British Superbikes Brands Hatch GP 21st

British Superbikes Brands Hatch GP 21st - 23rd July 2023

BRIDEWELL’S BRANDS BRILLIANCE AND VICKERS’ VICTORY VOYAGE
The Bennetts British Superbike Championship rolled into Brands Hatch over the weekend of the 21st - 23rd of July headed by Beer Monster PBM Ducati rider Tommy Bridewell. The Wiltshire ace was fresh from scoring a sensational treble victory last time out at Snetterton and topped the standings by 25 points arriving in Kent. Bridewell’s PBM teammate Glenn Irwin headed the chasers on the championship table, ahead of OMG Yamaha’s Kyle Ryde and FHO BMW’s Josh Brookes. Rokit BMW’s 2018 champion Leon Haslam and McAMS Yamaha rider Jason O’Halloran made up the top six title contenders, the six riders being covered by 84 points.

Practice: The FHO BMW Josh Brookes topped FP1 by 0.119 seconds from Jason O’Halloran’s McAMS Yamaha. Championship leader Tommy Bridewell was third fastest and had sat at the top of the tree when the session was stopped after half an hour when Liam Delves crashed at Sheene Curve and headed an all-Ducati top three at the time. OMG Yamaha pair Ryan Vickers and Kyle Ryde made up the top five. Vickers ended the second session on Friday afternoon fastest from Bridewell by a narrow 0.081 seconds and O’Halloran set the third-best time in FP2. Danny Kent came in fourth ahead of Brookes, the 2015 Moto 3 world champion having used the Australian’s tow to head the times for a short while. Lee Jackson, Christian Iddon, Danny Buchan - who was passed fit to ride after his Snetterton concussion, Peter Hickman, Leon Haslam, Glenn Irwin and Kyle Ryde made up the quickest twelve riders who would advance straight to Q2, whilst Luke Mossey was the first rider to miss out in thirteenth. Glenn Irwin went quickest in the twenty-minute FP3 spell on Saturday morning by 0.159 seconds from Friday quick-man Ryan Vickers and Josh Brookes. Showing promising speed once more, Danny Kent again took fourth and championship leader Tommy Bridewell set the seventh fastest time despite tipping off at low speed rounding Druids with a couple of minutes to go. Glenn Irwin continued to set the pace on his PBM Ducati in the short ten-minute FP4 session, which allowed the riders to get their eye in just ahead of the qualifying pressure cooker, and the Northern Irishman headed Jason O’Halloran's Yamaha and Danny Kent's Honda.

Qualifying: After the opening twelve-minute segment of qualifying, the Hawk Racing Honda of Charlie Nesbitt, the Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki of Max Cook and the Mar-Train Yamaha of Jack Kennedy were the three bikes fast enough to move on from Q1 into Q2. The spots of water that began to fall during the first part of qualifying had turned to steady rainfall as the pole-setting Q2 session was due to go green. A back-and-forth contest for the top spot between Tommy Bridewell's PBM Ducati and OMG Yamaha’s Ryan Vickers saw each bettering the other's time as they crossed the line on their first few flying laps. As the clock ticked down, Bridewell improved once more with twenty seconds to go before going quicker again on his last lap to cement pole by 0.643 seconds from Vickers. Behind the top two, Danny Kent vaulted up to third with three minutes remaining before being quickly deposed by Kyle Ryde. Leon Haslam then took third spot with two minutes to go, until Josh Brookes leapt forward onto the front row with a minute and twenty seconds left before losing the spot to Ryde once more ten seconds later. Brookes went quicker again on his final lap to briefly go second before a last-gasp flyer from Vickers put the Australian back to third. Reigning Supersport champion Jack Kennedy starred in the tricky conditions to vault up to fourth with a storming late lap and would share the second row with Leon Haslam and Danny Kent, whose promising practice form continued. Ryde was eventually shuffled down the order to eighth behind Glenn Irwin after the flurry of late improvements, having been sat in third with a minute to go. Jason O'Halloran and Peter Hickman completed the top ten.

