BSB Brands Hatch: Tommy Bridewell extends championship lead with Race Two victory

Tommy Bridewell has extended his Bennetts British Superbike Championship series lead after securing victory in Race Two at Brands Hatch.

The BeerMonster Ducati rider made his way through the field before snatching the lead away from Christian Iddon and pulling the pin. Bridewell was the only rider to dip into the 1:25s, posting a race-best of 1:25.979.

It’s Bridewell’s fifth victory of the 2023 season and his fourth in the last five races. Remarkably, it’s the first time that Bridewell has won at Brands Hatch.

The win means that Bridewell is now 32.5 points clear of teammate Glenn Irwin the championship, with the latter finishing Race Two in fourth spot. Irwin had to fight through from the fifth row of the grid.

Iddon and Danny Kent completed the podium after an entertaining race-long battle. It’s the second podium this weekend for both riders, who are enjoying their best race meeting of the season so far.

Race One race winner Ryan Vickers completed the top five onboard his LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha R1, crossing the line ahead of fellow Yamaha riders Jason O’Halloran and Kyle Ryde. A dip in performance in the last few races means that Ryde is now 59 points adrift of Bridewell in the championship.

Lee Jackson and Josh Brookes were eighth and ninth respectively, with Jack Kennedy completing the top 10 onboard the Mar-Train Yamaha R1.

Charlie Nesbitt came home in front of Peter Hickman in 11^th, with Storm Stacey, Max Cook, and Bradley Perie securing the final points available. Liam Delves was the final finisher in 16^th.

A collision involving Tito Rabat, Franco Bourne and Tom Neave at Druids on lap two saw all three riders retire from the race. The incident is under investigation by race control.

Luke Mossey retired with a mechanical issue on lap four, whilst Danny Buchan crashed out of the race at Druids. Jack Scott crashed on the same lap at Sheene Curve.

Dean Harrison had a huge crash at Paddock Hill Bend at the start of lap seven, with the DAO Racing Kawasaki man ending up in the air fence. The safety car was released as a result so the air fence could be put back into place.

Josh Owens went down moments after Harrison at Graham Hill Bend. Leon Haslam retired from the race on lap 13 when his gear link snapped.

The third and final BSB race of the weekend at Brands Hatch is due to begin at 16:35.

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Ryan Vickers came out on top in a shortened opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race at Brands Hatch to claim his first-ever victory in the series.

The wet race was red flagged after seven laps due to fluids leaking onto the circuit at Paddock Hill Bend, believed, according to TV coverage, to have come from Leon Haslam’s BMW – although this is yet to be confirmed.

At the time of the red flag, Vickers was leading the way ahead of Danny Kent, who seemed poised to attack the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rider for the lead. However, it wasn’t to be as the result was declared and half points were awarded.

Vickers’ maiden BSB race win comes in his 111th race, and it’s his third podium overall in the championship. Vickers moves up to ninth in the championship standings.

Kent had to settle for second but it’s his first podium since the launch of his Lovell Kent Racing team at the start of 2023. It’s the 2015 Moto3 World Champion’s first podium since Thruxton 2021, when Kent raced onboard the Buildbase Suzuki.

Completing a podium of firsts was Christian Iddon onboard the Oxford Products Racing Ducati. It’s Iddon’s first rostrum with the team, and his first in the championship since the season finale at Brands Hatch in 2021.

Jack Kennedy celebrated his best result of the season in fourth spot, coming home ahead of Jason O’Halloran and Haslam.

Championship leader Tommy Bridewell was seventh for BeerMonster Ducati, and with teammate Glenn Irwin down in 10^th, extends his advantage in the standings.

Storm Stacey and Peter Hickman were eighth and ninth respectively, with Max Cook finishing his first-ever BSB wet race in 11^th.

Charlie Nesbitt was 12^th, ending the race ahead of two-time BSB Champion Josh Brookes. Lee Jackson and Kyle Ryde secured the final points on offer.

Sunday’s races are scheduled to take place at 13:35 and 16:35.

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Championship leader Tommy Bridewell mastered the wet conditions at Brands Hatch to take pole position for the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend in Kent.

The planned one-lap Superpole shootout was cancelled due to the wet conditions, with a regular 12-minute session with 15 riders taking place instead.

Bridewell was the standout rider in the tricky conditions, posting a best lap-time of 1:37.523 to finish 0.643s clear of the field. It’s the BeerMonster Ducati rider’s second pole of the 2023 season.

Ryan Vickers continued his impressive run of form in second spot after exchanging pole with Bridewell multiple times during the session. Josh Brookes, who has 19 victories around the Grand Prix Circuit at Brands Hatch, completed the front row for FHO Racing BMW.

Jack Kennedy qualified fourth for Mar-Train Yamaha and will be joined on the second row by Leon Haslam and Danny Kent.

Glenn Irwin will start seventh on the second of the BeerMonster Ducati V4 Rs.  Irwin, who sits second in the championship, left it late to produce a competitive lap-time. Kyle Ryde and Jason O’Halloran complete row three.

Peter Hickman completed the top 10 for FHO Racing BMW, finishing ahead of Christian Iddon and Charlie Nesbitt. Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki duo Lee Jackson and Max Cook qualified 13^th and 14^th respectively, with Danny Buchan completing the top 15.

Dean Harrison missed out on a spot inside the second qualifying session by just 0.012s and will start race one from 16^th on the grid. He’s joined on the sixth row by Josh Owens and Luke Mossey.

Tom Neave heads row seven for Honda Racing UK ahead of Storm Stacey and Jack Scott, whilst Bradley Perie and Liam Delves line-up on the eighth row. Devles is racing for TAG Racing Honda this weekend following his split from Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki.

Tito Rabat’s Q1 session came to a premature end when he went down on the Cooper Straight after coming out of Paddock Hill Bend. Replays revealed that the former Grand Prix rider suffered a highside on the exit of the corner.

The McAMS Yamaha rider is making his Brands Hatch debut this weekend and will start race one from the back of the grid.as a result of his crash.