Tarran Mackenzie takes Sunday spoils at Brands

2022 British Superbike Championship
Round Five – Brands Hatch – Sunday

British Superbike Race Two

Tarran Mackenzie got his Bennetts British Superbike Championship title defence firmly back on track with victory in the second race of the weekend at Brands Hatch, becoming the sixth different race winner of the 2022 season.

Mackenzie got a rapid start off the line to lead the pack from the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha’s Bradley Ray and Kyle Ryde with Jason O’Halloran in close contention. Yesterday’s victor O’Halloran then moved into third on the second lap as he bid to maintain his winning momentum.

At the beginning of lap three Ray had moved into the lead, diving down the inside at Paddock Hill Bend, but Mackenzie repeated the pass a few laps later to regain the position at the front.

Mackenzie then made a break to deliver an inch-perfect performance with a victory that puts him to within seven points of the top eight in the standings ahead of race three.

Meanwhile O’Halloran had edged into second by the 11th lap but he didn’t have the pace to bridge the gap to Mackenzie, but a second place finish puts him ahead into the championship standings ahead of the final race of the weekend.

Tommy Bridewell carved his way back up the order into third as the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider continued his podium finishing momentum on the Grand Prix circuit, but Ray again was forced to miss out on the podium with a fourth place finish.

Leon Haslam had a strong fifth place finish for the VisionTrack Kawasaki team ahead of Rory Skinner and Ryde, whilst Tom Sykes was back inside the top eight with Danny Kent and Glenn Irwin completing the top ten.

Ryan Vickers, Josh Brookes, Christian Iddon and Lee Jackson all crashed out of contention.

British Superbike Race Two Results

British Superbike Race Three

Tarran Mackenzie claimed a spectacular double win in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch, going down to a last lap drag to the line in race three between the McAMS Yamaha teammates. At the chequered flag, just 0.037s separated the defending champion from Jason O’Halloran after a final dogfight to the finish.

There was an incredible race long battle between the McAMS Yamaha teammates as they fought to have the upper hand in the final race of the weekend on the Grand Prix circuit.

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At the start of the race, Mackenzie hit the front of the field after launching from pole position to lead Bradley Ray and Glenn Irwin on the opening lap.

Glenn Irwin was on a charge and the Honda Racing UK rider dived into the lead with a brave move at Paddock Hill Bend on the third lap as Mackenzie and Ray fought for the advantage.

Ray had moved into second by the fifth lap, but as he went for the lead at Paddock Hill Bend two laps later he ran in hot. He was forced to take a wider line and that handed the position back to Glenn Irwin and also gave O’Halloran the opportunity to move ahead as Mackenzie had been shuffled back into fourth.

Ray moved back into second at Hawthorns, but O’Halloran fought back into Paddock Hill Bend as the pair traded blows for second. However, Mackenzie was waiting in the wings and he soon eased Ray back into fourth.

The McAMS Yamaha teammates began their battle for second place as Glenn Irwin still held the lead, with the pair swapping positions for several laps.

O’Halloran was holding off his teammate when he made a move on Glenn Irwin for the lead; firing ahead at Surtees on lap 13, but Mackenzie soon forced the Honda Racing UK rider back into third.

By lap 15, Mackenzie hit the front of the field, launching ahead into the lead at Hawthorns and then he had to withstand the pressure from his teammate over the final four laps.

It inevitably came down to a last lap shootout between the pair and O’Halloran tried to make a pass into Clearways for the final time and edged ahead briefly. The extra speed put him slightly wide and then it was a drag to the finish with Mackenzie just having the edge at the flag from O’Halloran.

Glenn Irwin meanwhile recovered to third after a difficult start to the weekend to add to his podium tally, ahead of Ray and Bridewell who battled for fourth place over the closing stages of the race.

Leon Haslam added to his consistent points tally from the weekend with sixth place, just ahead Kyle Ryde and Peter Hickman on the FHO Racing BMW. Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki’s Rory Skinner and Lee Jackson completed the top ten.

British Superbike Race Three Results

British Superbike Championship Points

Tarran Mackenzie

“The goal this weekend was to try and finish on the podium and be back running up front. We started Friday strong and it’s just had a bit of a snowball effect over the weekend – it’s just been getting better and better and better!

“That final race was just hectic, it felt like we were never going to get past Glenn! I knew it just took one person to pass him and then we could maybe all go, but we were all fighting to get behind him.

“When Jason passed him, so did I and at that point I think I didn’t even watch my pitboard I just focused on Jason. I got into the lead and wanted to make sure I was in front.

“On the last lap I did my best in sector one so he didn’t come by. I know he’s strong into Stirling’s so I went defensive and I braked so deep into the last corner! The forks went metal to metal like bounced back and poked me in the eyes and then he came flying by. I thought ‘there’s no way he’s stopping that’ and to be fair to him, if I hadn’t have just driven underneath him I think he probably would’ve got it.

“I was completely sideways, the limiter lights were on, I was shifting and then because the start finish straight is banked, if you’re at the top you can get a run down. I could feel him coming towards me and I could see a wheel.

“It was just a hectic, stressful last 10 laps with me and him. It was probably some of best, most clean racing I think out of all of us.

“It’s just a great feeling for everyone and to be Monster King of Brands as well two years running is really nice and I’m going home happy.”

