Irwin and Ryde share the Sunday BSB wins at Oulton Park

2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Round Nine – Oulton Park
Sunday Round Up

British Superbike Race Two

Glenn Irwin returned to the top step of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship podium at Oulton Park this afternoon, taking victory for the first time since Snetterton, as he was able to snatch the victory following a determined last lap move on Leon Haslam into Hislops.

Kyle Ryde took the lead initially from his Omologato Pole Position start but he soon dropped down the order and Glenn Irwin had hit the front as the pack reached Island for the first time from Haslam, Christian Iddon and Lee Jackson.

Iddon though was dicing with Irwin and then edged ahead but the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider crashed out on the exit of Shell and the Hager PBM Ducati rider had to take evasive action. That put him onto the grass and re-joining in seventh as Haslam moved to the front of the field.

Haslam then had the lead as he tried to edge an advantage ahead of Tommy Bridewell, who had been embroiled in a battle with BSB Pathway victor Lewis Rollo, who continued to relish the wet conditions on the IN Competition SENCAT Aprilia.

Rollo and Bridewell had been battling for second and by lap seven it was a four-way fight for second place down Cascades as Bridewell, Rollo, Irwin and Danny Kent fought for the podium places.

Irwin closed down Haslam and made his move on the last lap with a dive down the inside on the brakes into Hislops, whilst his ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team rival ran on and that handed second place to Kent, who had been fighting hard for McAMS Racing Yamaha.

Irwin took the victory from Kent with Haslam regaining a podium place in third, whilst Bridewell held off Rollo for fourth an important championship points as Kyle Ryde had a tough race to finish in 13th. That puts the reigning champion back at the top of the standings by nine points ahead of race three.

Jason O’Halloran was the highest scoring Aussie in sixth ahead of Lee Jackson and Storm Stacey with Andrew Irwin and Fraser Rogers completing the top ten.

Billy McConnell recovered from a tough start to the weekend for an 11th place finish while countrymen Josh Brookes and Brayden Elliott took 16th and 20th places respectively.

British Superbike Race Two Results

British Superbike Race Three

Kyle Ryde was back on top of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship podium in a restarted final race at Oulton Park as the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider rebounded after a tough race two to master the wet conditions and stay within six points of Tommy Bridewell.

Race three was declared wet and tyre choice became a gamble amongst several of the riders after the earlier rain had eased and the conditions improved. Ryan Vickers had launched into the lead and the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider had made an early charge, but as he tried to break the pack, he crashed out at Lodge on lap three.

Storm Stacey meanwhile once again showed his prowess in the wet conditions and he then had the lead from Leon Haslam, Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell with Glenn Irwin in fifth. Brookes crashed out at Druids, but when Lewis Rollo crashed out at Hislops the race was subsequently red flagged due to track conditions.

The race was restarted over five laps and Stacey immediately grabbed the advantage from Bridewell, Haslam and Ryde. The OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider though was on the attack and he moved into second position at Hislops on lap two and then a lap later took the lead at Old Hall with a pass on Stacey.

Ryde was then able to break the pack by an impressive 5.965s at the chequered flag whilst Bridewell held off Stacey by 0.522s as the LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki team celebrated another podium finish.

Max Cook had a strong fourth place whilst teammate Jason O’Halloran crashed out of the first part of the race at Knickerbrook. Danny Kent had another top five finish and Christian Iddon bounced back from his race two crash to finish sixth ahead of Lee Jackson and Andrew and Glenn Irwin. Brookes salvaged a top ten finish after his early fall.

Brayden Elliott bagged points for a 14th place finish in the trying conditions.

Bridewell heads into the penultimate round of the Showdown with just a six-point lead as Ryde prepares for his home round on 27/28/29 September. Irwin meanwhile leads the chasing pack after nearly halving the advantage to the top of the standings in Cheshire, trailing Bridewell by 45 points with a maximum of 180 points remaining over the final two rounds.

British Superbike Race Three Results

Superbike Quotes

Kyle Ryde

“The goal this weekend was to claw a few points back and we did that in a massive fashion yesterday. The 13th I had in Race 2 wasn’t ideal, but the team and I came back to win a tricky Race 3. Thank you to the Bennetts BSB fans for voting me as Rider of the Round, my second in a row, and thank you to the team for giving me a great bike. I’m looking forward to Donington Park, my home round and we’ll continue to fight for the title.”

