It’s getting to make or break for Brookes to make it in to the Showdown eight

2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Round 7 – Snetterton

The Bennetts British Superbike Championship makes its annual visit to Norfolk’s Snetterton circuit, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this season, this weekend (3/4/5 September).

The circuit’s two-wheeled heritage will be commemorated at the event, as the country’s leading riders battle for Snetterton’s most prestigious two-wheeled title, the ‘Pirelli Race of Aces’. The overall prize will be awarded to the highest combined points scorer across the three races.

The stakes will be high at the East Anglian circuit, as the battle to be crowned 2021 Bennetts BSB champion at the Brands Hatch season finale in October intensifies. Just six races now remain to decide which eight riders will battle for the crown in the end of season Showdown.

Championship leader Jason O’Halloran has played his cards right so far this season to become the first and only competitor so far to confirm his Title Fighter status. The McAMS Yamaha rider claimed his ninth win of the season last time out at Cadwell Park, which cemented his position. The Australian is now continuing his focus on scoring vital Podium Points at the circuit where he claimed his first Bennetts BSB race win.

Jason O’Halloran – McAMS Yamaha

“Cadwell Park was another really strong weekend for us. We had found a good direction, but Hicky had been doing an amazing job and he was super strong, so I pushed him as much as I could in the first two races. To win in the last one was the icing on the cake. I wanted to win there for many years so I was chuffed to bits. We confirmed our place in the Showdown and strengthened our position with the Podium Points, as they are what we need to build up before the final championship fight. I can’t wait to get back to Snetterton although it is a bit of a difficult one for me. On the Honda, I was really strong and I had my first win there, and had a lot of podium finishes. Since I have got on the Yamaha it has been a track that perhaps hasn’t been as strong as some other tracks for us. I am not sure why, but the last couple of years it hasn’t quite gone our way when we have been at Snetterton, but I am really confident ahead of this weekend. It’s a track that I love and I feel that the improvements that we have made will make the Yamaha stronger this year. I think we should be in a position to challenge for top positions. We have two rounds left now before the Showdown and we just need to keep scoring as many Podium Points as possible.”

Christian Iddon and Tarran Mackenzie are joint second in the standings following a challenging weekend in Lincolnshire. The pair have both been race winners so far this season, and will be eager to return to the top this weekend to close the deficit to O’Halloran.

Iddon has fond memories of Snetterton; it was the track where he celebrated his first Bennetts BSB race win last season so he will be determined to strike again this weekend. Mackenzie meanwhile, is determined to make amends after sitting out the Sunday races at Cadwell Park with a finger injury.

Christian Iddon

“It will be good to go back to Snetterton which has great memories for me as that’s where I won my maiden BSB race last season. We tested there earlier this year and although the weather disrupted the time we had on track, unlike places like Thruxton and Cadwell, I’m going there with a good base setting and have ridden the VisionTrack Ducati there before. The plan is to secure my place in the Showdown and get as many Podium Points as possible and hope to put an end to this run of bad luck I’ve been having.”

Tommy Bridewell had a consistent weekend at Cadwell Park with a trio of top three finishes, with race two marking his 50th in the championship. The Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider is aiming to repeat the hat trick of podium finishes he delivered at Snetterton last year, with just a narrow five-point margin currently separating him from Peter Hickman.

Hickman had a weekend to remember at his home round, becoming the sixth different race winner of 2021 and securing FHO Racing BMW their first victory in the Superbike class in the team’s debut season. He will be hunting another podium haul this weekend in his bid to give the team its first Showdown appearance.

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Danny Buchan was forced to miss the Cadwell Park races after his high-speed crash at Donington Park, which dropped the SYNETIQ BMW rider to sixth in the overall standings, but he returns ready to stack up the points again this weekend.

Glenn Irwin trails him in the standings by just 11 points ahead of the next three races, and the Honda Racing rider is bidding to replicate the form that took him to a victory and the ‘Race of Aces’ title last season.

Glenn Irwin

“What we achieved at Donington Park and Cadwell, this weekend at Snetterton is only going to be better again, I think. We’re a few weeks down the line with the shoulder and I don’t think it’s going to be an issue this weekend. We’re making progress everywhere; I’ve had a good few weeks training and the boys have been hard at it in the workshop with the Fireblade. The Showdown is coming closer and we’re in a good position, I’m aware of the gap behind me, but I am conscious of Danny [Buchan] ahead by 11 points, so we need to strengthen that position while scoring some podium credits.”

Lee Jackson meanwhile is the rider in a precarious position as the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki contender holds the final place inside the top eight of the standings and only by a narrow two-point margin from Bradley Ray with local contender Ryan Vickers also hoping to shuffle the Showdown pack.

A resurgent weekend could also yet see Knockhill podium finisher Rory Skinner, or reigning champion Josh Brookes, still make the cut in six races’ time at Silverstone if they finish the main season with a strong display. While defending champion Brookes has been coy and reticent to complain too much about his predicament this season, paddock gossip suggets that a big increase in engine performance for 2021 that has not been matched with improvements in the electronics or throttle connection is what has been holding the 38-year-old back.

Josh Brookes

“The results at Cadwell were an improvement although we didn’t make big strides forward but I’m hoping the momentum will continue at Snetterton. We are making progress and the plan is to continue in that direction, but Snetterton is a very technical track which always proves a challenge and I’m not expecting it to be easy. But I remain positive and hope to continue this mini resurgence with results and getting on with putting up a decent fight towards the front.”

Bennetts British Superbike  Championship Standings

Quattro Group British Supersport Championship Standings

Quattro Group British GP2 Championship Standings

Pirelli National Superstock Championship Standings

Pirelli National Junior Superstock Championship  Standings

HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Championship Standings

Honda British Talent Cup Championship Standings

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Championship Standings