BSB: Tommy Bridewell storms to victory in the third race at Donington whilst Andrew Irwin is disqualified

Published: 10 August 2020

Tommy Bridewell wins race three at Donington Park

Tommy Bridewell ensured that he left his mark on a weekend controlled by Honda by dominating a controversial third race at Donington which ended with Andrew Irwin being disqualified.

Bridewell got off to a flying start and snatched the lead away from Tarran Mackenzie heading into Redgate for the first time. The Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider then cleared off at the front, setting an impressive pace and pulling a gap of over four seconds on his rivals.

The story so far

Andrew Irwin doubles up in race two
The new Fireblade wins on its BSB debut
O’Halloran takes pole position at Donington

A big moment coming out of the final corner cost Bridewell a bit of time, but he soon put that behind him and crossed the line to take his fourth victory in BSB.

Behind him a fantastic battle between Josh Brookes, the Irwin brothers and Jason O’Halloran for the final podium spots. Glenn Irwin had cleared Brookes for second, but when Andrew tried to put a move on the Australian, disaster struck.

Andrew dove down the inside of Brookes at Hollywood in a daring move, but there wasn’t quite enough room for both of them. Contact between the two sent Brookes hurtling off the track at high speed, with the rider hitting the safety fence.

Andrew did overtake his brother for second, but he was already under investigation and, a couple of hours later, was disqualified from the race. He also received six penalty points, three of which are suspended for the duration of the 2020 season. and by virtue of his total penalty points accumulated, will start race one at Snetterton from the back of the grid.

Glenn Irwin was therefore promoted to second, with O’Halloran clinching his second podium of the weekend.

Behind them, Christian Iddon continued his impressive VisionTrack Ducati debut in fourth spot, ahead of Danny Buchan and Tarran Mackenzie. Kyle Ryde continued his fine form on his maiden BSB outing to take seventh, ahead of Ryan Vickers on the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki. Lee Jackson and Hector Barbera completed the top 10.

Jack Kennedy and Dan Linfoot were both forced to retire with mechanical problems, whilst Alex Olsen also pulled out of the race on his Global Robots BMW.

The removal of Andrew Irwin from race three means that Glenn Irwin is the championship leader after round one. He has a 10-point advantage over his brother, with Bridewell another seven points behind in third.

Round two of the 2020 BSB season takes place at Snetterton on August 21-23.

BSB: Andrew Irwin doubles up at Donington after thrilling battle with brother Glenn Irwin

First published: 09 August 2020 by Josh Close

The Irwin brothers treated British Superbike viewers to another sensational battle in race two at Donington Park, with Andrew coming out on top again.

Just like yesterday’s season opener, the Honda Racing UK duo hit the front of the pack in the early stages and held a steady rhythm throughout the race. Glenn Irwin led the majority of the race but was unable to shake off his brother.

Andrew then made his move on the final lap, squeezing by Glenn on the exit of Coppice. Glenn attempted to fight back at the final chicane, but Andrew was having none of it, with the pair both running slightly wide.

Glenn used the power of the new Honda Fireblade to keep Jason O’Halloran behind him. O’Halloran, who has been fastest in all practice sessions this weekend, managed to keep out of trouble and pushed the Irwin brothers hard.

Kyle Ryde proved that yesterday’s pace was no fluke, with the Buildbase Suzuki rider securing fourth spot. Danny Buchan was fifth on the Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki.

Josh Brookes appeared to struggle at the halfway stage, falling from the top three to 10th at one stage. Last year’s runner-up managed to fight his way back up to sixth.

Tarran Mackenzie was seventh on the second McAMS Yamaha machine, ahead of Christian Iddon. Like Brookes, Iddon was also challenging for a podium but dropped off in the closing stages.

Tommy Bridewell was ninth, but at one stage he was challenging for the victory. Bridewell went in too deep at the final chicane, narrowly missing Andrew Irwin and heading off the circuit. Hector Barbera completed the top 10 for Rich Energy OMG Racing team.

Ryan Vickers was 11th, whilst Luke Mossey was forced to settle for 17th after running off the circuit. Peter Hickman also went into the gravel and could only manage 18th.

Dan Linfoot retired with a mechanical problem, whilst Josh Owens crashed out at McLeans.

The third and final race of the weekend is due to begin at 16:30.

BSB: Andrew Irwin takes sensational win at Donington Park ahead of brother Glenn Irwin

First published: 09 August 2020 by Josh Close

Andrew and Glenn Irwin showcased the unbelievable potential of the all-new Honda Fireblade by securing a one-two on the bike’s debut at Donington Park.

The duo both managed to fend off Josh Brookes for going on to have an entertaining, yet safe, battle for the win. In the end, it was Andrew who was victorious – his second win in BSB.

Brookes, who had led a few laps in the middle of the race, settled for third spot after being unable to match the performance of the Honda duo.