Tommy Bridewell

“We came into this round nineteen points ahead, crashed out of yesterday in a very peculiar crash and ended the day six points behind, then after the two races today we have left six points in front. So it’s been a bit of a salvage job and we’ve come out of it alright to be fair. I’ve enjoyed Oulton Park and I love riding the Fireblade, but it’s been a tough round to tell the truth. I was really happy to pick up a second in the final race, yes being in front of Kyle is important but picking up the podium was important and our time will come. I was really happy with my pace on the inter front and slick rear in sketchy conditions which is honestly the strongest I have ever felt on that tyre combination in those conditions. That has never been my forte of conditions so to do that is a real confidence boost. We head to Donington in a few weeks quietly confident and excited to try some new parts which should suit that circuit.”

Glenn Irwin

“A brilliant weekend to take a second place in the dry and then a win in the wet which I reckon was one of the best rides of my career. I thought we could go on and repeat that in race three but the track conditions changed and made it difficult. But we scored the most points out of everyone over the weekend and to take our seventh victory of the season means we are right back in the title race. The plan is to maintain the championship challenge and to keep exerting pressure on my title rivals. It was also very fitting to get the victory which I dedicated to Paul Bird, who we paid tribute to at Oulton Park this time last year, so that was very special.”

Andrew Irwin

“Today has been about trying to navigate some of the trickiest conditions that you can have in racing, so to come away from the first race having gained seven positions to finish inside the top ten and then show strong pace in the final five lap race in the wet is positive. I think in the final race we showed we had strong pace and we were on for a solid finish, then I just got roughed up on the final lap and lost positions to finish eighth. I know these results are not an indication of our potential but I know that the pace is there, and this could easily have been a weekend where you crash out in such difficult conditions. I’m heading into a week off, I will focus on my training and then look to come back out strong at Donington.”

British Superbike Championship Points

British Supersport / GP2 Feature Race

Richard Cooper stormed to the Supersport Feature race win at Oulton Park on Sunday afternoon as he beat Rhys Irwin by 2.207secs.

It had been reigning champion Ben Currie who took charge at the green light, hitting the front and quickly putting space behind him and the rest of the pack as Jack Kennedy slotted into second.

Currie stayed ahead as the laps ticked by, as TJ Toms crept up to second but it all changed on Lap Seven when a flying Cooper on the Russell Racing Yamaha passed a handful of riders to hit the front.

Currie tried to hold onto second but over the next few laps he was unable to keep the charging pack behind at bay, as everyone began to jostle for position.

At the flag, Cooper crossed the line clear as Irwin emerged best of the rest on the Gearlink Kawasaki, with Stapleford third.  Honda Racing UK’s Jack Kennedy was fourth with Alastair Seeley fifth.

Jack Nixon once again took the GP2 spoils ahead of Keo Walker as Cameron Hall celebrated the Cup win when Mikey Hardie retired on the final lap, with Tom Tunstall taking second and Max Morgan third.

British Supersport / GP2 Feature Race Results

British Supersport Championship Points

GP2 Points

HEL Cup Points

Pirelli National Superstock Race Two

Luke Mossey beat David Allingham in a hard-fought scrap at Oulton Park – as championship leader Davey Todd missed out on a podium finish.

In a hectic battle on a wet but drying track, it was Scott Swann who was fastest away and led first, but was soon passed by Matt Truelove who led the race for several laps – until he crashed out from the front on lap seven.

Mossey, who had been running second, picked up the lead ahead of Josh Owens and Davey Todd, but in the closing laps, a charging David Allingham started climbing up the order, getting as far as second before the flag fell.

Owens took third ahead of Todd, as Joe Talbot took fourth.

Pirelli National Superstock Race Two Results

Sportbike Race

Richard Cooper followed up his earlier Supersport win with lights to flag win in the weekend’s only Sportbike race as he destroyed the opposition by more than 13 seconds.

Aboard the PHR Performance Triumph, Cooper hit the front at the start and coasted off into the sunset, taking the flag 13.145secs ahead of Ash Barnes.

Cooper’s points rival Edoardo Colombi kept Barnes honest throughout the race but was unable to get close enough for a pass and had to settle for third, with Alfie Davidson fourth and Aaron Silvester fifth.

Sportbike Race Results