BSB Oulton Park: Lee Jackson seals second win of 2022 in chaotic second race

Tommy Bridewell claimed his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship victory of the season in the finale at Oulton Park after beating Glenn Irwin to the line.

Bridewell, who becomes the eighth winner of the 2022 season, took the lead away from Irwin at Lodge at the end of lap nine, and held his position despite being put under pressure by the Honda rider and Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider Lee Jackson.

The victory moves Bridewell up into second place in the championship, 40 points behind Bradley Ray with six races remaining. Ray came home in fifth after appearing to struggle for grip on his soft rear tyre.

Irwin and race two winner Jackson completed the podium ahead of Danny Buchan, whilst Tom Sykes secured his best result of the year in sixth. Peter Hickman was seventh for FHO Racing BMW, ahead of Josh Brookes and Showdown Title Fighter Kyle Ryde. Danny Kent completed the top 10.

Storm Stacey and Andrew Irwin were 11^th and 12^th respectively, ahead of Ryan Vickers and Leon Haslam. The latter was running inside the top six, but he ended up off the circuit – the cause was not caught on camera. Dean Harrison secured the final point on offer today.

The McAMS Yamaha riders did not start the race. Jason O’Halloran was left battered and bruised after his crash in race two, whilst Tarran Mackenzie has been diagnosed with a suspected broken femur after his crash and has been transferred to Stoke Hospital for further assessment.

Rory Skinner also missed the race after sustaining injuries to his hand and arm in race two, and has been transferred to hospital for precautionary measures. The other rider in that incident, Christian Iddon, was also missing after being briefly knocked unconscious in the collision. Iddon is also in hospital for further assessment.

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BSB Oulton Park: Lee Jackson seals second win of 2022 in chaotic second race

First published: 25 September 2022 at 15:54 by Josh Close

Lee Jackson secured his second victory of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season in a chaotic race which was red flagged on two occasions.

When the final seven-lap race began, it was Bradley Ray who got the holeshot once again but was soon caught by Tommy Bridewell and Jackson, with the latter overtaking both of the riders ahead of him within the space of two corners.

Jackson was unchallenged for the remainder of the race, with Bridewell’s chances ending following a huge moment on the exit of turn one on the final lap. It’s Jackson’s second victory of the season and he’s now second in the championship, 53 points behind Ray, who came home in third.

The red flags were originally waved a few laps into the original race following an incident involving Tarran Mackenzie and Peter Hickman. Mackenzie went down on the entry to the Hislop’s Chicane, slid across the grass and back onto the circuit where he was unfortunately hit by Hickman’s FHO Racing BMW M1000 RR. Mackenzie was assessed at the scene of the incident before being taken away in an ambulance.

Red flags were waved once again on lap four of the restarted, 12-lap, race when Rory Skinner, Christian Iddon and Kyle Ryde went down at Brittens. It appeared that Iddon was preparing a move down the inside of Ryde, however the three riders suddenly closed up, causing Skinner to run into the back of Iddon.

As a result, Skinner was launched onto the back wheel of Iddon’s Suzuki and ended up getting his legs trapped between the rear wheel and the seat unit. Skinner’s Kawasaki went into Ryde, knocking him out of the race as well. Skinner was seen back on his feet at the scene of the incident, however both he and Iddon were taken to the medical centre.

Meanwhile, it was an unfortunate case of déjà vu for Jason O’Halloran. The Aussie went down at Druids once again on the opening lap following contact from Bridewell, who was attempting a move down the inside.

Glenn Irwin finished fourth for the second time this weekend, with Danny Buchan completing the top five for SYNETIQ BMW. Veterans Leon Haslam, Tom Sykes and Josh Brookes were sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.

Andrew Irwin and Peter Hickman completed the top 10, ahead of Storm Stacey and Danny Kent. Ryan Vickers, Takumi Takahashi and Ryo Mizuno secured the final points available in the race.

On the second restart, Ryde suffered a highside coming out of turn one, leaving Tom Neave with nowhere to go. Dean Harrison returned to the pits and retired from the race, as did Chrissy Rouse.

The third and final BSB race of the weekend is due to begin at 16:50.

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BSB Oulton Park: Bradley Ray dominates to win dramatic opening race

First published: 24 September 2022 by Josh Close

Bradley Ray won a drama-filled opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race at Oulton Park to extend his championship lead.

Despite losing the lead at the start of the race, Ray was back in front by the time the pack crossed the line to start the second lap. From there, Ray simply controlled the pace before pulling away to take his eighth win of 2022.

Chaos ensued behind him as closest title rival Jason O’Halloran ended up in the gravel at Druids following contact with Peter Hickman on the final lap. Hickman had just gone down the inside of the Aussie for third place when the incident occurred. The collision is currently under investigation.

It’s a pivotal moment in the championship fight because the DNF for O’Halloran means that Ray now holds a healthy 38-point lead in the standings, and will be the clear favourite heading into Sunday’s races.

To make things worse for McAMS Yamaha, Tarran Mackenzie also crashed out of the race. The reigning champion lost the front heading into Shell Oils on lap 12, whilst chasing down Hickman and O’Halloran in the closing stages. Mackenzie looked to be a little winded afterwards and was taken to the medical centre for assessment. He’s now 55 points behind Ray.

