More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Bridewell celebrates debut Honda win as Andrew Irwin and Skinner claim first podiums of 2024
Tommy Bridewell delivered a Knockhill masterclass in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend to become the fifth different race winner of the season. The reigning champion celebrated his first victory with Honda Racing UK whilst Rory Skinner and Andrew Irwin completed the podium to make it ten different riders who have now scored top three finishes in 2024.
Bridewell launched the Honda Fireblade from the Omologato Pole Position to instantly take the lead on the opening lap ahead of Jason O’Halloran and brothers Andrew and Glenn Irwin. The defending champion though set a run of fast laps, which was enough to break the chasing pack as the track continued to dry after earlier heavy rainfall.
The battle for second though was intense as O’Halloran was holding off the pressure from the Irwin brothers, Christian Iddon who had got involved in the fight and Skinner as he bid for home round success.
Andrew Irwin was able to take advantage of his brother going wide at the hairpin and that was enough for him to forge ahead. Skinner was also moving up the order in his comeback race and by lap ten, the Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad rider was up to fifth.
Andrew Irwin had his first podium finish of the season in his sights and he fired himself into second by lap 13 ahead of O’Halloran who would eventually claim a fifth place finish for Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki.
The scrap for second then was between the Irwin brothers and Skinner and the trio were not giving each other an inch. However, it was heartbreak for Glenn Irwin as he was denied the chance to take the fight for the podium to the finish when the Hager PBM Ducati started smoking; he was shown the black and orange flag and later retired from the race.
Irwin had continued to circulate though before returning to pitlane and he was sanctioned for his conduct. He was penalised with four penalty points, taking his accumulative penalty points total to six, which means Irwin will start race two tomorrow from the back of the grid.
Skinner had perfected the move down the inside into the Hairpin and he pulled the same move on Andrew Irwin on lap 16 and he was then able to hold off his Honda Racing UK rival to claim second place in front of his home crowd.
Kyle Ryde bounced back from his big crash in Qualifying to claim a hard-earned fourth place for the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing team as his teammate Ryan Vickers and Christian Iddon both crashed out together on lap 17.
Josh Brookes scored his best result of the season so far in sixth place on the lone FHO Racing BMW Motorrad as Peter Hickman retired with a technical problem, whilst Danny Kent finished in seventh for McAMS Racing Yamaha to finish ahead of the MasterMac Honda pairing of Lee Jackson and Charlie Nesbitt.
Leon Haslam completed the top ten as the ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad rider salvaged points after his heavy crash yesterday in Free Practice.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, Race 1 result:
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK)
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad) +2.572
- Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +4.290
- Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) +5.078
- Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) +7.141
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) +10.955
- Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +11.364
- Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +11.852
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +13.410
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad) +13.971
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 115
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 111
- Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 111
- Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 107
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad) 88
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 84
- Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) 81
- Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 68
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) 53
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) 53
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Tommy Bridewell
(Honda Racing UK)
“All hail the King! To be honest the race for me was won in qualifying, within reason, as qualifying here is so crucial.
“I was able to ride pretty much how I was riding in the dry, but I knew how crucial it was to get the start into turn one. I didn’t make a great start, to be honest I was half asleep at the start! Luckily I could get the lead into turn one but I could hear a bike right on my right side.
“I knew I could go hard in the start and I got the lead I needed, but credit to Honda, credit to Andrew as well, its great for him and great for the team for us to both be on the podium.”