Christian Iddon was fourth on his debut for VisionTrack Ducati, which is a fantastic result given that he started from 11th on the grid. Tommy Bridewell was fifth on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati in what was a relatively quiet race for him.

Luke Mossey was sixth for Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW, ahead of Tarran Mackenzie and polesitter Jason O’Halloran. O’Halloran had a poor start and had dropped down to eighth on the opening lap. He was then caught up in Danny Buchan’s crash at the final chicane, which dropped him further down the order.

Ryan Vickers and Lee Jackson completed the top 10 on their respective Kawasaki bikes. Outside of the top 10, Alex Olsen managed to get the better of his teammate Peter Hickman for 11th spot.

On his BSB debut, 17-year-old Storm Stacey finished just outside the points in 16th after losing out in a battle with Taylor Mackenzie.

Alongside Buchan, Joe Francis also crashed out at the final chicane, with Graeme Irwin crashing out of his BSB debut. Kyle Ryde was forced to retire with a mechanical problem whilst challenging for the podium. Hector Barbera also pulled out of fourth spot with a mechanical problem on his BMW. Bradley Ray and Gino Rea also retired from the race with suspected problems with their bikes.

The second race of the 2020 BSB season is due to take place tomorrow afternoon, at 13:45. That’s followed by race three at 16:30.

BSB: Jason O’Halloran secures a comfortable pole position at Donington Park

First published: 09 August 2020 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran dominated the first qualifying session of the 2020 British Superbike season at Donington Park, taking a comfortable pole position.

The McAMS Yamaha rider was the first rider to break into the 1:05s this weekend, posting a 1:05.642 halfway through the session. At that stage, the Australian had an advantage of 0.6s over the field.

Hector Barbera would eventually cut that lead down to only +0.167 on his Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW. The former MotoGP rider has adjusted perfectly to the S1000 RR since joining the team at the start of the year.

The front-row is completed by Kyle Ryde on the Buildbase Suzuki, becoming the final rider to break into the 1:05s. The top three were covered by +0.303.

Danny Buchan heads the second row in fourth spot, alongside Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes. Brookes had been quiet on the timesheets for the majority of the session but salvaged a strong grid position in the dying seconds.

Andrew Irwin was seventh on the second Honda Racing UK bikes. It’s a positive start to the season for the 2020 Fireblade.

Tommy Bridewell will start the opening race from eighth on the grid. Like Brookes, he also left it late to move up the order on the Ducati V4 R. Luke Mossey and Joe Francis complete the top 10. Francis could have been higher up the grid, but he lost the front at the final chicane and hit the deck.

Christian Iddon will start 11th on his VisionTrack Ducati debut, ahead of Jack Kennedy and Keith Farmer. Farmer had a fast crash at Redgate and was seen holding his shoulder afterwards, and it has since been confirmed that he’ll take no further part this weekend. Farmer has suffered right shoulder ligament damage.

Peter Hickman also crashed out of the session whilst in seventh. Hickman crashed at turn one early in the session, his second crash of the day. The Global Robots BMW rider finds himself down in 14th.

Tarran Mackenzie will start the first race in 15th on the second McAMS Yamaha, whilst Ryan Vickers is 17th on the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki. Storm Stacey will start his first-ever BSB race from 23rd on the grid.

The opening race of the 2020 BSB season is due to begin at 16:30 today.

BSB: Jason O’Halloran continues to lead proceedings after FP2 at Donington Park

First published: 09 August 2020 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran continued his fine form at Donington Park by topping the second free practice session this morning.

O’Halloran, who topped the opening session of the season yesterday afternoon, went quickest with a time of 1:06.121.

Danny Buchan was second, +0.262 behind the leader. Kyle Ryde jumped up to third in the closing minutes on the Buildbase Suzuki. Hector Barbera ensured that four different manufacturers were represented in the top four on his Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW.

Ryan Vickers completed the top five on the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki after leaping up the timesheets with a few minutes remaining.

Joe Francis carried his impressive form from last week’s test into FP2, ending the session in sixth spot. Andrew Irwin was the top Honda rider in seventh, ahead of Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell. Glenn Irwin completed the top 10 on the second Honda Fireblade.

Tarran Mackenzie and Peter Hickman both crashed during this morning’s session. Mackenzie finished in 12th spot but was running inside the top three in the early stages. Hickman ended FP2 in 17th.

Today’s 25-minute qualifying session is scheduled to begin at 13:20. The first race of 2020 will then take place at 16:30.

BSB: Jason O’Halloran tops the opening practice session at Donington Park

First published: 08 August 2020 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran got his 2020 season off to a positive start by topping the opening free practice session at Donington Park.

The McAMS Yamaha rider’s quickest lap-time of 1:06.535 was just enough to get the better of Hector Barbera. The latter was only +0.019 behind O’Halloran on the timesheets after another impressive performance on the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW machine.