2023 British Superbikes Brands Hatch Showdown Race Results (2)
Glenn Irwin got a great start and lead by example as he was out front from start to finish in the second race of the BSB decider at Brands Hatch.
The BeerMonster Ducati rider absorbed the pressure from the variety of riders behind, with lots of rehersals at Clearways and Druids, but the #2 withstood the lot to give his championship hopes a boost and ensure the title goes all the way to the line.
His ninth win came under pressure. First from Jason O’Halloran, who had earned pole after his speed in the sprint race.
The safety car that came out to allow Christian Iddon to be removed on a stretcher saw the expected bunching up, so a big push was needed on cooling tyres.
That took O’Halloran and his special Raceways retro tribute livery to commemorate the McAMS team’s last weekend into the gravel and out of both race and title contention.
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O’Halloran had battled Kyle Ryde to sit second behind Irwin, so the LAMI OMG rider resumed the chase over the next few laps, ever wary of Tommy Bridewell behind.
Unable to find a way around Irwin and make it stick, Bridewell saw his opportunity and pushed ahead out of Stirling Bend to next give chase to his teammate.
Podium finishers all still in title hunt
With the same bike and Irwin already ahead, it was hard for the #46 to find the little extra needed to be close enough to pass, and with second enough to hold a lead in the championship into the final race, Bridewell was happy enough to finish second for now.
Sprint race winner Ryde was pushing hard and ran wide. The #77 immediatley set about making the gap back up, now with Ryan Vickers his teammate for company and polite enough to leave him ahead.
Ryde worked back to the lead duo but was soon out wide again trying to bridge the gap with a front brake issue, so calmed his performance worried he would take himself or another rider out of contention instead - third keeps his fading title hopes on into the last race.
Vickers was fourth and clear of Lee Jackson, who made great progress to fifth after the safety car for Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki, still feeling the effects of his poor qualifying.
He had fellow former title hopeful Leon Haslam in close company on his Rokit BMW Motorrad machine in sixth, with top rookie Max Cook the last of their group on track on the second Cheshire Mouldings entry.
Josh Brookes got back in the action after the safety car pulled in, climbing to eighth for FHO Racing BMW Motorrad, with his teammate Peter Hickman the next rider to see the chequered flag.
There was another small gap before Storm Stacey arrived at the line for Starline Kawasaki to complete the top ten.
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Charlie Nesbitt was eleventh for MasterMac Honda, with the battle for twelfth going to the line.
That was won by Tom Neave, who just held off his Honda Racing Uk teammate Andrew Irwin off to the finish.
The remaining points went to Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Yamaha)in 14th and Luke Mossey (Tactix by Lloyd & Jones BMW) in 15th.
Official British Superbike Brands Hatch Records:
Lap Record: Josh Brookes (Yamaha) 1m 24.873s (2017)
2023 at Brands Hatch:
Round Six - pole: Tommy Bridewell (2nd Ryan Vickers, 3rd Josh Brookes)
Race One:
1:Ryan Vickers
2:Danny Kent
3:Christian Iddon
Race Two:
1:Tommy Bridewell
2:Christian Iddon
3:Danny Kent
Race Three:
1:Tommy Bridewell
2:Glenn Irwin
3:Ryan Vickers
2022 Showdown finale results:
Pole:Glenn Irwin (2nd Peter Hickman , 3rd Tommy Bridewell)
Race One:
1:Glenn Irwin
2:Peter Hickman
3:Andrew Irwin
Race Two:
1:Peter Hickman
2:Danny Buchan
3:Glenn Irwin
Race Three:
1:Glenn Irwin
2:Andrew Irwin
3:Danny Buchan
The last round (ten) at Donington Park:
Pole: Jason O’Halloran (2nd Tommy Bridewell 3rd Leon Haslam)
Race One:
1: Ryan Vickers
2: Leon Haslam
3: Luke Mossey
Race Two:
1: Ryan Vickers
2: Leon Haslam
3: Christian Iddon
Race Three:
1: Jason O’Halloran
2: Christian Iddon
3: Josh Brookes
Crashes, Injuries and Replacements
Niccolo Canepa (16th) continued his time on the second McAMS Yamaha bike.
Franco Bourne was the best if the Pathways bikes in 18th, just ahead of Alex Olsen.
Bradley Perie(17th) and Brayden Elliott (20th) were the only other riders to finish.
O’Halloran’s fall took him out of the title hunt, while Iddon’s brought out the safety car, but they were not the only riders not to finish.
Jack Scott, Fraser rogers, Shaun Winfield, Louis Valleley and Davey Todd all also failed to go the distance.
The Honda garage was covered in get well wishes for Josh Owens, who begins his slow road to recovery after a crash at Darley Moor while preparing fro his BSB comeback left him with rib and liver injuries.
Where does that leave the championship?
Just three riders remain in the title hunt.
Tommy Bridewell remains ahead after his secoond place - with his lead cut to a 5.5 lead with a total of 425.
As close as they have been all season, Glenn Irwin continues to give chase with a win, taking him to 419.5.
Kyle Ryde’s title hopes are in the hands of his rivals as much as his own, he can go out and win and still have a shot but needs other results to go his way from a deficit of 30 points.
