Aussie 1-2 in BSB STK1000 | Change of guard continues in Superbike

2022 British Superbike Championship
Round Two – Oulton Park

Bennetts British Superbike Race Two

Bradley Ray got a lightning start off the line to lead the pack ahead of his team-mate Kyle Ryde and the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki pairing of Jackson and Rory Skinner.

Ray continued to try to break the chasing pack, but a crash for Luke Mossey on lap eight at Druids meant that the BMW Safety Car was deployed.

The Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider held his focus when the race resumed and once again clawed a slight advantage over the field.

The chasing pack were scrapping for second and Ryde was under pressure from Jackson, Skinner and Leon Haslam, who had also joined the battle in the closing stages.

Jackson made his move on Ryde on lap 15 as he dived for the inside line at Knickerbrook and then Haslam was ready to strike.

As Jackson held second, Haslam made a move on Skinner on the penultimate lap and only had Ryde standing between himself and a return to the Bennetts BSB podium.

The VisionTrack Kawasaki rider made a big move into Shell for the final time and held third place to the chequered flag to claim his first podium finish in the championship since his 2018 title win.

Ryde was forced to settle for fourth ahead of Skinner as Jason O’Halloran held off Christian Iddon for sixth place with Peter Hickman, Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes completing the top ten.

Bennetts British Superbike Race Two Results

Bennetts British Superbike Race Three

The final race of the weekend created a new race winner in the championship as Jackson delivered an inch perfect performance to stand on the top step of the podium for the first time.

Kyle Ryde had led the pack off the line before his Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha team-mate Bradley Ray moved ahead, but a crash for Tom Neave at Old Hall instigated the deployment of the BMW Safety Car for the start of lap two. The Honda Racing UK rider suffered concussion and was transferred to Stoke hospital for further scans.

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The race resumed on lap four and Ray and Ryde led the pack from Skinner, Jackson and Tommy Bridewell. Andrew Irwin crashed out unhurt as Tom Sykes was forced to take evasive action in the middle of the pack.

Ray had made a break, but as the laps counted down Bridewell had made his way into third behind Jackson and the pair were closing the advantage. Ryde meanwhile faded in the second half of the race to finish in tenth, but the battle for the podium positions was intensifying.

By lap 13, Bridewell and Jackson had closed down on Ray and were piling the pressure on the double race winner. A lap later, Bridewell fired the Oxford Products Racing Ducati ahead on the run down to Island Bend and Jackson also pushed him back a further position with a move at Knickerbrook.

Jackson had his sights firmly set on a debut win in the Championship and a lap later, he dived ahead on the inside of Bridewell with a decisive move at Shell Oils corner.

Jackson then held on and eased an advantage of 2.909s at the chequered flag with Bridewell becoming the eighth different podium finisher of the season so far.

Ray completed the podium with a third place to seal the Milwaukee Race of the North trophy. He remains in contention to win in the Milwaukee Spring Grand Slam if he can secure at least two race wins at Donington Park.

Skinner had another strong performance to finish in fourth place, narrowly ahead of Haslam who completed the top five for VisionTrack Kawasaki team.

O’Halloran was sixth on the lone McAMS Yamaha ahead of Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes whilst Peter Hickman and Kyle Ryde completed the top ten.

Bradley Ray

“It has been a great weekend for us and it feels good to leave with the championship lead. The last race was difficult; I tried to put in as many fast laps as I could and pulled a gap but I struggled a bit in the latter part of the race. I tried everything I could but I just couldn’t hold the gap. I gave it everything and Lee had unbelievable pace at the end of the race so congratulations to him. I was happy to have another podium, it wasn’t another win but it has been a good weekend for me. I am happy going to any track now with the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha and I am feeling good in myself, so I am looking forward to a reboot and be ready to go again at Donington Park.”

Lee Jackson

“The race for me started a bit slow and I didn’t actually feel that great. I struggled to get into a comfortable rhythm as the pace was really fast. Once Tommy Bridewell passed me I found the rhythm I needed straight away and gave me that edge to get to the front. Tommy did a lot of the hard work chasing Brad down and as soon as we got to him, I saw that the pace had dropped. I knew I had the pace so I just made the passes as soon as I could as the laps were counting down and I knew I had to try and break him. I tried to relax on the last lap and we have worked hard as a team to get this win today. I work hard and I am my own biggest critic and I feel like I am good enough now. I want to keep this ball rolling now so maybe a cheeky cider and a McDonalds to celebrate tonight! We have got the bike working well now and moving to Donington Park, I feel like we will still have the pace to have another good weekend there.”

