Redding doubles up at Donington | Sunday BSB Report

2019 British Superbikes

Round 11 Donington Park – Sunday Report

The Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown continued with Scott Redding dominating the proceedings, claiming wins across both Superbike races at Donington ahead of Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell, and taking a 28-point lead into the Brands Hatch finale ahead of Aussie Brookes.

After three previous podiums finishes, Chrissy Rouse and the Morello Racing Kawasaki finally got to stand on the top step of the podium in the Pirelli Superstock 1000 class when they claimed a brilliant win, from Richard Cooper and Jordan Weaving. Aussie Levi Day finished in seventh, with Brayden Elliott 19th.

Jack Kennedy also doubled up on the Supersport wins, fighting off Brad Jones for the win, with Rory Skinner completing the podium. In the Superstock 600 class Ben Luxton claimed top honours, from Storm Stacey and Eunan McGlinchey.

British Superbikes Race 1

At the start of the opening race Brookes had launched off the line to lead the pack into Redgate for the first time ahead of Redding and Christian Iddon, with Bradley Ray and Tommy Bridewell in close contention.

Brookes was heading the pack for Be Wiser Ducati until the third lap when Iddon went for a decisive move with the pair touching at Starkeys Bridge. The move unsettled Brookes and dropped him back to fourth and into the clutches of Peter Hickman.

Redding then had the advantage from Bridewell and Iddon, and started edging out a gap to try and break the pack. The championship leader had been able to set a consistent pace to break Bridewell, but at mid-race distance the rain flags were shown and the Oxford Racing Ducati rider pushed to bridge the gap.

Redding though was able to keep his cool to give him the edge at the chequered flag, but behind him the battle for third had turned into a three-way fight between Iddon, Brookes and Hickman.

Iddon was holding the position for Tyco BMW, but as he exited Goddards he lost a footpeg and then had to try to deliver a damage limitation performance which saw him end the race in sixth place as Brookes took advantage of the situation.

Brookes held off Hickman for third with Andrew Irwin fighting his way through from 14th on the grid to claim fifth place for Honda Racing, pushing Iddon back with two laps to go as he continued to try and fight on.

Xavi Forés was seventh ahead of Ryan Vickers, who scored another top 10 finish for RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki following a fierce battle with Luke Mossey and Danny Buchan who grabbed tenth place ahead of Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie.

Fellow Australians Billy McConnell and Ben Currie came home in 18th and 19th respectively in Race 1.

British Superbikes Race 2

In race two Brookes was determined to come out and try to take the fight to his teammate. At the start of the race, the Australian got a flying start off the line to lead into Redgate for the first time ahead of Iddon and Redding, with the second placed Tyco BMW rider trying to dive for the lead at Craner Curves before the 2015 champion instantly cut back into the lead.

As Redding moved into second a lap later to force ahead of Iddon, further down the field Billy McConnell crashed out unhurt at the Esses, leaving gravel across the circuit. The BMW Safety Car deployed and as the pack lined up Brookes had the advantage from Redding, Bridewell, Peter Hickman, Iddon and Buchan as the Showdown Title Fighters were locked together.

On the restart though Redding had initially dropped back from Brookes to try and force more heat into the tyres and it worked; Brookes ran wide into Redgate and Redding had the opportunity he needed to make a pass for the lead.

Redding then pushed to bridge a gap but the advantage kept changing, later the championship leader admitted he was suffering with a gearing issue that was causing him to be less consistent with his lap times. Brookes had been reeling him in over the closing stages but it wasn’t enough to make a move on his teammate and he was forced to settle for second place ahead of Bridewell.

Buchan had maintained his fourth place after a tough opening race at Donington Park to fire the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki ahead of Iddon on the Tyco BMW and Bradley Ray, who overcame the disappointment of a technical retirement in race one to hold off a hard-charging Irwin for sixth place.

Irwin had been also battling with his Honda Racing teammate Forés, who had to settle for eighth place with the McAMS Yamaha pairing of Tarran Mackenzie and O’Halloran completing the top 10.

It was a disastrous race for Hickman who had been battling for the fourth place when he lost the chain for the Smiths Racing BMW, ending his race prematurely.

