BSB Brands Hatch: Peter Hickman secures first win of the season in Race Two

Peter Hickman dominated the second Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Brands Hatch to secure his first win of the 2022 season.

The FHO Racing BMW rider took the lead away from Glenn Irwin in the early stages and was able to keep his lead whilst an intense battle took place behind him for the final podium positions. Hickman is the 10^th different winner of the season.

Danny Buchan was best of the rest on his SYNETIQ BMW, completing a positive race for the German manufacturer. It’s the first BMW one-two of the season and their third win of the year following Buchan’s double at Cadwell Park.

Glenn Irwin completed the podium and avoided the chaos behind him. Jason O’Halloran’s race came to an end on the final lap when he went down following contact from Andrew Irwin whilst battling with Glenn Irwin for the final spot on the podium. The incident happened at Surtees is currently under investigation.

Kyle Ryde capitalised on the incident ahead of him to finish fourth onboard his Yamaha R1.  Tommy Bridewell had to start from the pit-lane after suffering from a bike problem on the grid, but an astonishing performance saw him come home in fifth position.

Buildbase Suzuki duo Danny Kent and Christian Iddon came home in sixth and seventh respectively, whilst Andrew Irwin ended up in eighth after the coming together with O’Halloran.

Charlie Nesbitt was ninth on the third Buildbase Suzuki machine, whilst Josh Brookes beat MCE Ducati teammate Tom Sykes to 10^th. Josh Owens’ positive weekend continued in 12^th, whilst Dean Harrison, Takumi Takahashi and Storm Stacey secured the final points available.

Remarkably, Bradley Ray crashed out of fifth at the start of the second lap. The new championship lost the front going down Paddock Hill Bend. It’s only his second DNF of the season, with his previous crash occurring in the opening weekend at Silverstone.

Leon Haslam retired from the race on lap four with an issue onboard the VisionTrack Kawasaki, whilst Ryan Vickers returned to pit-lane at the end of lap five. Vickers started the race from the back of the grid after being handed three penalty points for running into Christian Iddon in Race One. That punishment moved him onto six penalty points for the season.

Jack Kennedy returned to pit-lane and retired the Mar-Train Yamaha.

The final BSB race of the 2022 season is due to begin at 16:05.

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BSB Brands Hatch: Bradley Ray crowned 2022 champion whilst Glenn Irwin wins Race One

First published: 15 October 2022 by Josh Close

Bradley Ray has been crowned 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Champion after finishing fifth in the opening race of the weekend at Brands Hatch.

The Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider kept his cool throughout the race, staying out of trouble to get the job done. Ray only needed to finish seventh or higher to become champion.

Ray has dominated the 2022 championship, taking nine wins and 23 podiums from the 31 races held so far. Whilst it’s OMG Racing’s first crown, it’s the second season in succession that a Yamaha rider has taken the crown.

Meanwhile, the race itself was won in comfortable fashion by Glenn Irwin. Irwin led the race from start to finish, eventually crossing the line with an advantage of 1.374s lead over Peter Hickman.

It’s Hickman’s third podium in the last eight races and moves him up into ninth spot, which would hand him the BSB Riders’ Cup award if he stays in that position tomorrow afternoon. He is 11 points clear of Danny Buchan, who finished Race One in seventh.

Andrew Irwin completed the podium for SYNETIQ BMW. It’s Irwin’s second consecutive podium, whilst he’s finished inside the top four in the last three races.

Tommy Bridewell beat Ray to fourth spot, but now sits 13 points behind Glenn Irwin in the battle to finish as runner-up to Ray. Bridewell made a mistake at Paddock Hill Bend after overtaking Ray the first time, essentially costing him any chance of a podium.

Jason O’Halloran came home in sixth for McAMS Yamaha ahead of Buchan, whilst Danny Kent, Kyle Ryde and Tom Sykes completed the top 10.

Charlie Nesbitt impressed for Buildbase Suzuki in 11^th, as did Josh Owens in 12^th spot. Takumi Takahashi and Jack Kennedy were 13^th and 14^th respectively, whilst Davey Todd secured the final point in his BSB debut. Todd has moved up from the Superstock class after being crowned champion at Donington Park.

A big incident at Paddock Hill Bend on the opening lap saw Tom Neave clip the back of another rider and crash out, whilst Lee Jackson also crashed following contact with Josh Brookes, who in-turn had been edged wide by Buchan. Onboard footage suggested that multiple riders were involved in the chain of events that led to Jackson crashing.

Brookes returned to the pits and retired with damage to his MCE Ducati V4 R.

Ryo Mizuno retired from the race on the following lap, whilst Leon Haslam returned to the pits on lap nine and retired.

Christian Iddon and Ryan Vickers both crashed at Stirlings on the final lap of the race.

Tomorrow’s BSB races are due to take place at 13:00 and 16:05.

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BSB Brands Hatch: Glenn Irwin secures pole position as rain halts qualifying session

First published: 15 October 2022 at 13:24 by Josh Close

Glenn Irwin secured pole position at Brands Hatch as the weather brought a premature end to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship qualifying session.

The Honda Racing UK rider, who still has a slim mathematical chance of winning this year’s championship, posted the best lap-time of 1:25.168 before the wind picked up and the rain began to fall.

Irwin is joined on the front row by Peter Hickman, who is enjoying a positive end to his 2022 campaign. The FHO Racing BMW rider, who missed out on the Showdown, has two podiums from the last seven races heading into this weekend’s finale.

Tommy Bridewell completes the front-row for Oxford Products Racing Ducati. Like Irwin, Bridewell still has a slim chance of becoming champion, but his realistic fight is against the Northern Irishman for second overall.

Kyle Ryde leads row two after battling through the opening Q1 session, whilst Danny Buchan and series leader Bradley Ray qualified fifth and sixth respectively. Ray only needs to finish seventh or higher in Race One to be crowned BSB champion.

Andrew Irwin will start seventh for SYNETIQ BMW, lining up alongside Aussie duo Jason O’Halloran and Josh Brookes. This is the final round for Brookes as an MCE Ducati rider before he moves on to FHO Racing after spending the last four seasons with Paul Bird’s squad.

Danny Kent completed the top 10 ahead of Lee Jackson and Josh Owens, with Tom Sykes in 13^th on the second MCE Ducati. Ryan Vickers, Jack Kennedy and Tom Neave were the final Q2 qualifiers.

Dean Harrison missed out on a spot inside Q2 by just 0.117s during the Q1 session, whilst Buildbase Suzuki duo Charlie Nesbitt and Christian Iddon also failed to make it through.

Takumi Takahashi qualified 22^nd for Honda Racing UK, and will line-up alongside Storm Stacey and newly crowned Pirelli National Superstock Champion Davey Todd. The Padgetts Honda team are racing in the Superbike class this weekend ahead of a potential full-time move in 2023.

Leon Jeacock, Eemeli Lahti and Liam Delves complete the grid for the opening race of the weekend at Brands Hatch, which is due to begin at 16:05.