BSB: Josh Brookes storms to victory in race three at Oulton Park

Published: 21 September 2020

Josh Brookes clinched his second victory of the 2020 BSB season

Josh Brookes ended his race weekend at Oulton Park on a positive note after taking victory in the third and final race of the weekend.

Brookes, who had struggled in Saturday’s race, qualified on pole position for race three after setting the fastest lap in the middle race earlier in the day. The VisionTrack Ducati rider then made a great start off the line and ended up leading every lap.

The story so far

O’Halloran pips Glenn Irwin to pole
O’Halloran secures his first victory for Yamaha
Race two is dominated by O’Halloran

The Australian was under pressure from teammate Christian Iddon for a good majority of the race, momentarily losing the lead to him at Lodge, only to fight back immediately over the start/finish straight. A mistake from Iddon at Hislop’s Chicane allowed Brookes to open up a comfortable lead in the closing stages, eventually crossing the line with a 1.6s advantage.

Iddon finished second after managing to hold off the charge of Jason O’Halloran in the final few laps. O’Halloran almost clipped the back of Iddon coming out of Lodge for the final time and due to him having to lift off a little, Lee Jackson was able to beat the Australian to the line and take his first Bennetts British Superbike podium since Cadwell Park in 2017.

Danny Buchan was fifth on the second Rapid Fulfillment Kawasaki, rounding off a positive weekend after taking a double podium. Championship leader Glenn Irwin bounced back from his retirement in race two in sixth spot, ahead of Bradley Ray on the SYNETIQ BMW.

Peter Hickman secured his best finish of the year in eighth, with Tarran Mackenzie and Luke Mossey completing the top 10. Elsewhere, Tommy Bridewell matches his 11th spot from race two, with Kyle Ryde finishing 13th for the second consecutive race.

Andrew Irwin retired at the end of the opening lap due to a problem with his Honda Fireblade. Storm Stacey returned to the pits on the next lap to retire as well. There were three other retirements from the third race, with Tom Ward, Brian McCormack and Bjorn Estment all having bike problems.

The Oulton Park race weekend has turned the 2020 title fight on its head. Glenn Irwin now only has a two-point advantage over O’Halloran. Brookes is only 10 points adrift, with Iddon a further two points behind in fourth spot.

The next BSB race meeting is due to take place at Donington Park, using the Grand Prix layout, on October 2-4.

BSB: Jason O’Halloran doubles up at Oulton Park whilst Glenn Irwin retires

First published: 20 September 2020 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran secured his second win of the weekend at Oulton Park and turned the title fight on its head after championship leader Glenn Irwin was forced to retire.

O’Halloran, who took his first win of 2020 yesterday, led the race from start to finish and controlled the pace throughout. It could prove to be a pivotal moment in this year’s title fight, with the Australian now only five points behind Irwin in the standings. Irwin returned to the pits on lap 12 with an issue after appearing to struggle throughout the early stages.

Meanwhile, Christian Iddon was unable to get close enough to put a move on O’Halloran at the front and had to settle for second. Danny Buchan completed the podium for the Rapid Fulfillment Kawasaki team to ensure that the podium was a mirror image of yesterday’s race.

Josh Brookes seemed to have found some improvements heading into this race and was able to stick with the leading trio at one stage. The VisionTrack Ducati rider dropped back a little in the last couple of laps, but crossed the line in fourth. Brookes also set the fastest lap of the race, posting a 1:34.461.

Lee Jackson showcased impressive late race pace to finish fifth. Jackson had fallen back to 10th at one stage but was able to battle back and get the better of Tarran Mackenzie (sixth) Andrew Irwin (seventh), Bradley Ray (eighth) and Luke Mossey in ninth spot.

Peter Hickman completed the top 10 on the Global Robots BMW, securing his best result of the season so far. Tommy Bridewell was 11th on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati, whilst Kyle Ryde was 13th on the Buildbase Suzuki.

Keith Farmer retired from the race on lap six, with Tom Ward joining him back down pit lane on lap nine. Jack Kennedy, Joe Francis and Bjorn Estment all retired down pit lane at the end of lap 11. Taylor Mackenzie crashed his SYNETIQ BMW at Shell Oils Corner on lap 13.

The third and final race of the weekend at Oulton Park is scheduled to begin at 16:40.

BSB: Jason O’Halloran wins at Oulton Park to become the eighth winner in 2020

First published: 19 September 2020 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran overcame the challenge of Christian Iddon to become the eighth different winner of the 2020 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

O’Halloran, who started from pole position, was involved in a race-long battle with Andrew and Glenn Irwin before setting his sights on Iddon at the front. The Australian made his move with a couple of laps remaining before setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap to ensure that he could not be caught.

