Recapping the Sunday BSB action from Brands Hatch – SBK/SS/STK/Teens

2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Round Six – Brands Hatch
Sunday

Ryan Vickers was crowned the Monster Energy King of Brands after an incredible treble win for OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing.

British Superbike Race Two

Sunday’s first race, race two of the Brands weekend, initially got underway with Vickers grabbing the lead, but there was a multi-rider incident at Paddock Hill Bend on the opening lap.

Glenn Irwin, Danny Kent and Danny Buchan all crashed out and the BMW Safety Car was deployed. All three riders were passed fit by the BSB Medical Team following the crash.

Vickers was aiming to make his break when the race resumed, but Tommy Bridewell was instantly on the attack and he made a lunge into Druids to fire the Honda Racing UK team to the front of the pack.

The OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider though instantly fought back into Hawthorns, but the race was red flagged a few laps later when Luke Hedger crashed at Hawthorns. He was declared unfit with a soft tissue injury to his neck and forearm following the crash.

The race was restarted over five laps and again Vickers launched into the lead off the start and he was able to set the pace over his rivals to add to his winning tally.

Bridewell and Kyle Ryde were then duelling for second place with a tyre choice change for the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider putting him back into contention and he pushed his Honda Racing UK rival all the way to the chequered flag with just 0.049s between them.

Andrew Irwin held fourth ahead of Leon Haslam with Christian Iddon completing the top six riders. Lee Jackson led the MasterMac Honda charge in seventh place with Josh Brookes holding off Franco Bourne and Charlie Nesbitt.

British Superbike Race Two Results

British Superbike Race Three

In the final Bennetts BSB race of the weekend, Vickers once again launched off the line into the lead ahead of Andrew Irwin and Kyle Ryde with Tommy Bridewell and Leon Haslam in close contention.

By lap four, Ryde had moved into second place with a committed pass into Paddock Hill Bend, meanwhile Christian Iddon was also gaining ground as he claimed fourth place from Bridewell on the same lap into Graham Hill Bend.

The leading pack was then Vickers, Ryde, Andrew Irwin, Iddon and Bridewell, but the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider was on the attack and he moved into third by the end of lap six.

Vickers continued to up the pace to make a breakaway at the front, but behind there was another incredible tussle for the final podium places as Ryde then held the edge from Iddon and Bridewell. The reigning champion was holding off his teammate Andrew Irwin after an intense battle mid-race.

Ryde and Iddon then traded blows over the closing laps as Bridewell piled the pressure on in a bid to score another podium finish. Iddon moved second with three laps to go, but Ryde retaliated to regain the position.

On the penultimate lap, Ryde moved back into second at Paddock Hill Bend, but Iddon regained the position at Surtees and was able to hold off his OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rival to the finish. Bridewell claimed fourth place just ahead of Andrew Irwin and Lee Jackson on the MasterMac Honda.

Glenn Irwin delivered a gritty performance to gain 16 places after starting 23rd on the grid to finish seventh after his huge crash on the opening lap of race two, to hold second in the standings for Hager PBM Ducati and trailing Bridewell by 19 points.

Jason O’Halloran, Charlie Nesbitt and Haslam completed the top ten, whilst Danny Kent and Danny Buchan rebounded from their earlier crashes to finish in 15th and 16th respectively.

British Superbike Race Three Results

Rider Quotes

Ryan Vickers

“There were a few nerves going into the last race when it’s on the line for the triple and you’re riding so well. So starting that last race I was fully focused, I just had to get a good start and I did again. I genuinely don’t think I missed an apex that [last] race so I’m extremely happy with that. I just rode to the limit, the same as Navarra. Towards the end of the race I backed off a bit and just managed the gap but it was really good. The team worked really hard, they gave me great information on the pit board as well, so that made life a lot easier. Thanks to the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing Team, they’ve given me a fantastic bike this weekend. We’ve struggled with the bike the last few rounds and they’ve believed in me and what I need. To take that next step we needed to change a few things and we’ve done that this weekend and I really feel like I’ve got a race bike now. I really feel we’ve made a step with that and that fills me with confidence because it’s not just been a good weekend, we’ve figured something out with the bike so I think that’s going to put us in good stead for the rest of the season.”