Glenn Irwin

“In Race 2 I was happy coming from 27th to finish 10th, I learnt some things from my teammate, Tom, as in some places he was better and I wanted to know why and compare what he was doing better than me. For the final race we worked on some data and it was a mega race! I gave it everything and was so committed going into turn one, I like the new tarmac and felt comfortable going round to make a move. When I took the lead it was a pleasant surprise, and after leading for a few laps I knew the Yamahas would be close behind, as we’re know they’re strong but I wasn’t going to give it to them! I tried everything I could from braking late, exiting corners quick – everything I could to make it not easy for them. When Jason [O’Halloran] passed me I made a mistake and then Taz [Mackenzie] also came through, but it was almost a carrot dangling and something to chase to keep me ahead of Tommy [Bridewell] and Leon [Haslam] behind. The podium is a huge reward for the team at what’s a tricky track for us, my target for today was 10 points between the two races and we’ve left with 22, so we’re leaving on a high.”

Josh Brookes

“Today has clearly been disappointing and whilst I thought yesterday was tough, today has topped that. In the first race, I felt like I was riding well and hanging with the front group so I was waiting to see how the longer race would affect people but, sadly, I never got far as the front went with no warning. I’ve never crashed there before and never even had any moments so I can only assume I was going too quick, carrying too much lean angle or too much front brake. Something caused it. In the second race, there was a lot of jostling in the first few corners and a bit of desperation by some riders which was a bit strange as it was going to be another long race. It’s been a damaging day so all we can do is dust ourselves down, quite literally, and look ahead to the next round.”

Tom Sykes

“It has been a difficult weekend for us, and it was a frustrating end to the weekend when we couldn’t take our place on the grid for the final race. We had a technical issue in the first race today which we thought was sorted as all the various settings were checked but it reappeared on the sighting lap of the final race, and we couldn’t take part. It’s such a shame as we had made some progress in the opening race, and we couldn’t put into effect the changes we had planned so that was doubly disappointing. But we’ll come back stronger and hopefully have some better fortune next time out.”

British Superstock Race Two

Richard Cooper took a sensational win by 0.056 seconds over David Allingham as he made his series return aboard his 2019 Buildbase Suzuki.

After a hard-fought 15-laps where the lead swapped between Brayden Elliott, Alex Olsen and David Allingham, the former champ stole the win with his trademark move at Graham Hill Bend on the final lap.

Points leader Billy McConnell was third, ahead of FHO Racing with Kobelco’s Alex Olsen with Davey Todd fifth.

Billy McConnell

“Having qualified on pole, I was really happy with the set-up of the bike and although I didn’t make the best of starts in Saturday’s race, I took my time before making my way forward. After being taken out twice this year, I was a bit cautious in the early laps but when I saw Richard trying to pull the pin, I started to put the hammer down. I was playing it lap by lap but didn’t want any guys behind to get involved either so got the lead on lap eight. The gap was 0.4s one lap and then 0.1s the next so I was ready for it to go to the end only for the red flag came out.

“Starting the weekend with a win was superb especially as it gave me the championship lead and it put me in good stead for Sunday’s race. Unfortunately, I made a bit of a bad start and then got beaten up a bit so dropped back to eighth which gave me some work to do. I had to dig deep but the bike was again awesome and my pace, particularly in the second half of the race, was very strong. I think another win was on the cards but ultimately I ran out of laps but with first and third and the championship lead, I can’t complain; it’s been a great weekend.”

Countrymen Brayden Elliott and Levi Day were eighth and tenth respectively.

British Superstock Race Two Results

British Superstock Championship Points

British Supersport Race Two

Jack Kennedy’s dominant run continued in the Supersport feature race as he stormed to his fourth double win of the year.

The Mar-Train Racing rider took the lead on lap two and was never challenged as he eventually beat Gearlink Kawasaki’s Luke Stapleford by 4.845s.

Harry Truelove was third, some 3.8s ahead of his Appleyard Macadam team-mate Bradley Perrie, as Jack Scott was once again the leading GP2 rider in fifth position.

Kiwi Damon Rees was the seventh Supersport machine across the line.

Damon Rees

“I’m super happy to come out of the weekend with a clean sweep of Top 10 finishes in the BSB Supersport class! The Ashcourt Racing team ensured I had the best bike possible all weekend, and finally, my arm isn’t holding me back! Huge thanks to my mechanics Derek & Kev for working hard all weekend, we made some positive changes to the bike each session and they proved successful in the races! I’ll be doing all I can over the next week to ensure we keep the positive momentum going into Thruxton!”

Harvey Claridge emerged victorious in the battle for second in GP2, beating Jake Archer across the line by a mere 0.136s.

British Supersport Race Two Results

British Supersport Championship Points

GP2 Championship Points

British Junior Superstock Race

Louis Valleley held off a hard-charging Max Cook to take the win by a mere 0.002secs after a dramatic race.

Sam Laffins grabbed the lead after a jump start, but both Valleley and Cook were on a charge, passing Laffins before he’d even been pulled in for a ride through penalty and it all culminated in a last lap scrap, with Cook making several attempts to get past Valleley before a photo-finish ruled the local rider the winner.

Franco Bourne was third, 2.649secs behind followed by Dan Brooks in fourth as Owen Jenner took fifth.

Young Aussie Seth Crump finished eighth while countryman Jacob Hatch was 21st.

British Junior Superstock Race Results

British Junior Superstock Championship Points