Sprint Race One: A sodden circuit greeted the field for the twelve-lap Sprint Race later on Saturday afternoon and polesitter Tommy Bridewell was keen not to join fellow championship leaders Evan Belford (Talent Cup), Dan Linfoot (Superstock 1000) and Tom Booth-Amos (Supersport) in retirement on a trying afternoon for those heading a title race. Bridewell headed the pack into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time from Ryan Vickers but the Yamaha was jumped by Danny Kent on the climb to Druids. Vickers was back in second before the first lap was completed, getting the job done at Surtees, and the Yamaha then took the lead into Stirlings on lap two after Bridewell had a big slide at Hawthorn. Kent also got ahead of the PBM Ducati around the outside of Clearways, with Bridewell falling into the clutches of the following four riders as he dealt with a misting visor. As the front pair moved away, the rider on the move was Christian Iddon and the Moto Rapido Ducati man took both Leon Haslam and Bridewell to climb to third on lap four, the BMW succumbing at Paddock Hill Bend and the Ducati into Hawthorn. Bridewell’s visibility issues saw him slip behind Haslam, qualifying star Jack Kennedy and Jason O’Halloran by lap seven. At the end of the lap, the black and orange mechanical warning flag was displayed to Haslam as smoke was emanating from his BMW. The red flag quickly followed to clean the circuit of the dropped fluid and the race was called with half-points awarded, giving a jubilant Vickers his first British Superbike victory from the closely following Kent and Iddon. The Yamahas of Jack Kennedy and Jason O'Halloran splashed to fourth and fifth. The BMW of Haslam had been running in sixth but was removed from the results as the cause of the red flag so Bridewell was elevated into the spot, adding a point and a half to his championship lead as he still finished ahead of his nearest title rivals - Glenn Irwin came home in ninth, Josh Brookes in twelfth and Kyle Ryde in fourteenth. Storm Stacey lived up to his name with a great ride in the soaking conditions to finish seventh ahead of Peter Hickman, Irwin and rookie Max Cook.

Race Two: Saturday’s deluge had thankfully cleared and it would be bright and breezy for Sunday’s action, with the circuit fully dry in time for the first 20-lapper on Sunday. Setting the fastest lap in the wet Sprint Race placed Christian Iddon’s Oxford Products Ducati on pole position, with Danny Kent and Ryan Vickers making up the front row. Jack Kennedy, Jason O’Halloran and Leon Haslam sat on the second row, with title race leader Tommy Bridewell on the outside of the third row alongside Peter Hickman and Max Cook and the Ducati rider commented pre-race "We've got good race pace but patience is key." Bridewell’s nearest title rivals were to be found on the fifth row with Storm Stacey, Glenn Irwin going from fourteenth and Kyle Ryde from fifteenth as Saturday's wet weather led to a mixed-up grid. Iddon and Kent both got away well and it was the 2015 Moto 3 world champion who took the initiative into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time. Kent’s tenure of the lead lasted a single lap as Iddon charged back to the front starting lap two. Iddon couldn’t shake off the Honda though and Kent briefly retook the lead at Surtees on the third lap before Iddon immediately bellowed back through on the following straight. Behind them, Vickers settled into an early third place whilst Kennedy removed O'Halloran from fourth into Paddock Hill Bend for the second time. Bridewell further demoted the McAMS Yamaha into Hawthorn before the Beer Monster Ducati passed Kennedy for fourth at Clearways ending lap two. O'Halloran took advantage of Kennedy's slow exit from Clearways and passed the Mar-Train Yamaha for fifth into Paddock Hill Bend as they began the third tour. In their wake, Irwin made a tough move at Druids on Lee Jackson's Kawasaki for seventh, with both sailing wide and losing out to Leon Haslam. Irwin repassed Haslam into Hawthorn but the BMW got the slightly wide Ducati back at the exit. O'Halloran recovered his earlier fourth place with a move on Bridewell at Druids on lap four. The top five were still within a second of each other when the Safety Car was deployed on lap eight after Dean Harrison fell at Paddock Hill Bend and dislodged the Recticel barriers. Kent's Honda headed the queue for the restart from Iddon, Vickers, O’Halloran and Bridewell, the Fireblade having hit the front at Hawthorn just prior to the interruption. Both PBM Ducatis were on the rise when racing resumed on lap ten, Bridewell relieving O'Halloran of fourth into Paddock Hill Bend straight away. Teammate Irwin did likewise to Haslam for sixth, with Kennedy's Yamaha taking advantage at Druids to also pass Haslam but the BMW fought back at Graham Hill Bend and Kyle Ryde followed the 2018 champion past towards Surtees. Ahead of that tussle, Bridewell's aggressive restart lap continued as he took third from Vickers at Hawthorn, after trying to get inside the Yamaha at Surtees. The fired-up Ducati rider ended the lap in second behind Iddon, who had removed Kent from the lead at Hawthorn, after going underneath Kent's Honda at Clearways. Hawthorn was the scene of Bridewell’s pass for the lead two laps later and the Wiltshireman sped clear to a 2.406-second victory after twenty laps. A blanket covered Iddon, Kent, Irwin, Vickers, O'Halloran and Ryde in the battle for the podium places as they took the flag. Vickers had taken third from Kent into Paddock Hill Bend on lap eleven but the Honda rider took the place back in the same spot two laps later. Vickers slipped to back fifth after Irwin charged by at Westfield on lap fifteen, the Ducati having dispatched O'Halloran at Hawthorn in the same moment that his teammate took the race lead. The pack lost Haslam's BMW on lap thirteen with a broken gear linkage, whilst Jackson, Josh Brookes and Kennedy rounded out the top ten.

