More, from a press release issued by MSVR:
Skinner scores for Scotland with debut race win as Iddon makes it a ‘Super Seven’
Rory Skinner gave the Scottish home crowd something to celebrate by claiming his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win in race two at Knockhill, before Christian Iddon fought back with a victory in race three to become the seventh different race winner in 2024.
The weekend produced three different race winners from three different teams and manufacturers as the battle for the 204 title continues to intensify.
The wet conditions rolled in for Sunday’s raceday, but Skinner was unfazed and delivered his first win in the class for the Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad team, taking the chequered flag by 4.895s ahead of an intense battle for the top three with Iddon and race one winner Tommy Bridewell separated by just 0.014s at the chequered flag.
Skinner captured the lead from Bridewell at the Hairpin and then he continued to try to break his rivals but behind the reigning champion, Iddon and Kent were pushing for the podium.
Skinner had started to edge out and advantage but Kent was the fastest rider on circuit and he soon moved ahead of Bridewell as the pair became embroiled in the fight for third. The McAMS Racing Yamaha rider was then closing on Iddon, but he crashed at the Hairpin.
It gave Skinner the edge he needed over the final four laps, to take his first ever Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win, but behind Iddon had a shifting issue over the final laps which caused him to run wide at the Hairpin multiple times. Bridewell had closed on the run to the finish but the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider held him off by just 0.014s.
Storm Stacey scored his best result with the Team LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki in fourth place with Charlie Nesbitt and Fraser Rogers embroiled in a race-long battle, finishing in fifth and sixth respectively, taking their best results of the season so far.
In race three though, Iddon was ready to push for the first win of the season with Oxford Products Racing Ducati, and he was able to become the seventh different race winner in a red flagged final encounter.
Kent had initially grabbed the lead into turn one, but Skinner was on the attack and he moved ahead for the Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad team with a pass at turn three.
Iddon was holding third position on the opening lap but by lap two, he had moved into the lead with a decisive pass at the Hairpin on Skinner as Kent dropped to fifth.
Bridewell continued to show his pace as he was also moving up the order and he was into second place by lap four with his sight set on Iddon ahead of him.
The order at the front shuffled several times with Billy McConnell also in the mix for the C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda team, as the Australian climbed to third behind Iddon and Bridewell by lap six.
Iddon held the lead despite the pressure from the reigning champion and he would hold off the challenge until the race was red flagged when Leon Haslam had a heavy crash on lap 22. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team rider was left battered and bruised following the incident.
Skinner and Kent had been duelling for the final podium position; Kent took his opportunity at turn three on lap 20 and he was able to hold off the home hero to return to the podium for McAMS Racing Yamaha and make amends for his crash in today’s second race.
Skinner sealed a strong comeback weekend with a fourth place finish, his best weekend in his Bennetts BSB career, whilst McConnell scored the C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda team their best ever result in fifth place.
Hager PBM Ducati’s Glenn Irwin relinquished his lead in the standings to Bridewell ahead of the fifth round at Snetterton; he had fought his way through to eighth place in race two after starting from the back of the grid in 27th before ending the weekend with a ninth place.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, Race 2 result:
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad)
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +4.895
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +4.909
- Storm Stacey (LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki +14.577
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +15.436
- Fraser Rogers (Tag Honda) +16.883
- Billy McConnell (C&L Fairburn / Look Forward Racing) +17.883
- Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +22.655
- Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +23.931
- Max Cook (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) +28.925
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, Race 3 result:
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati)
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +0.635s
- Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +1.728s
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad) +1 lap
- Billy McConnell (C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda) +1 lap
- Fraser Rogers (TAG Honda) +1 lap
- Danny Buchan (DAO Racing Kawasaki) +1 lap
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +1 lap
- Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +1 lap
- Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +1 lap
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 141
- Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 130
- Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 125
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 118
- Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 110
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) 88
- Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) 81
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) 72
- Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 68
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad) 65
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Rory Skinner
(Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad)
“At the beginning I knew I needed to get to the front and we had been strong on the BMW in the wet and I thought I could control the pace and know what is fast around here in those conditions. I am very happy that I could get to the front and get a bit of a gap. I did make some mistakes at the start but I built the pace and got into a rhythm and not do anything silly.
“Over the last few laps I kept looking at my pit board and I kept thinking is this right, but I got into a flow state and I was really chilled out! I wasn’t too stressed which was nice as I usually put a lot of pressure on myself here.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I had been strong in all conditions this weekend and it is nice to finally get one in the bag and now we want to keep the momentum going.”
Christian Iddon
(Oxford Products Racing Ducati)
“I felt absolutely brilliant on the bike at the start of the race as I had so much confidence and feeling in the wet. I was surprised that I was so keen to get by Rory as I know he had a great pace too. I got through and 30 laps here is super long so I tried to get a gap tenth by tenth.
“I tried to maintain the pace and as the track started to dry it became more difficult and I had a few moments. I was really worried as I knew I was losing time from my best lap time on my dash, but I knew from my pit board I still had a bit of a gap.
“I was trying to manage it and then the red flags came out and it caught me of guard but big credit to the team as we had an incredibly hard start to the weekend and we have all worked hard to come away with a second and a first today.”
