Session 1

Reigning champion Josh Brookes was back at the top of the times on his return to testing this morning at Oulton Park for the third Bennetts British Superbike Championship Official Test, edging out Kyle Ryde by just 0.098s.

The session got underway in perfect conditions at the Cheshire circuit with Brookes then Tommy Bridewell having a spell at the top towards the beginning of the hour-long opener to the day. The Ducati pairing had initially led Jason O’Halloran and Ryde.

As the timer reached the halfway point of the session, Bridewell still had the edge by 0.022s from O’Halloran with the BMW’s closing in as Peter Hickman and Danny Buchan held top five positions before Christian Iddon claimed the leading position.

A final flurry of activity in the final five minutes saw O’Halloran head to the top of the times for McAMS Yamaha by 0.248s as Brookes moved into second place ahead of Ryde and Iddon.

However, on his final lap Brookes had the advantage by 0.098s, returning to action after sitting out the previous test at Snetterton, moving ahead of Ryde and O’Halloran with Hickman and Iddon completing a top five which featured three different manufacturers.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Official Test, Session 1:

1. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 1m35.347s
2. Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.098s
3. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.226s
4. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +0.488s
5. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.825s
6. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +1.119s
7. Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) +1.363s
8. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +1.378s
9. Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +1.383s
10. Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +1.850s

Session 2

Ryan Vickers and the RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki team topped the second Bennetts British Superbike Championship Official Test session at Oulton Park today, with Kyle Ryde forced to settle for second place again by 0.062s.

Danny Buchan had settled the initial benchmark at the halfway point from Jason O’Halloran and Ryde, as the lap times continued to improve on the earlier session. Peter Hickman was also on the move though and as the final 20 minutes of the session approached, he had fired the FHO Racing BMW into second place.

O’Halloran had soon moved back into second place though, and he was just 0.090s adrift of SYNETIQ BMW’s Buchan at the top of the times, as Hickman, Christian Iddon and Kyle Ryde completed the top ten.

Vickers then fired in his fastest laps with just under ten minutes remaining of the session, putting him 0.062s ahead of Ryde with Buchan still holding third until another improvement from O’Halloran in the final five minutes.

Vickers’ time was enough to keep him at the top of the times ahead of Ryde and O’Halloran with Buchan and Hickman completing the top five.

Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin was sixth fastest ahead of the VisionTrack Ducatis of Josh Brookes and Christian Iddon with Andrew Irwin and Gino Rea completing the top ten.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Official Test, Session 2:

1. Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) 1m:35.000s
2. Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.062s
3. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.250s
4. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.315s
5. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +0.520s
6. Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.548s
7. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.696s
8. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.709s
9. Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.818s
10. Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.898s