War of the Wolds: Bennetts BSB returns to Cadwell Park this weekend
The Bennetts British Superbike Championship returns to Cadwell Park this weekend (August 20/21/22). And, by the time the opening BikeSocial race gets underway on Saturday afternoon, it will have been 734 days since the last Bennetts BSB racing action at the Lincolnshire track.
As the title fight reaches the Wolds, it’s locally-based Australian Jason O’Halloran who leads the standings for the McAMS Yamaha team after claiming eight wins so far this season. He counts Cadwell Park as one of his favourite circuits on the calendar, but heads into this weekend bidding for an elusive first victory at the track.
In second place ahead of this weekend is his teammate Tarran Mackenzie, who has twice been a race winner in 2021 and who climbed the order after his performance last weekend at Donington Park.
The pair, along with the third Donington Park race winner Tommy Bridewell, are all in contention to win in the Milwaukee Summer Grand Slam this weekend. Three different race winners at Donington Park just days ago means that a £10,000 prize for winning four of the six races from the two events, is still up for grabs. If O’Halloran, Mackenzie or Bridewell can claim a triple win in Lincolnshire, they will net the prize.
The Bennetts BSB contenders will also all be fighting it out to be crowned the Milwaukee King of the Mountain. The highest overall points’ scorer across the three races will be awarded the trophy after the final race on Sunday.
Christian Iddon dropped to third in the standings after a difficult weekend at Donington Park and so the VisionTrack Ducati rider will be determined to add to his seven podium finishes already this season. Two crashes cost him in the points, but with three races and a maximum of 75-points available this weekend, he could regain the ground with a strong performance.
Danny Buchan currently holds fourth in the standings, but following a heavy crash last weekend, the SYNETIQ BMW rider will be sidelined due to suspected concussion, leaving Andrew Irwin to fly the flag for the team after his podium finish at Donington Park.
Bridewell became the fifth different race winner of 2021 and he holds fifth in the overall standings, ahead of local hero Peter Hickman. The FHO Racing BMW team make their racing debut at Cadwell Park this weekend, and based locally in Louth, will be hoping for a strong home round as they target their first Superbike race win.
Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin has been gathering podium momentum in recent rounds and as another local team have high hopes for the Cadwell Park races, whilst Bradley Ray completes the top eight currently.
There are now just nine races remaining before the Showdown as riders battle to be inside the top eight of the standings after Silverstone in order to be in the final three-round title fight.
One rider who is fully focused on moving up the order is reigning champion Josh Brookes on the second of the VisionTrack Ducatis. He scored a best result of fourth last time out, and at a circuit where he is hugely popular for his high-flying style over the Mountain, he will be aiming for his first podium finish of the season.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 277
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 223
Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 203
Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) 165
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 157
Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 130
Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) 121
Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) 112
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Jason O’Halloran – McAMS Yamaha
Championship leader
“I am really looking forward to Cadwell Park; I really missed not going there last year as it is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar.
“I love the place and the atmosphere of the weekend, especially with all the fans. I have so much local support there too, so I can’t wait to get into the event.
“We have won a lot of races and scored a lot of podiums so far this year and it would be awesome to do that again.
“To win at Cadwell Park would be a massive box ticked for something that I really want to achieve, so I am looking for a really strong weekend. It is on my bucket list to win there!”