Tommy Bridewell

“The team is working great, and working really hard, there are just a few areas here and there that we are struggling with compared to our competitors. I knew that I had to keep my nose clean in race one and box smart. I can’t take anything away from Ryan. I thought if he went then I was going to try and sit there with him and try keep him honest, but in truth we didn’t quite have his pace. Then later in the race I saw ‘plus zero Ryde’ on my board and I thought ‘Oh here we go it’s just like Brands six months ago for the championship!’ Race two we made a change to try and make a step so that I could at least try and fight for the win with Ryan, but it just wasn’t the right direction. I think we maximised what we had available today though, although I think we probably would’ve had the pace for another second if we hadn’t made the change. Look, I might be a bit frustrated but the truth is we’re back in the lead of the championship with a nineteen-point lead which is credit to the work that we are all putting in.”

Glenn Irwin

“It’s no secret we tried something different with the rear shock for Saturday’s race and although it didn’t work as we’d hoped, we’re continually trying to develop the bike. We persevered but realised it wasn’t the right solution so went back to what we knew for Sunday, and I felt good in morning warm-up despite the damp conditions. My confidence was high but, unfortunately, another rider’s mistake caused a crash, and I genuinely thought my season may have been over. Full credit to the BSB medics and my own physio, they got me ready for the race and I showed the fight and resilience in me. I had some right arm fatigue, which I guess was my body overcompensating for the neck pain, but we didn’t lose too many points and are closer to the championship lead than we were this time last year. We’ll regroup and come out fighting at the next round.”

Andrew Irwin

“Honestly, this weekend has been good, it’s another weekend of consistency. To walk away with a third, fourth & fifth shows that we are in a strong position and making positive steps forward. I am just really enjoying my racing at the moment, I’m in a really good place on and off the track and the results are now starting to come and we are beginning to show what we are capable of. It can be frustrating when you get onto the podium and then fail to replicate that result in the other races, but to come away from the weekend frustrated with a fourth and fifth is a clear sign of where we are, and where we are headed. We have to make another step to fight right at the front, and I say that with complete honesty as that’s who I am. But with that step, which I am confident we can do, we will be in for a strong final half of the season.”

Josh Brookes

“It’s been an up and down weekend here at Brands Hatch, I’m tired of making excuses so the best thing I can say is that I don’t really know what’s going wrong. We were good in qualifying finishing fourth, we had built an expectation on the basis that we would have a good race and in the first race it just didn’t come together and I slowly drifted back through the pack, which was really disappointing for myself and the whole FHO Racing team. The next two races we tried to understand how we could be strong in qualifying but not be able to turn that into a race result. We tried some different things with the BMW, and it didn’t prove any better. We then went back to the settings we had in qualifying for the final race, which was still the best version of the settings we have but, for race distance it’s not good enough. So, we’re leaving Brands frustrated with another weekend lower than what we believe we’re capable of.”

Peter Hickman

“It’s been a much more positive weekend right from the start; first practice we were pretty good and for the second practice we were even better. To be at least in a bit more of a fight with everyone is more like it, unfortunately we didn’t really make the best of qualifying and the first race didn’t go to plan at all; we really struggled with no grip which hampered us in the race, meaning I was quite far back on the grid for today’s first race. The team did a great job overnight with some changes and I think the track conditions got better, I was feeling a lot more myself and was in a bit of a fight, inside the top ten at some point in both races, and I’m quite content for now with the progress! I’m happy to be back in the mix and feel I can ride the BMW properly again and I’m feeling good!”

