The wait is over. Knockhill is next and ten points cover the top five in Bennetts BSB title fight
The Bennetts British Superbike Championship returns this weekend (June 16/17/18) and just a narrow ten points separate the top five in the title fight after the opening three rounds as the series reaches Knockhill in Scotland.
Seven different riders have celebrated podium success from the opening nine races, with five of those securing race wins, but ahead of this weekend, it is Tommy Bridewell leading the standings for BeerMonster Ducati.
Bridewell surged to the top of the points after the previous round at Donington Park, moving three points ahead of his teammate Glenn Irwin, with the pair both already race winners in 2023 Bennetts BSB.
Double champion Josh Brookes heads to Scotland holding third in the title race; the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad rider is a double winner this season and just two points adrift of Irwin, but also knows that he only holds a slender four-point edge over another previous champion, Leon Haslam and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad team in fourth place.
Reigning champions LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha currently hold fifth place in the standings with Kyle Ryde who bounced back from a crash at his home round of Donington Park to move to within ten points of Bridewell at the top.
Meanwhile both Yamaha and Kawasaki are targeting a fightback at Knockhill; McAMS Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran and Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki’s Lee Jackson are equal on points in sixth overall with the pair keen to repeat their previous success at the Scottish circuit. O’Halloran became the fifth different race winner of the season last time out, whilst Jackson aims for his first top three finish of 2023.
Reigning Quattro Group British Supersport champion Jack Kennedy and Mar-Train Racing Yamaha currently lie equal on points in eighth with the second LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha of Ryan Vickers, who claimed his first podium finish in Bennetts BSB last time out. However just a single point puts them ahead of Oxford Products Racing Ducati’s Christian Iddon, who in turn holds a one point advantage over the second FHO Racing BMW Motorrad contender, Peter Hickman.
There will however be several riders hoping that the fast and frantic dynamic of Knockhill can play to their advantage this weekend, including Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda), Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing), Storm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki), Tom Neave (Honda Racing UK) and Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW).
Meanwhile championship rookies Max Cook (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki), Bradley Perie (Lee Hardy Racing Kawasaki) and Jack Scott (Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki) will be eager to impress.
This weekend’s fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship will be live on Eurosport 2 with Sunday’s raceday also broadcast live on free-to-air channel Quest.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 119
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 116
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) 114
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 110
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 109
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 70
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 70
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 50
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 50
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 49
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Tommy Bridewell
BeerMonster Ducati
“I think for me, Knockhill is crucial to really maximise the potential for one lap in qualifying to put ourselves ideally on the front row and worst case, on the second row, then take the race from there.
“I feel that we have good potential there and a good opportunity to do a good weekend, so we just need to let it play out and go from there. The goal is always to extend the championship lead and that is definitely something that I will be looking to do.
“The test that we had at Knockhill was positive and we were bang on the pace. The main thing for us was to get as many laps under our belt so that our side of the team could analyse the data over the break to come back stronger this weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by BeerMonster Ducati:
Bennetts BSB Leaders BeerMonster Ducati Head For Knockhill
The picturesque circuit of Knockhill in Fife is the destination for round four of the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship with Lake District-based BeerMonster Ducati hoping to continue their recent good form.
Arriving at the Scottish track which overlooks the Firth of Forth, Paul Bird’s riders Tommy Bridewell and Glenn Irwin occupy first and second place in the standings aboard their factory supported BeerMonster Ducati F23s.
After a four-week break, Wiltshire-based Bridewell heads the title chase by just three points ahead of Irwin, from County Antrim, with Tommy winning a race at Oulton Park and following it up with five additional podiums. Glenn, meanwhile, has won two races so far at Silverstone and Oulton Park, and has four podium finishes to his name out of the nine races held so far.
But neither rider can rest on their laurels as the chasing pack is ready to pounce, with just ten points separating the top five riders ahead of the three races this weekend around the tight and twisty 1.27-mile circuit.
Neither Bridewell nor Irwin has won a Bennetts BSB race at Knockhill although the PBM team have had plenty of success over the years at what is effectively one of their local tracks, being located just over the border in Cumbria.
Tommy Bridewell: “It’s been good to have a little bit of a break since the last round and I’ve enjoyed a holiday and recharged my batteries. That said, we had a great one-day test at Knockhill during the break which gave us some good data to work with. That has given the team some time to work on settings ahead of the weekend. Because of the nature of the circuit, qualifying is crucial as it’s difficult to make passes in the races, so a good set-up is vital from the start. Arriving as championship leader, the idea is to consolidate that position, but I know it’s not going to be easy.”
Glenn Irwin: “It will be great to visit Scotland as it’s as near as I get to a home round, and I always have lots of support which I enjoy. We had a good test at Knockhill a couple of weeks ago and worked through what we needed to and made some good improvements. So, we arrive a little further ahead than we would be with a new bike so we’ll see what that brings. But we know the weekend will present us with some challenges, so both me and the team need to be 100% and we should be fine. Hopefully, the weather holds, and we can enjoy another successful meeting.”
For further information on BeerMonster please visit https://beermonster.com and the new PBM website, www.pbmuk.net. For all details on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, please visit www.britishsuperbike.com.
More, from a press release issued y Honda Racing UK:
It’s back to British Superbikes for round 4 at Knockhill
Fresh from the fantastic Isle of Man TT races, the Honda Racing team now get back to business in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill Racing Circuit for round four.
After putting in a fighting ride at Donington Park GP in the previous round and breaking into the top ten to secure his best-ever finish in the championship series to date, Tom Neave will be hoping to continue his breakthrough form to maintain his charge up the championship standings. He heads to the 1.27-mile Scottish circuit with a previous-best finish aboard a Fireblade of fourth in the Pirelli National Superstock series during his championship-winning year in 2021.
Tom will be the sole entrant for the Honda Racing team at this upcoming round as teammate Andrew Irwin continues to recover from the injuries sustained as a result of his crash during private testing at the same circuit on 30th May.
Honda will be hoping to continue its dominant form in the Pirelli National Superstock series. In the hands of various riders and teams, the current model Fireblade has now occupied every podium position, bar a single third-place finish, in all of the races this year. Cementing the potential of this current model.
Free practice fires into life at 13.00 on Friday 16th ahead of the initial BikeSocial Sprint race on Saturday. To see a full weekend timetable click here.
#68 Tom Neave
After completing my first proper UK test this year at Knockhill recently, I can go into the round feeling like I can pick up from where we left it in that test and kick on straight away in FP1. This will stand me in good stead for the weekend, and hopefully give me a bit of a head start on those who missed the test.
I really like Knockhill, it is a proper rider’s track, you’ve got to get your elbows out and I’ve gone really well there in previous years in some of the other classes. In my championship year for Honda, I managed to get a fourth and a fifth there too after coming back from a knee injury.
I’m hoping to continue the momentum that I’ve built over the previous rounds into this one and get some more top-tens. My confidence is growing and we are taking steps, they might be baby steps but it’s coming.
It’s a shame that Andrew isn’t going to be here with us, I hope his recovery is going well and I wish him all the best. I hope that he gets back to it soon.