Glenn Irwin

“Today was good, we managed to make a lot of progress in a key area we have struggled with all weekend, thanks to the team. We sat down last night and put our heads together and came up with a solution, and a direction to help us move forward, which was probably one of my best rides on the Honda at Oulton Park. We did say before it was difficult and it continued to be, but even so it was an enjoyable weekend. We made a step forward today and collected nine solid points in Race 3, and now we look forward to the North West 200. Get well soon to my teammate Tom, and well done to Bradley [Ray]!”

Josh Brookes

“The first race today was disappointing as we made the wrong changes to the bike, and it just didn’t work out. I went backwards and faded pretty much from the start, so it was disappointing for all concerned. We put the bike closer to how it had been yesterday and had the information to make only a small change and the bike worked better albeit not with the lap times to compete for the podium. It was obviously difficult starting a long way back on the grid too, but I was happy to recover some form at the end. We definitely need to make improvements with the bike as we’re running a similar pace to 2019 and 2020 but things have obviously moved on since then.”

Tom Sykes

“It’s been a little bit challenging this weekend but at least we now understand some of the parameters much clearer, so we have a good idea of what changes we need to make to the MCE Ducati. The laps in qualifying were the very first ones I’ve done on the bike in the wet and we had a great feeling, but with the information we’ve gained at both the test and in the three races, we have a positive direction in which to go. I’m expecting we can find a big improvement for the next round at Donington Park.”

Bennetts British Superbike Race Three Results

Bennetts British Superbike Championship Championship Standings

Quattro Group British Supersport Race Two

Jack Kennedy continued his winning streak as he cruised to the Supersport feature race win at Oulton Park, a clear eight seconds ahead of Lee Johnston.

It had been Ashcourt Racing’s Johnston who got the best start and led into turn one, but it took just a few corners before Kennedy’s Mar-Train Yamaha was in front and began to clear-off into the distance.

Bradley Perie crossed the line third, a second behind Johnston and two seconds ahead of his Appleyard Macadam Racing team-mate Harry Truelove as Luke Stapleford emerged the winner in a battle with his Gearlink Kawasaki team-mate Zak Corderoy to take fifth.

Kiwi Damon Rees finished 12th.

In the GP2 class, Jack Scott was again the first rider home ahead of Cameron Fraser and Harvey Claridge.

Quattro Group British Supersport Race Two Results

Quattro Group British Supersport Championship Standings

Quattro Group British GP2 Championship Standings

Pirelli National Superstock

Billy McConnell and the C&L Fairburn Properties/Jackson Racing Honda team took their first victory of the 2022 Pirelli National Superstock Championship season at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday with the former British Supersport Champion taking a superb win by three-seconds.

Having been comfortably quickest in testing at the Cheshire venue last month, hopes were high coming into the weekend, and Adelaide’s McConnell picked up from where he left off with a lap of 1m36.139s during Saturday’s free practice sessions putting him almost half a second clear of the rest of the field.

That put him in confident mood ahead of Sunday’s solitary 25-minute qualifying session around the picturesque 2.69-mile circuit and with a stunning lap of 1m35.847s, almost four tenths of a second inside the class lap record, he duly put the CBR1000RR Honda Fireblade on pole position for Monday’s race. The lap stretched his advantage over the rest of the field to 0.721s.

Conditions for Bank Holiday Monday’s 14-lap race were cloudy but dry and a solid start saw Billy slot into second place going into the first corner, but the 35-year old soon grabbed the lead and led Alex Olsen and David Allingham at the end of the opening lap.

Olsen pushed him back to second next time around and the duo, along with Allingham and countryman Brayden Elliott, soon broke away from the rest of the field. Lap five saw Billy re-take the lead after a good overtaking manoeuvre at Old Hall Corner but, try as he might, he was unable to break away from Olsen and co.

Going into the final few laps though, it was a straight fight between Billy and the BMW of Olsen with the latter hitting the front on the 11th lap. However, Billy wasn’t to be denied and having sat behind his rival, he made a stunning move at Island Bend on the final lap going on to take a superb victory. The victory and 25 points also saw Billy move up to third overall in the early season championship standings.

Billy McConnell – P1

“It’s been a fantastic weekend and having been fastest throughout practice and qualifying, it’s great to convert that pace and form into the race win. We’ve been practicing our starts and I got away well but I thought the pit board said ‘+0.6’ so I was a bit surprised when Alex came by. I had to regroup for a few laps but got a good drive out of Cascades and knew I was stronger going into Island and it all worked out perfectly. The team’s working brilliantly and it’s great to get a win so early in the season. It’s early days obviously but we’re right in the mix already and it bodes well for the rest of the season.”