Race Three: Tommy Bridewell’s late-race pace came with the bout’s fastest lap so would start the final encounter from pole ahead of Danny Kent's Honda and Christian Iddon's Oxford Products Ducati. OMG Yamaha's Kyle Ryde, Glenn Irwin's PBM Ducati and Jason O'Halloran's McAMS Yamaha made up row two. The front row got away evenly when the race got underway but it was that man Kent again who led the way into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time from the poleman. Iddon slotted into third and Ryde rode around the outside into fourth from the squabbling Irwin and O’Halloran. The FHO BMW of Josh Brookes went down just behind them after tripping over Vickers, the Yamaha having claimed the line with Haslam to Brookes’ inside. Kent led by 0.222 seconds at the end of lap one from Bridewell, Iddon, Ryde, O'Halloran, Leon Haslam, Danny Buchan, and Vickers. Irwin sat in ninth and was far from impressed with O'Halloran for forcing him over the exit kerb at Paddock Hill Bend, at a cost of five places. A fired-up Iddon took second from Bridewell into Paddock Hill Bend starting lap two and usurped Kent for the lead on the GP loop. In the line behind, O'Halloran passed Ryde seconds after Iddon's pass on Bridewell into Paddock Hill but Ryde repassed the similar R1 at Druids, Haslam also passed the Australian as he's forced wide. Starting his recovery, Irwin passed Buchan for seventh in the same moment that the lead changed hands, having already dispatched Vickers. In front of them, Ryde lunged ahead of Bridewell at Stirlings for the second time with a lairy pass that saw both of the Yamaha rider's feet off the pegs! Haslam and O'Halloran were next up but Irwin was challenging the Yamaha, the Ducati got up the inside into Clearways but lost out again exiting the corner. The steady-away Ducati of Bridewell momentarily slipped to fifth behind Leon Haslam’s BMW on lap three, whilst Ryde’s time in third would be short-lived as a broken gear linkage forced the Yamaha out on the fourth lap. Ryde's exit moved the PBM Ducatis of Bridewell and Irwin into a menacing third and fourth, the second PBM Ducati's fightback continuing as he rode around the outside of O’Halloran into Paddock Hill starting the third tour. Ryde's OMG Yamaha teammate Vickers had also made good progress after a quiet opening few laps and took fifth from Haslam at Druids on lap seven. The march of the Ducatis towards the front showed no sign of stopping as Bridewell took second from Kent out the back for the seventh time before taking the lead from Iddon into Hawthorn on lap twelve but, unlike earlier, the Ducati couldn’t escape the pack. Bridewell’s PBM partner Irwin followed the sister bike past Kent at Hawthorn a lap after Bridewell before forcing his way into second at Surtees on lap fifteen with a robust move. Vickers took advantage of Irwin's aggressive move to further demote Iddon to fourth after the Yamaha had seen off Kent's Honda at Stirlings on lap eight. The Oxford Products Ducati of Iddon moved back up to third at Westfield on the following tour before the Yamaha rider made the place his own at Stirlings on lap seventeen. The squabble had cost Vickers a fair chunk of ground to the PBM pair ahead but a stunning fastest lap brought the Yamaha onto their tail heading onto the final lap. Despite the pressure from behind, Bridewell didn’t let the win slip and took his second victory of the day from Irwin and Vickers as 0.237 seconds covered the trio.

Bridewell leaves Kent with an extended margin of 34.5 points at the top of the championship tree from teammate Irwin in second, Ryde sits 42.5 from Irwin and 77 points off the top in third. The championship now moves on to the fastest circuit of the year at Thruxton on the 11th -13th of August, the scene of three of the best races of the 2022 championship season.