Tommy Bridewell has moved up from eighth in the standings to fourth after finishing second, albeit 2.765s adrift of Ray.

Following the drama ahead of him, Leon Haslam secured the final spot on the podium after going past Hickman off camera. It’s Haslam’s second podium of the season and his first since finishing third in race two at Oulton Park earlier in the season.

Glenn Irwin fought through the order to finish fifth ahead of Danny Buchan, whilst Lee Jackson made some late-race progress to finish seventh. Christian Iddon finished eighth ahead of Rory Skinner, with Kyle Ryde completing the top 10.

MCE Ducati duo Josh Brookes and Tom Sykes were 11^th and 12^th respectively ahead of Danny Kent, whilst Tom Neave and Dean Harrison secured the final points on offer on Saturday afternoon.

Storm Stacey returned to the pits at the end of lap three after running off the circuit on the opening lap of the race. Ryan Vickers retired on lap seven with a bike problem, whilst Leon Jeacock also returned to his garage a couple of laps later.

Andrew Irwin retired from the race at the end of lap 11, returning to the SYNETIQ BMW garage.

Tomorrow’s races (September 25) are due to take place at 13:50 and 16:45.

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BSB Oulton Park: Bradley Ray smashes lap record to secure pole position

First published: 24 September 2022 at 11:49am by Josh Close

Bradley Ray produced the fastest-ever lap at Oulton Park to take pole for the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race.

On his one and only flying lap, the championship leader produced a stunning, inch-perfect lap-time of 1:32.948 to pull clear of the field. It’s Ray’s third pole position of the season and gives him a great chance of securing his eighth victory of 2022 in the first race.

Tommy Bridewell, who won twice at this meeting last year, qualified second but was 0.796s behind the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider. Ray and Bridewell will be joined on the front row by Jason O’Halloran.

Peter Hickman put his FHO Racing BMW fourth on the grid, pipping reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie by just 0.001s. Mackenzie missed the first meeting at Oulton Park earlier in the season through injury. Leon Haslam completes row two for VisionTrack Kawasaki.

Andrew Irwin bounced back from a difficult Friday in seventh, just ahead of SYNETIQ BMW teammate Danny Buchan and brother Glenn Irwin. Rory Skinner completed the top 10 for Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki.

Lee Jackson has work to do in 11^th after what has been a tough round so far. The Showdown Title Fighter had to go through Q1 after crashing out of FP2 on Friday afternoon. Kyle Ryde completes the fourth row.

Josh Brookes qualified 13^th after topping the Q1 session and will be joined on row five by Ryan Vickers and former PBM Ducati teammate Christian Iddon. Tom Sykes (16^th), Dean Harrison (17^th) and Takumi Takahashi (18^th) were the final qualifiers in Q2.

Danny Kent was the best of the rest in the opening Q1 session, missing out on a spot in Q2 by 0.106s. The Buildbase Suzuki rider will start race one from 19^th on the grid.

The opening BSB race of the weekend at Oulton Park is due to begin at 16:15 on Saturday afternoon (September 24).

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BSB Oulton Park: Bradley Ray leads the way on day one

First published: 23 September 2022 by Josh Close

Championship leader Bradley Ray is once again the man to beat heading into the weekend at Oulton Park after topping the combined Free Practice timesheets on Friday.

The Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider, who holds a 13-point lead over Jason O’Halloran, posted a best lap-time of 1:33.700, which was 0.291s than Tommy Bridewell in second. The latter has fond memories of Oulton Park after doing the double at this race meeting in 2021.

Fellow Showdown Title Contender Glenn Irwin completed the top three for Honda Racing UK, ending Friday a further 0.101s adrift of Ray. Danny Buchan disrupted the title contenders in fourth, with O’Halloran completing the top five on his McAMS Yamaha R1.

Peter Hickman made it two BMW riders inside the top six, narrowly beating Kyle Ryde. Tarran Mackenzie moved into the all-important top 12 positions with his final flying lap of the session, a lap which could prove to be pivotal.

Leon Haslam was ninth, whilst Christian Iddon completed the top 10 for Buildbase Suzuki. Tom Sykes and Rory Skinner were the final two riders to make it straight into Saturday’s Q2 Qualifying Session, despite the latter crashing at Old Hall late in the day.

Lee Jackson was the only Showdown Title Fighter not to make it into Q2 after he crashed at Lodge, ending the day down in 14^th.

Meanwhile, Mackenzie’s last-minute move up into the top 12 pushed Josh Brookes down to 13^th and into Q1. Despite two difficult campaigns, Brookes finished on the podium twice at this meeting last year, and also finished fourth at Oulton Park earlier this season.

Danny Kent and Takumi Takahashi were 15^th and 16^th respectively, whilst Andrew Irwin was 17^th after missing FP2 following a heavy crash in this morning’s FP1 session. The SYNETIQ BMW rider went down at Brittens and was taken to the medical centre for assessment.

Tomorrow’s (Saturday September 24) Q1 session is scheduled to begin at 10:50am and will be followed by Q2 at 11:09. The opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend – the eBay Sprint Race – will then take place at 16:15.