Brayden Elliott’s great second place finish has promoted him to second overall in the championship.

Brayden Elliott – P2

“What a race, I think today was one of the best races of my career! Physically and mentally I was at 100 per cent all race long. I dug deep, fought hard and couldn’t be prouder to be tasting the champagne again. My whole little team deserved to stand on the podium with me today. We chipped away all weekend and you guys worked hard to make this happen, thank you! There are a small group of people that have continued to believe in me when at times I began to doubt myself. Today was for those of you that haven’t stopped believing!”

Countryman Levi Day finished 11th.

Levi Day – P11

“Had a scratcher of a race today, some hard faught places and came away with P11! Not my best ride ever, but far from my worst as well! Wrestled the GSX-R 1000 as best I could around Oulton Park today and learnt more valuable information about myself and the bike to make some steps forward next time out. Big shout out to Bathgate Silica Sand for their title sponsorship for this round! Thanks to my crew and all at Powerslide Racing for their hard work!”

Pirelli National Superstock Results

Pirelli National Superstock Standings

Pirelli National Junior Superstock Race One

Max Cook converted pole position into the opening win of the day after a dramatic 12-lap scrap this morning.

Despite dropping to second into the first corner, it took just a few moments before he was at the front, eventually beating Louis Valleley by almost six seconds.

Third was Sam Laffins, just ahead of Dan Brooks as Aaron Silvester took fifth just ahead of Aussie Seth Crump whose countryman Jacob Hatch was tenth.

Pirelli National Junior Superstock Race One Results

Pirelli National Junior Superstock Race Two

Max Cook dominated the weekend to add another race win and fastest lap to his earlier victory and two pole positions.

Cook beat Louis Valleley by almost five seconds after an unfortunate Sam Laffins crashed out from second position on the final lap.

Behind, a three-bike battle for third went all the way to the chequered flag, with Dan Brooks getting the better of Aussie Seth Crump, as Aaron Silvester crossed the line fifth.

Jacob Hatch finished the final bout of the weekend with a couple of points from a 14th place finish which now sees him placed 16th in the championship.

Pirelli National Junior Superstock Race Two Results

Pirelli National Junior Superstock Standings

Honda British Talent Cup Race Two

Harrison Dessoy (Microlise Cresswell Racing/Eastern Garage Racing) is a Honda British Talent Cup race winner! In a tight fight for the win at Oulton Park, the number 55 crossed the line two tenths clear ahead of Rhys Stephenson (Rocket Racing), with Johnny Garnes (MLav Vision Track Academy) completing the podium by hundredths.

Off the line it was Harley McCabe (MLav VisionTrack Academy) keeping the holeshot after his Race 1 fastest lap gave him pole, with Stephenson, Dessoy, points leader Kiyano Veijer (Microlise Cresswell Racing) and Garness closest on the chase. McCabe lost a few positions down what became a big group fight in the early stages, and by mid-race distance there was more a top six battling it out for the win: Dessoy vs Stephenson, Veijer, Garness, Harrison Crosby (Banks Racing) and Carter Brown (MLav VisionTrack Academy).

The chopping and changing continued, and starting the final lap it was close as ever at the front, although Brown had lost a little ground. Dessoy led Veijer with Crosby in third, but the number 15 was on the move. By the exit of Druids, Crosby hit the front, but Dessoy fought back and the final shuffle was then decisive.

Veijer attacked Crosby and both went wide, with Stephenson heading through the open door. Dessoy was uncatchable to the line, and with that he took his first BTC win after an impressive performance all race. Stephenson took second, just ahead of a little more drama.

Trying to recover from getting sent wide, Crosby then highsided just before the drag to the line, the number 15 crashing out late once again. That was decisive in the final podium place, as was Veijer vs Garness as the number 57 just edged the Dutchman over the line once again, the number 53 forced to settled for fourth but keeping the points lead.

Matthew Ruisbroek (Microlise Cresswell Racing) impressed in fifth, nearly two tenths clear of Brown as the number 74 finished sixth. Only hundredths behind him, Bailey Stuart-Campbell (Team 151s / Lextek) took P7. Julian Correa (Microlise Cresswell Racing) was in touch in eighth, with McCabe and Lucas Brown (SP125 / Amphibian Scaffolding) completing the top ten.

Honda British Talent Cup Race Two Results

Honda British Talent Cup Championship Standings

Molson Group British Sidecar Race

Molson Group British Sidecar Championship Standings