Race 2 saw Aussie Ben Currie improve on his Race 1 efforts into 18th, while Billy McConnell recorded a DNF.

Scott Redding – 1-1

“I felt comfortable in race one, so I was able to manage everything quite well. I felt settled leading the race but when a few spots of rain began to fall, I eased off a bit as I didn’t want to get caught Scott Reddingout. When it became clear the rain had stopped, I was able to set the fastest lap of the race and pull away again, so it worked out well in the end. The second race was tricky too as I had a problem with the gear-shifter which meant the bike was pushing me wide into the corners. Josh upped his pace too, which I knew he would, and the gap came down, so I was pleased to bring the bike home and get the double.”

Josh Brookes – 3-2

“I made the ideal start to race one, but I knew immediately that something was wrong as I couldn’t find an apex and it was a bit confusing as to why the bike wasn’t working like it had done in qualifying. I lost a couple of places, but I managed to regroup and keep a good pace to come through to take a solid third. I improved to second in race two which I should be pleased with as many riders would Brookes & Reddinggive anything to be in that position but I’m smiling through gritted teeth as I don’t feel like I’m riding as well as I can. I don’t feel like I’m getting the best out of myself so I’m disappointed with the results but there are still 75 points available, so we’ll see what happens at the final round.”

Tommy Bridewell – 2-3

“Another positive weekend for myself and the Oxford Racing Ducati, Moto Rapido Racing team, with the ever changing weather we just struggled to find the sweet spot, but as always the team worked flawlessly and we’ll take the positives into the final round at Brands Hatch in a few weeks time. Thanks for all the support people show me trackside and on the socials, we’ll keep fighting, it’s not over yet.”

Tarran Mackenzie – 12-9

“As we didn’t get a dry warm-up, we couldn’t try something different so we went into race one a little blind. The bike didn’t feel the best and I struggled a lot on the front. We made a change for race two which definitely helped the bike, I had a lot stronger pace and was a lot closer to the guys in front which was good. I’m feeling better in myself and on the bike and gaining a lot more confidence. Brands was good for us earlier in the year until the crash so hopefully we can end the year on a high.”

Jason O’Halloran – 11-10

“That was one of the more difficult weekends. We struggled all weekend. Friday was wet, Saturday was dry and both races today were dry. We generally struggled to find a feeling. I struggled for grip in the first race and in one of the biggest surprises, I really struggled on new tyres. I got stronger towards the end once the tyre went away and did my fastest lap on the last lap of the race which is a bit backwards. Race two was better but I struggled with wheelie on the stop start corners, I’m having to use the rear brake so much we’re just getting beat on the straights. We need to see what we can do to improve it to see if we can finish the year off good.”

Peter Hickman – 4-DNF

“Results-wise, it’s been a bit of a mixed day but, overall, our pace has been strong throughout. We’ve made more improvements to the bike which has helped us get closer to the front group. In the first race, I made a slight mistake early on when the bike went into neutral at the Melbourne Loop, but I regained the lost places pretty quickly although I didn’t quite have the pace to get onto the podium. Race two was going equally as well and although I had a few slides after the safety car had gone in, the lap times were good, and I felt strong in fifth. I was hanging on a bit to the front group but then the chain snapped which was unusual to say the least but it’s just one of those things and nothing the team could have done so we’ll look to end the season strongly with three strong rides at Brands Hatch.”

Bradley Ray – DNF-6

“We wanted to prove Oulton wasn’t a fluke this weekend. Obviously we know we were quick at Cadwell but the results didn’t come, then we were on the podium at Oulton but struggled at Assen a little bit, going in the wrong direction over the weekend with the bike. Here we were strong again and I think we could have taken the fight to the front guys a bit more but we had the issue in race one and that meant not only did we miss that chance in that race it also ruined race two for us, having to come from so far back. It’s a shame, but I think the performance in race two was good, to come through from that far down. Hopefully we can get the luck at Brands and finish strongly.”

Bennetts British Superbikes Results/Standings

Dickies British Supersport / British GP2

Jack Kennedy cemented his dominance in the 2019 Dickies British Supersport Championship by doubling up on wins at Donington Park. As he did at Saturday’s race, Brad Jones grabbed the holeshot with Kennedy in close contention and James Westmoreland third.