It’s O’Halloran’s first victory for the McAMS Yamaha team and his first BSB race win since Snetterton 2016, when he was riding for Honda. It’s a victory that move him up into second in the championship standings, 30 points behind Glenn Irwin.

Iddon remained second across the line, with Danny Buchan taking full advantage of the Irwin brothers battling each other to take third. Buchan went down the inside of the Andrew and Glenn at Lodge, after they went wide following a move from Glenn down the inside. It’s Buchan’s and Kawasaki’s first podium of 2020.

Andrew Irwin pipped brother Glenn to fourth across the line, with Glenn then narrowly beating Lee Jackson to fifth.

Bradley Ray was the top BMW once again in seventh, ahead of Josh Brookes and Tarran Mackenzie. The latter fought his way through from 16th on the grid. Gino Rea completed the top 10 on the Buildbase Suzuki.

Luke Mossey and Peter Hickman were 11th and 12th, just ahead of Ryan Vickers (13th) and Tommy Bridewell (14th), who struggled from 15th on the grid. Keith Farmer secured the final point on his return from injury.

Kyle Ryde crashed out of the race on the opening lap, hitting the deck at Shell Oils. Tom Ward also crashed out on lap one, falling at Lodge Corner. Jack Kennedy and Joe Francis both retired to the pits with bike issues.

Tomorrow’s BSB races are scheduled to begin at 13:15 and 16:40 respectively.

BSB: Jason O’Halloran pips Glenn Irwin to pole position at Oulton Park

First published: 18 September 2020 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran put his McAMS Yamaha on pole position for the opening Bennetts British Superbike race of the weekend at Oulton Park.

The Australian knocked Glenn Irwin off the top of timesheets with his final flying lap of the session to take his second pole of the 2020 season. His time of 1:34.257 was 0.089s quicker than Irwin’s fastest effort. The duo will be joined on the front row by Bradley Ray on the SYNETIQ BMW, with the top three covered by 0.0127s.

Andrew Irwin heads row two after a strong qualifying performance. He’s joined by the Rapid Fulfillment pairing of Lee Jackson and Danny Buchan. The latter had topped FP2 this morning but was unable repeat that performance this afternoon.

Kyle Ryde, double race winner at Silverstone, qualified seventh on the Buildbase Suzuki. He’s joined on row three by Christian Iddon and Josh Brookes on the VisionTrack Ducati bikes. Gino Rea completes the top 10 on the second of three Buildbase Suzuki machines.

Elsewhere, Tommy Bridewell is down in 15th on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati, just ahead of Tarran Mackenzie. They’re both behind Jack Kennedy, who qualified 14th on his RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki debut. Keith Farmer qualified 18th on his return from injury, whilst Joe Francis crashed out of the session at Cascades with a few minutes remaining.

The opening BSB race of the weekend at Oulton Park is scheduled to begin at 16:15 this afternoon (September 19).

BSB: Danny Buchan takes control at Oulton Park in free practice two

First published: 18 September 2020 by Josh Close

Danny Buchan posted the fastest lap of the weekend so far at Oulton Park this morning as he dominated free practice two.

The Rapid Fulfillment Kawasaki rider became the first, and only, rider to dip into the 1:34s when he posted a 1:34.819. That gave him a +0.455s advantage over Jason O’Halloran, who was the quickest rider in Friday’s FP1 session.

Bradley Ray was third on the SYNETIQ BMW and was only +0.009 slower than O’Halloran. Ray has a good record at Oulton Park and was on the podium twice in 2019.

Christian Iddon was the leading Ducati rider in fourth spot, with Luke Mossey completing the top five for the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW team.

Tommy Bridewell was sixth, ahead of Kyle Ryde and Andrew Irwin. Josh Brookes and Peter Hickman complete the top 10. Hickman’s fastest lap came in the final few seconds of the session and it means that there are three BMW riders inside the top 10.

Championship leader Glenn Irwin was 11th on the second Honda Fireblade, with Jack Kennedy continuing to impress on his RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki debut in 12th.

Teammate Ryan Vickers crashed out of the session with a few minutes remaining. Vickers went down at Old Hall Corner (T1) and was consequently taken to the medical centre for a check-up. Vickers ended FP2 in 14th.

Today’s 25-minute qualifying session is scheduled to begin at 12:15, with the opening Bennetts British Superbike race following at 16:15.

BSB: Jason O’Halloran tops free practice one at Oulton Park

First published: 18 September 2020 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran was the early pacesetter at Oulton Park this afternoon after comfortably topping free practice one.

The McAMS Yamaha rider set two flying laps in the final few minutes, with his quickest being a 1:35.180. O’Halloran was the only rider to get into the 1:35s today, with his nearest challenger almost a second slower than him.