BSB Brands Hatch: Ryan Vickers claims pole position in dramatic qualifying session

Ryan Vickers claimed pole position in a dramatic qualifying session at Brands Hatch for the final round of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season.

Rain fell just before the start of Q1, but the shower didn’t last long before the sun came out. That said, whilst the start of the lap was largely dry, the back section, under the trees, was damp and greasy.

The session was red flagged with just over 10 minutes remaining due to a highside for Lee Jackson. The MasterMac Honda rider was the first to venture out on slick tyres and posted the fastest lap-time just before he crashed after clipping the white paint on the exit of Stirlings.

The red flags returned shortly after the restart when Glenn Irwin’s Hager PBM Ducati engine appeared to let go. Smoke and oil poured out the back, launching the Northern Irishman off the bike into Surtees.

Brother Andrew Irwin was behind him and went down as well, immediately jumping up and running over to lift the Ducati off of his brother. Both men were assessed at the scene, with Glenn limping away to the medical centre. Fortunately, Glenn was declared fit, but will have to start race one from 15^th on the grid.

Once back underway, it was Vickers who posted a best lap-time of 1:25.324 to claim his fourth pole of the season. Vickers won all three races in dominating fashion at Brands Hatch earlier in the year.

Jackson recovered to qualify second, whilst Josh Brookes completed the front row for FHO Racing BMW. Its Brookes’ third consecutive front row, whilst the superbike veteran will also celebrate his 400^th BSB start tomorrow.

Championship leader Kyle Ryde heads row two ahead of an impressive Max Cook. Tommy Bridewell qualified sixth onboard his Honda Racing UK Fireblade. Ryde and Bridewell are separated by four points heading into race one.

Peter Hickman was seventh on the second of the FHO Racing BMWs, ahead of Danny Kent and Leon Haslam. Charlie Nesbitt completed the top 10 despite crashing out of the session at Surtees with a few minutes remaining.

Danny Buchan qualified 11^th for DAO Racing Kawasaki, whilst Andrew Irwin managed to get back out after his crash to put his Honda 12^th on the grid. Storm Stacey and James Westmoreland completed the grid ahead of Glenn Irwin.

Brayden Elliot narrowly missed out on a spot in Q2 by just 0.002s, and will line-up alongside Rory Skinner and Billy McConnell on the sixth row.

Billy McConnell heads row seven ahead of Luke Hedger and Lewis Rollo, whilst the returning Xavi Fores and debutant Connor Rossi Thomson completing the grid.

Multiple riders are missing from the final round. Jason O’Halloran is out after undergoing shoulder surgery following his incident at Donington Park, whilst Christian Iddon is also missing with a broken foot after being involved in the same collision at O’Halloran earlier this month.

TAG Honda are also not competing this weekend. Fraser Rogers has opted to give his fractured femurs more time to heal, whilst teammate Jaime Van Sikkelerus is also injured. With Franco Bourne still recovering from his injury sustained at Thruxton, Rapid Honda have also taken the decision to miss the final round.

The opening race of the weekend at Brands Hatch is due to begin at 16:00.