The British Superbike Championship descends on
Brands Hatch for the second time this season following a brief summer hiatus, one that allowed riders and teams to gather their thoughts – and composure – following a tumultuous time at Mallory Park.
The Leicestershire circuit served up plenty of thrills and spills on race day, most notably Josh Brookes' disastrous faux pas in race one, but also the torrential weather conditions in race two that forced the day to be curtailed early.
Nonetheless, while neither race reached its full quota of laps, those feeling as though they may have missed out are in for a treat at
Brands Hatch as this weekend debuts a new 'three-race' format.
Prompted by MotorSport Vision's desire to provide fans of a worthy substitute to its lost World Superbike round, three
BSB races, a myriad of high-profile appearances and even a guest
WSBK participant, should ensure there is plenty to keep spectators entertained.
What had threatened to be their toughest weekend of the season thus far actually turned out to be Airwaves Yamaha's most prosperous outing at Mallory Park, with Leon Camier and James Ellison sharing a win and a second place apiece.
While their results in race one could be described as fortuitous, it nonetheless moves both even clearer of the chasing pack, not least because barely anyone inside the top ten overall scored points in each race.
Brands Hatch marks the scene of the Yamaha R1's debut earlier in the year, where Camier went on to take a surprise victory on the largely untested machine. Ten wins later and Camier is tipped to become the first rider to wrap up a 'triple', which would subsequently make him the 'winningest' rider in a single season. This is even before you consider there are nine further races remaining…
Camier's cause will undoubtedly be aided by the fact that many of his closest competitors last time at
Brands Hatch won't be present. Indeed, beyond Karl Harris and Stuart Easton – who led both races briefly – Sylvain Guintoli and Glen Richards are injured, while Steve Plater (deputising for the absent Brookes at the time) is focusing on his Supersport title hopes.
Many eyes will be on HM Plant Honda over the weekend, who arrive at
Brands Hatch with a revised rider line-up brought about by Brookes' two-race suspension and Richards' continued recovery from his broken leg.