As the two Integro Yamaha riders pulled away from the chasing pack, Jones fended off a number of challenges from Kennedy until lap 15 when the 2019 Champ sliced his way through and set the fastest lap of the race to take his 18th victory of the season.

Behind the leading duo, it was an intense battle between James Westmoreland, Rory Skinner and Tom Oliver as the trio swapped places over the closing laps disaster struck Oliver when he crashed out whilst challenging for third.

Coming down to the final lap, Westmoreland was unable to fend off Skinner who claimed his first podium of the year.

Jack Kennedy

“Great race today and good battle with my teammate, delighted to take another win, 18th so far. Excited for the last round at Brands.”

Dickies British Supersport / British GP2 Results/Standings

2019 Pirelli National Superstock 1000

Mackenzie stormed off the line to take over front running ahead of Rouse and Richard Cooper. A crash from Michael Rutter on lap three saw the Safety Car deployed, with the race resuming just three laps later.

Mackenzie was again back in commanding form at the front until a mistake on lap six saw him crash out of contention, giving Rouse the lead.

Cruising away from the rest of the pack, he took the flag by 3.5s with Cooper fending off a last lap charge from Jordan Weaving.

Rouse also had a new team-mate for the weekend in the form of former Morello Racing rider Fraser Rogers and he acquitted himself in both practice and qualifying, lining up on the fifth row of the grid for Sunday’s race.

However, that was just the precursor to what would prove to be an excellent race as he moved through the pack, especially in the early stages. After moving up to 13th on the first lap, two more places had been gained by lap three and with the next three laps seeing a flurry of activity he’d climbed up to sixth by half race distance. He remained in the position until the end to make it an excellent day for the team.

Chrissy Rouse – P1

“We made a late decision to switch to dry tyres and it was that late that we didn’t have time to alter the settings of the bike so I went into the race with dry tyres but with a wet setting! The race couldn’t have gone any better though and although the first few laps were a bit sketchy with the damp, as the race wore on, there was a good dry line which I used to my advantage. In the second half of the race, I got my head down and am simply over the moon to have taken the win, not only for myself but for the whole team as we’ve all been working really hard and taking the victory means so much to all of us.”

Richard Cooper – P2

“P2 isn’t a bad result by any means, but I’m coming away a little disappointed. I don’t feel like I performed at my usual standard and it just didn’t click and come together this weekend. The positives though are that even when we’re not at our strongest we’re still on the podium. Hopefully we’ll go better at the last round and can sign off with a win.”

Fraser Rogers – P6

“I haven’t had much time on the bike prior to this weekend but it felt really good all weekend and I was happy with my pace, particularly in the race where I was able to make some good progress. It took me a bit of time to get used to the Superstock bike after my time in the Superbike and Supersport classes but I got quicker all weekend and had it not been for a few backmarkers not adhering to the blue flags, I think I could have been in the battle for third. Sixth is a good starting point though so I’ll look forward now to Brands Hatch.”

Levi Day – P7

“P7 in today’s race at Donington Park! Started from P13 and the conditions were very sketchy! There was a day line around most of the circuit, but only on the racing line, anything away from that was still damp or wet (as can be seen in the photos) making passing very difficult. But managed to get some done and bring home a solid result! Really happy to take 7th in these conditions, after where we started from. Big thank you to all the team at IN Competition Aprilia for working so hard for me all the time! AJN Steelstock, my major sponsor, for making this season possible, and believing in me. And to all the team and my personal sponsors.”

2019 Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Results/Standings

2019 Pirelli National Superstock 600

Ben Luxton has powered to victory in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 race at Donington Park, taking the win by 2.803s.

Luxton led from the start, controlling the race from the front but behind him it was an action packed race as Shane Richardson, Korie McGreevy, Eunan McGlinchey and Storm Stacey battled for the final podium places.

Disaster struck McGreevy as he crashed out on lap four seeing the safety car deployed. As the race resumed, Luxtom again pulled away but storming through the pack from his 26th place on the grid, Stacey took second on the final lap ahead of McGlinchey.

2019 Pirelli National Superstock 600 Results/Standings