BSB Silverstone: Josh Brookes secures first victory since 2020 season finale

Josh Brookes has returned to the top of the podium in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship after winning the second race of the weekend at Silverstone.

It’s the Australian’s first win since the 2020 season finale at Brands Hatch, and comes in only his second race as an FHO Racing BMW rider. Brookes failed to score a single podium in 2022 during his final season with Paul Bird Motorsport.

The two-time BSB champion now has 55 race wins to his name, and is one podium shy of 150 in the Superbike class. Brookes has also won BSB races onboard BMW, Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda machinery.

Brookes led the majority of the race whilst the pack behind him continued to battle hard with one another. Bridewell broke clear and was closing in on Brookes with a few laps remaining, only for the red flags to be waved due to an accident involving Danny Buchan.

Buchan suffered a huge highside on the exit of the final corner and has been taken to the medical centre as a result.

Brookes and Bridewell were joined on the podium by Glenn Irwin, who fought back from a bad start to clinch his first podium as a BeerMonster Ducati rider.

Race one winner Kyle Ryde came home in fourth spot after an entertaining battle with both PBM riders and Jason O’Halloran. The latter crossed the line in fifth, whilst Leon Haslam finished sixth for the second consecutive race.

Jack Kennedy’s fine form continued in seventh, with the reigning Supersport champion battling for the podium positions in the early stages of the race. Danny Kent, Andrew Irwin and Lee Jackson completed the top 10.

Tom Neave was 11^th for Honda Racing UK, ahead of Ryan Vickers, who is battling through the pain barrier thanks to a fractured scaphoid. Tim Neave was 13^th in his second race as a full-time Superbike rider, whilst Luke Mossey and Josh Owens secured the final points on offer.

Rookies Davey Todd and Bradley Perie were 16^th and 17^th respectively, ahead of Hector Barbera and Storm Stacey. Dean Harrison was the final rider inside the top 20. Max Cook was the last rider to finish the race.

Charlie Nesbitt and Christian Iddon collided at Luffield at the end of lap four, with both riders retiring from the race.

Peter Hickman returned to pitlane at the end of the first warm up lap, and despite being able to start the race, later returned to the FHO Racing garage to retire his M1000 RR. Hickman had suffered a crash during Sunday’s warm up session.

Liam Delves also retired from the race at the end of lap seven. Rookie Jack Scott crashed out of the race at Becketts on lap 20.

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

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Kyle Ryde got his 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship campaign off to a perfect start at Silverstone by winning the opening race of the season.

The LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rider was involved in a multi-rider battle for the leading positions throughout the race, and made his race-winning move at the beginning of lap 18.

Ryde withstood pressure from polesitter Tommy Bridewell in the closing stages to clinch his third victory at the Silverstone National Circuit – Ryde did the double at the Northamptonshire circuit whilst riding for Buildbase Suzuki in 2020.

It’s Ryde’s fourth BSB victory and has 18 points to his name under the new points system which has been introduced for the 2023 season.

Bridewell crossed the line in second on his maiden BeerMonster Ducati outing, whilst Josh Brookes returned to the podium by overtaking fellow Aussie Jason O’Halloran on the final lap. It’s a huge step in the right direction for Brookes, who failed to score a single podium during his troublesome 2022 campaign.

O’Halloran came home in fourth after leading for a few laps earlier in the race. He and the McAMS Yamaha team are making up for lost time after very limited track time during the pre-season test programme.

Glenn Irwin completed the top five on his return to Paul Bird’s Ducati team, whilst Leon Haslam found late-race pace onboard his BMW M1000 RR. 2022 British Supersport Champion Jack Kennedy impressed in seventh on his return to the Superbike class.

Andrew Irwin enjoyed a late charge to finish eighth in his first race back onboard the Honda Racing UK Fireblade, whilst Danny Kent and Danny Buchan completed the top 10.

Peter Hickman came home in 11^th, whilst Charlie Nesbitt ended the race as top rookie for MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing. Ryan Vickers and Lee Jackson were 13^th and 14^th respectively, with Dean Harrison taking the final point on offer in 15^th.

Tim Neave finished 16^th on his BSB debut with McAMS Yamaha, finishing ahead of Liam Delves, Storm Stacey and Bradley Perie. Max Cook finished 20^th on his Superbike debut, ahead of Luke Mossey, Davey Todd, Jack Scott and Josh Owens.

Tom Neave retired from the race with a bike problem, whilst Christian Iddon also suffered a technical gremlin onboard the Oxford Products Racing Ducati. Iddon was running a special retro livery to celebrate Oxford’s 50^th anniversary. Hector Barbera retired from the race on his return to the series.

Sunday’s races are due to take place at 13:30 and 16:30.

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Tommy Bridewell will start his first-ever race as a BeerMonster Ducati rider from pole position after pipping Kyle Ryde to top spot at Silverstone.

Bridewell posted a best lap-time of 52.931 onboard his Ducati V4 R, beating Ryde by 0.028s. It’s the Paul Bird Motorsport squad’s first pole position since Josh Brookes at Oulton Park toward the end of the 2021 season.

Ryde’s session came to a premature end when he lost the front of his LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha R1 heading into Brooklands, but he had already done enough to secure his spot on the front row.

Brookes completes the front row ahead of his maiden outing as an FHO Racing BMW rider. It’s the Aussie’s first front row since round two of the 2022 season at Oulton Park. The two-time champion hasn’t won a race since the final race of the 2020 season at Brands Hatch.

Jason O’Halloran heads row two for McAMS Yamaha, ahead of Glenn Irwin and Danny Buchan. O’Halloran is having to make up for lost time following a lack of dry testing during the pre-season programme.

Jack Kennedy will start his first race back in the Superbike class from seventh on the grid, and is joined on the third row by Danny Kent and Christian Iddon. Leon Haslam completes the top 10 for his new ROKiT BMW Motorrad team.

Peter Hickman missed out on a spot inside the top 10 by just 0.004s, qualifying just ahead of Ryan Vickers and Lee Jackson. Vickers crashed at Becketts but was able to re-join the session.

Andrew Irwin qualified 14^th ahead of his Honda Racing UK return. The team had a big rebuild job on their hands on Friday night following a high-speed crash at Maggotts during FP2.

Hawk Racing duo Charlie Nesbitt and Josh Owens will start the race from 14^th and 15^th respectively after making out of the Q1 session. Dean Harrison qualified 17^th for DAO Racing Kawasaki.

The session was red flagged with just under seven minutes remaining when Storm Stacey’s Starline Racing Kawasaki burst into the flames. The ZX-10RR engine blew coming out of Woodcote, but thankfully Stacey was able to jump off his bike and get clear of the fire without any issues. Stacey qualified 18^th.

Hector Barbera thought he had made it into Q2 on his final flying lap of Q1, however his lap-time was cancelled due to the TAG Honda rider exceeding track limits. The Spaniard will start race one from 20th on the grid as a result.

Davey Todd will start the opening race of 2023 from 19^th, with Luke Mossey and Tom Neave qualifying 21^st and 22^nd respectively. Neave is returning to action after breaking his collarbone during Honda’s test at Monteblanco, Spain, last month.

Max Cook (23^rd) is next up for Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki ahead of his debut this afternoon (April 8), ahead of fellow rookie Tim Neave. Bradley Perie, Liam Delves and Jack Scott complete the grid at Silverstone.

The first BSB race of the year is due to take place at 16:30 on Saturday afternoon (April 8).