Dean Harrison

“It’s been a bit of a frustrating weekend to tell the truth, and the results don’t necessarily match the progress that we’ve made throughout the weekend. It’s the first weekend that we haven’t had any little problems or curveballs to deal with which has meant that we have been able to build from the start. I’ve lapped even quicker again today than I have previously, but I got a bit stuffed at the restart in the first race today. Then in race two we worked our way up and into the points before getting shuffled back towards the end of the race. We were in a train of seven or eight riders and once one comes past they all just follow and it gets a bit scrappy. Focusing on the positives though, we’re lapping faster and making progress.”

British Superbike Championship Points

British Supersport / GP2 Feature Race

Jack Kennedy held off Ben Currie to take today’s Feature race victory by just 0.048secs after a late battle as the pair left the rest of the field behind.

Although Currie got the best start and led into the first corner, Honda Racing UK’s Kennedy was right behind, taking the lead seconds later as the pack headed into Druids for the first time.

And from there, that was how the front remained all the way to the penultimate lap. Kennedy was never able to stretch his lead, with Currie sticking on his back wheel all the way, closing him right down.

Currie made a move on the penultimate lap, hitting the front briefly but Kennedy was straight back past to lead over the line into the final lap.

But Currie was determined to fight to the flag and the lead swapped between the pair three times on that final lap before Kennedy got back ahead and managed to hold it to the line, taking the win by just 0.048secs.

Jack Kennedy

“I was happy to get out in front because I knew I was able to set a really strong pace and see who was able to come with me, I had a feeling that it was only going to be Ben who could. I settled into my rhythm really quickly and tried to break them and got my gap up to 0.6. Then I noticed that the gap was slowly coming back down even though I was maintaining my pace, so I knew that Ben was bridging the gap back to me. At that point, I thought that this wasn’t going to all go my way. He then came past me on the back straight, as he has all weekend, but he made a mistake and I was able to come back past him again. I knew starting the last lap he would try at the end of the back straight and I just had to be ready. I managed to get the drive down Dingle Dell, defend the position and hold it all the way to the line to get the win. Massive thank you to the team, they have been flawless all weekend and we’ve just continued to improve the bike throughout the weekend.”

Richard Cooper was third, some 8.5secs adrift as Luke Stapleford took fourth and Harry Truelove fifth.

Owen Jenner was once again victorious in the GP2 class, his Kramer Racing team-mate Jack Nixon taking second.

And in the Cup, Mikey Hardie rounded out a perfect weekend with another win, crossing the line 16th overall, with Cameron Hall second and Josh Wood third.

British Supersport / GP2 Feature Race Results

British Supersport Championship Points

GP2 Championship Points

Supersport Cup Championship Points

Pirelli National Superstock Race

Luke Mossey took a sensational win in the second Superstock battle of the weekend, as Davey Todd banked more points to boost his championship lead.

From third on the grid, Mossey got a good start and kept in close contact with the leaders, taking the lead and clearing off at the front, setting lap record after lap record as he brought his Milenco by Padgetts Motorcycles Honda home 2.579secs ahead of yesterday’s winner Tom Ward.

Todd finished third, with Joe Talbot fourth and Jamie Perrin fifth.

Pirelli National Superstock Race Results

Pirelli National Superstock Points

Pirelli National Sportbike Race Results

Pirelli National Sportbike Points

Tracker Kawasaki British Superteen Race Three

James Cook pipped Australia’s Brodie Gawith by just 0.007secs at the end of a hard-fought final race of the weekend where less than half a second covered the top five at the finish.

In a race where the lead swapped several times on each lap, it was Cook who managed to hold it to the flag, as he beat Gawith in a drag to the line.

Ted Wilkinson managed to hold on to take third, with Calum Beach fourth as Kalvin Kelly took fifth. Chloe Jones just missed on a top five but did clock a new lap record of 1min 36.389secs on the final lap.

Tracker Kawasaki British Superteen Race Three Results

Tracker Kawasaki British Superteen Points