Penultimate round of BSB sees championship shaken up

2021 Bennetts British Superbikes
Round Ten – Donington Park

Superbike Race Two

Tarran Mackenzie claimed his second victory of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown at Donington Park early on Sunday afternoon, carving his way through the field from his fifth row start to take the lead on the penultimate lap from Danny Buchan and Christian Iddon.

Saturday’s race winner Gino Rea had initially led the pack on the opening lap from his pole positon start, but soon young gun Storm Stacey made his move to take the lead as he took advantage of his front row start.

By lap four, Rea was back at the front and was then holding off Iddon, Buchan and Josh Brookes as the Title Fighters bid to try to close down the deficit to the McAMS Yamaha pairing who hold the leading positions in the standings.

Buchan was pushing to make amends for his crash yesterday and he made a move into second on Iddon at the Old Hairpin on lap six, before firing the SYNETIQ BMW to the front with a pass on Rea into the Fogarty Esses.

Buchan and Iddon were then duelling for the lead constantly with the VisionTrack Ducati rider getting back ahead by the start of the twelfth lap, before his BMW rival reclaimed the advantage with three laps remaining.

Whilst the leading pair fought for the victory, Mackenzie had been consistently making his way through the pack, moving into the top six by lap ten before being within striking distance of the leaders just five laps later.

The McAMS Yamaha rider dived ahead of Iddon with three laps remaining, and despite a huge moment at the Melbourne Hairpin, he was instantly able to regain composure and pass Buchan for the lead on the penultimate lap into the Fogarty Esses.

Mackenzie had the edge for the victory, just ahead of Buchan and Iddon with Rea delivering another strong performance to take fourth place for the Buildbase Suzuki team.

Lee Jackson was back inside the top five for the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki team, ahead of Kyle Ryde who had been mixing it with the lead group in the earlier stages of the race.

Tommy Bridewell was the next of the Title Fighters in seventh with Andrew Irwin completing the top eight for SYNETIQ BMW.

O’Halloran was tenth ahead of Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes, whilst Peter Hickman, the final Title Fighter was forced to retire after a technical problem.

The win gave Mackenzie an 18-point advantage over McAMS Yamaha team-mate Jason O’Halloran at the top of the standings, after the pair had started the race on equal points.

BSB Superbike Race Two Results

BSB Superbike Race Three

In the final race of the weekend, Gino Rea added to his debut Bennetts BSB race win from Saturday by again mastering the wet conditions to hold off Iddon and Jackson on his way to victory.

The race start was delayed initially with a heavy shower imminent and when the action got underway, it was then held in wet conditions over a reduced 15-lap battle.

Championship leader Mackenzie got the best start off the line to lead, but Rea was soon attacking and he moved ahead on the Buildbase Suzuki.

Iddon and Jackson were holding onto second and third as the leading trio had an advantage over the rest of the pack, but it was disappointment for Mackenzie as he was forced out of the action when a broken battery connector brought his R1 to a halt.

As Rea claimed the double victory, it was a significant moment in the title chase for Iddon as the VisionTrack Ducati rider more than halved the advantage to his McAMS Yamaha rivals after the three races at Donington Park. The VisionTrack Ducati rider now heads to the final round with just a 15-point deficit to Mackenzie at the top.

Jackson became the 15th different podium finisher of the 2021 season with his top three finish for the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki team, as the leading trio had a clear advantage over Tommy Bridewell in fourth place for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team.

Josh Brookes was the first of the Title Fighters to suffer a disappointing end to the race, crashing out unhurt at Craner Curves, ending his hopes of a late championship comeback. Glenn Irwin had to start from pitlane after a problem on the warm up lap and despite salvaging tenth, the Honda Racing rider is now also out of title contention, leaving six riders mathematically in the mix for the finale at Brands Hatch.

It was another tough day for Jason O’Halloran who was unable to capitalise on his McAMS Yamaha team-mate’s misfortune in the final race, as he claimed an eighth place finish, meaning he heads into the season finale at Brands Hatch on the weekend of October 17, now 10-points adrift of Mackenzie.

Christian Iddon and Tommy Bridewell remain in the championship hunt should both of the McAMS Yamaha riders fail to fire at the finale. Defending champion Josh Brookes no longer has a mathematical chance of defending his #1 plate.

Tarran Mackenzie

“I think there are a lot of positives to take out of this weekend as we come away from Donington with a bigger points lead than we had coming here, so I’m really happy with that. We showed our speed in the first race coming through from 13th to win. In the dry we have a great setting, in the wet in the final race I also felt really comfortable and had a good feeling but unfortunately a little technical problem, which was no-one’s fault, ruled us out. We go to Brands Hatch with a bit of a buffer, it’s not a lot, but it’s a bit and I look forward to getting stuck in there.”

Christian Iddon

“It’s been a good day and with second and third place finishes today, it’s been fantastic for the championship. I went with the hard tyre for the first race as I wasn’t sure if the softer tyre would last but the wind was really strong, and it was a tough race. Conditions were again tricky in the final race, and it was very similar to how it went on Saturday with Gino setting a good pace. I sat behind him and we were quite a bit quicker than the rest of the field. A win was on my mind, but he was really committed in the final two laps so fair play to him. With three podiums this weekend, it’s been superb for our title aspirations and we’re well and truly in the mix heading into the final round.”

Josh Brookes

“I’m lost for words to be honest with how today has gone and we’re still struggling with the issues that have blighted us all year. If I ride at the level that’s comfortable, I finish outside the top ten and if I ride with where I think the bike should be, I crash. On the odd occasion this season, I’ve been able to get away with it and get some sort of acceptable results and the small improvements have masked over the fundamental problems. It’s been a tough day.”

BSB Superbike Race Three Results

Bennetts British Superbike Championship Standings

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