session with the riders heading out on track with the wet tyre choice as Danny Buchan initially went to the top of the times ahead of the McAMS Yamaha pairing of Tarran Mackenzie and Jason O’Halloran.
Buchan though was pushing to improve his time and he crashed the SYNETIQ BMW at Shell with five minutes left of the session. As he ended his session in the gravel trap, Ryan Vickers surged to the top of the times for the RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki team.
Brookes though headed straight into pitlane after his out lap, switching to the intermediate tyre choice, which paid off; the defending champion delivered a string of rapid laps that put him over a second clear of the opposition.
Brookes said: “We were watching the previous session which was Superstock and it looked to be drying out quite a lot at the end, so it looked like inters would be a good option for our qualifying. Then just before our session, it started to rain again so we reverted back to full wets.
“I rode out of the pitlane, but I could see quite quickly that the track was almost suitable for inters. But if I had done more than the out lap it would have risked not having the time to make the change so I didn’t have the option to put a banker time with the wets.
“I ran the gamble and rolled the dice and came straight in and changed. In the first couple of laps, it was a bit dodgy, and the rain started to sprinkle and I could see it on my visor so it was touch and go if it would ruin my option. In that moment it was the right call; it was even better to claim the pole position.”
Brookes snatched the top spot away from championship leader Jason O’Halloran who had hit the top of the times just seconds before his rival upped the pace.
Mackenzie will head the second row in fourth place ahead of Lee Jackon and Buchan, who held on to sixth on the times.
Christian Iddon leads row three from Gino Rea and Title Fighter Glenn Irwin on the Honda Racing Fireblade with Andrew Irwin completing the top ten.
Title Fighter Peter Hickman starts eleventh for the opening race on the FHO Racing BMW and Tommy Bridewell in 15th.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, SUPERPICKS Qualifying:
Race One
The opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown produced high drama at Oulton Park as championship leader Jason O’Halloran crashed out after hitting the front of the pack as his teammate Tarran Mackenzie claimed the victory with a last lap move on Josh Brookes. Now just five points separate the McAMS Yamahas at the top of the standings.
At the start of the race, O’Halloran had taken the lead into Old Hall for the first time as the Showdown kicked off in Cheshire, but Brookes was instantly attacking and moved ahead before the pack streamed into Shell on the opening lap.
Championship leader O’Halloran was soon back ahead as the Australians duelled for the leading position with the McAMS Yamaha rider holding the edge on the third lap, before Brookes regained the advantage at Hizzys.
A resurgent Brookes was defending hard on the VisionTrack Ducati from O’Halloran at the front of the field, as the reigning champion bids for a late championship comeback. On the tenth lap, his McAMS Yamaha rival made a decisive move at Knickerbrook as O’Halloran regained command of the race.
However, whilst pushing to break away from Brookes, O’Halloran dramatically crashed out at Knickerbrook on lap 12, handing the lead back to his Title Fighter rival who was holding off Mackenzie, Christian Iddon and Lee Jackson.
Brookes was then defending from Mackenzie, but the McAMS Yamaha rider made his move on the brakes into Hizzys on the final lap, before claiming his sixth win of the season to move within five points of O’Halloran in the standings, slashing his advantage.
Iddon had a dash to the line to hold off Jackson to make it a double podium finish for the VisionTrack Ducati team, whilst Peter Hickman completed the top five for FHO Racing BMW.
Tommy Bridewell stormed up the order from 15th on the grid to finish sixth ahead of Danny Buchan, as the SYNETIQ BMW rider had to work his way through the pack after taking evasive action when Ryan Vickers crashed out ahead of him on the opening lap.
Glenn Irwin, Bradley Ray and Storm Stacey completed the top ten ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, BikeSocial Race 1:
Race Two
Tommy Bridewell secured an astonishing victory in the second race of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown after fighting back from an off track moment earlier in the race to take the lead on the final lap to beat the McAMS Yamaha pairing.
Championship leader Jason O’Halloran had led from the opening lap despite increasing pressure from his Title Fighter rivals, but he was unable to hold off the commanding pace from Bridewell, who had delivered a determined ride to overhaul his McAMS Yamaha rivals at the final stage of the race.
Bridewell had run out at Hizzys on the fourth lap, dropping him right down the order into 13th place when he re-joined. However, he was carving his way through the field and he was soon back on the leading group of riders led by O’Halloran.
O’Halloran was putting in an a consistent run at the front to hold the advantage as he pushed to bounce back from yesterday’s crash that saw his advantage in the standings decimated, as his teammate Tarran Mackenzie took the first victory of the Showdown.
