Editorial Note: This race weekend runs Saturday through Monday.
‘Mountain’ the title challenge: Cadwell Park next in Bennetts BSB title fight
The fight for the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship title heads to Cadwell Park this August Bank Holiday weekend (August 26/27/28) for the final round of the Main Season, following an intense encounter at Thruxton.
The Bennetts BSB rookies came to the fore at Thruxton with Charlie Nesbitt claiming his first podium finish and MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing’s first of the season, whilst Team Green also got their podium tally underway as Lee Jackson became the eleventh different top three finisher of 2023 for Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki.
Jason O’Halloran fired the McAMS Yamaha back into title contention with an imperious triple win at the Hampshire circuit, elevating him into third in the overall standings before the points’ value increases over the final three rounds.
Tommy Bridewell still holds the lead at the top of the standings for BeerMonster Ducati, with a reduced margin of 26.5 separating him and his teammate Glenn Irwin, with O’Halloran now closing down their advantage.
Kyle Ryde still heads the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha riders in fourth place in the standings; he is pushing for a podium return as he fights to remain ahead of 2018 champion Leon Haslam on the ROKiT BMW Motorrad in fifth place.
Jackson meanwhile opened his podium scoring account at Thruxton, but he has to hold off the challenges from Josh Brookes and the local FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team ahead of this weekend.
Ryan Vickers has been a consistent podium contender and he still holds a margin over Brands Hatch podium finishers Christian Iddon and Danny Kent in the standings, but Jack Kennedy, Danny Buchan and Peter Hickman are looking for their first top three finishes of the season in Lincolnshire, whilst Max Cook just missed out on a debut podium at Thruxton by 0.013s.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 263
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 236.5
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 212.5
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 208
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 201
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 185.5
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 178
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 175
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 159
- Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) 115
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Tommy Bridewell
BeerMonster Ducati
“Thruxton was a difficult weekend but also really positive for me. I expected to have lost more points to Glenn than I did. My riding style and the way I have always ridden at Thruxton has never been the best combination and Glenn has always seemed to be quite strong at Thruxton so for me to be able to match him there was a big positive. I did expect to lose more points to him at Thruxton.
“For Cadwell Park we are going back to a circuit that suits my style, a circuit that I know the bike works well at and I have had previously had some really strong results on the Ducati there and I feel like we have obviously made a massive step this year. Hopefully we can make a step forward again to previous years, and I am really looking forward to it.
“We have some electronics things to test and then really we want to get back to the way the season has been and fighting back for the wins and podiums, to build back up the points lead.”