Christian Iddon, Josh Brookes and Tarran Mackenzie had been scrapping for second at mid-race distance with Peter Hickman and Lee Jackson also in the mix. On lap 13, the VisionTrack Ducati pairing were inseparable, but as they fought for second, Mackenzie seized the opportunity and was able to split the pair by passing Brookes.
Two laps later and Mackenzie made his move on Iddon for second place, with a strong pass on the brakes into Old Hall, but Iddon was instantly back ahead. But the pair soon had Bridewell for company and by the penultimate lap he had moved into second with O’Halloran in his sights.
Bridewell made his move on O’Halloran on the final lap with a move into Old Hall, and then defended hard to hold off the Australian, who was also under fire from Mackenzie. As Bridewell claimed his second race win of the season, O’Halloran was able to hold off his teammate by just 0.030s at the chequered flag to take second.
Iddon claimed fourth place, but it was a disappointing end to race two for his VisionTrack Ducati teammate as Brookes crashed out of fifth place on the final lap at Druids. That gave Hickman fifth place ahead of Jackson and Bradley Ray.
Danny Buchan was the last of the Title Fighters in eighth place, just ahead of his SYNETIQ BMW teammate Andrew Irwin as Gino Rea completed the top ten.
Glenn Irwin was the only Title Fighter who failed to finish; the Honda Racing rider started at the back of the grid after failing to exit pitlane in time following a technical issue. He was working his way through the pack, but as he moved into tenth, he crashed out unhurt at Hizzys.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race 2 result:
Race Three
Tommy Bridewell delivered an imperious performance in the final Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Oulton Park to claim a double win in the opening round of the Showdown to fire himself into title contention for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team. However, another crash for Jason O’Halloran means he has relinquished the standings lead to teammate Tarran Mackenzie with just two points in it heading to Donington Park for the penultimate round next weekend (1-3 October).
Bridewell launched off the pole position and instantly hit the front of the pack, setting an incredible pace to break his rivals and at the chequered flag he had a 5.972s advantage, with his victory putting him to within nine points of Mackenzie at the top of the standings.
Bridewell said: “I told my team earlier I’ve got nothing to lose, I’m here to win the championship. The dice rolled in our favour this weekend, we did our first ever double win in BSB and Jason’s had two DNFs and Tarran had a penalty in that last race.
“Pressure is a cruel thing, but I have no pressure on my shoulders. If I win, it I win it and if I don’t I don’t. I’m here to fight and here to win and that’s what I’ll do.
“Genuinely I wasn’t surprised by this weekend, without sounding cocky. This place for me is very strong, the bike is strong here and I feel mentally and physically very good.
“I need to keep this ball rolling at Donington Park and I need to be lifting the trophy at the end of the year.”
The battle for second raged throughout the 18-lap encounter as Josh Brookes charged into second ahead of Danny Buchan and Mackenzie at the start. By the tenth lap, Mackenzie was into third and hassling Brookes.
Lee Jackson had soon moved into the podium battle, holding fourth and was then dicing with Mackenzie. On lap 14, Jackson made a move on the brakes into Old Hall, but on the exit there was contact between him and Mackenzie as the McAMS Yamaha rider went for the inside line. The pair made contact, which sent the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider crashing out of the race.
Mackenzie was then issued a long lap equivalent time penalty of three seconds for contact causing a crash, which dropped him from third on track to fifth at the chequered flag.
It was a disastrous race for the second of the McAMS Yamahas as O’Halloran crashed out of contention for the second time this weekend, this time at Cascades on the twelfth lap. That means he now sits second in the standings ahead of Donington Park in a few days’ time.
Brookes was able to hold onto second at the chequered flag with Bradley Ray elevated into third, as he became the sixth different rider to celebrate podium success at Oulton Park this weekend for the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW team.
Peter Hickman claimed fourth place for FHO Racing BMW, just ahead of Mackenzie with Danny Buchan completing the top six for the SYNETIQ BMW team.
Glenn Irwin bounced back from a race two crash to finish in seventh place for Honda Racing, holding off his brother Andrew, with Gino Rea and Rory Skinner completing the top ten.
Christian Iddon was the eighth of the Title Fighters in eleventh place after contact with Mackenzie on lap 14, with the VisionTrack Ducati rider taking to the gravel at Lodge. He was able to rejoin in 15th before regaining ground to 11th.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race 3 result:
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Oulton Park:
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