Brookes leaves Donington triple-header with BSB lead

2020 British Superbike Championship Round Five
Donington Park Sunday wrap

Images Dave Yeomans

Andrew Irwin opened the weekend’s racing with a victory for Honda Racing, winning the opening British Superbike race at the Donington triple-header, ahead of Ducati mounted rider’s Christian Iddon and Josh Brookes.

Race 2 saw Josh Brookes return to the top step of the podium, working his way to the front by lap five and then edging out his rivals and laying claim the championship lead. Jason O’Halloran took second meanwhile, while Tarran Mackenzie was third.

Tarran Mackenzie became the third different rider to top the Bennetts British Superbike Championship podium at Donington Park, grabbing the lead with four laps to go to give McAMS Yamaha the final victory of the weekend in Race 3. Glenn Irwin was second overall, with Josh Brookes making his third appearance on the podium for the triple-header.

Josh Brookes now sits on 225-points, 16-points clear of Christian Iddon on 209, with Glenn Irwin third on 207. Jason O’Halloran is only a point adrift in fourth on 206.

In the British Supersport James Westmoreland took his first victory of 2020 in a rain effected encounter at Donington Park, with James Rose and Bradley Perie rounding out the podium, and Cameron Horsman taking the GP2 victory.  Ben Currie crashed out early, in what he described as a “Really strange crash”, with 11 of the 27 riders not finishing.

Rory Skinner took the 2020 British Supersport Championship title with victory in the Feature race at Donington Park, winning from Brad Jones and Lee Johnston in the second Supersport race of the weekend, while Ben Currie came home in seventh.

Rory Skinner holds the Supersport standings lead on 220-points, to second place James Westmoreland on 143. Third overall is Brad Jones on 142-points. Australian Ben Currie current sits eighth on 58-points.

Aussie Billy McConnell took a last lap victory in Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Race 1, beating long-time race leader Lewis Rollo, with Tom Neave the final podium sitter. Tom Neave hit back in Race 2, closing the gap in the Championship standings with a dominant win in the second Pirelli National Superstock 1000 race of the weekend.

Chrissy Rouse currently holds the standings lead on 165-points, to Tom Neave on 155, with Rollo third on 117. Billy McConnel is fourth on 110, while New Zealand’s Damon Reese is eighth overall. Brayden Elliott sits 14th, with Shane Richardson 17th.

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Rhys Irwin took the Pirelli National Superstock 600 victory at a damp but drying Donington Park, after an impressive final lap saw him fend off challenges from Jack Nixon and Championship leader Ben Luxton. Luxton now leads the standings by 33-points from Irwin and Zak Corderoy who are tied on 96-points.

The opening Junior Supersport race saw Taz Taylor make a victorious return to racing action, taking victory by four seconds from Adon Davie and Lewis Jones, with Owen Jenner taking the 2020 crown.

Brody Crockford took the final Hel Performance British Junior Supersport win of the season in a dominant display, winning by over five-seconds from Jenner, with Lynden Leatherland third. Owen Jenner holds the title on 176-points, while Seth Crump is second overall on 131, with Brody Crockford third on 116.

British Superbike Race One

On the opening lap Glenn Irwin led the pack, however there was a disaster for the championship leader when he crashed out at Goddards unhurt on the opening lap, and losing the lead in the standings for the first time this season.

At the front though Andrew Irwin was still flying the flag for Honda Racing, riding a perfect race to claim his third win of the season with the VisionTrack Ducati pairing behind him. Josh Brookes wasn’t able to get the better of his teammate for second place in the closing stages and Christian Iddon now leads the standings by two points ahead of Round 14.

Glenn Irwin is now equal on points in third place in the standings with Jason O’Halloran as the McAMS Yamaha rider also endured a tough opening race to the weekend, finishing in 14th place, just ahead of Tommy Bridewell.

At the front Tarran Mackenzie had been moving up the order on the leading McAMS Yamaha, edging out Ryan Vickers in the closing stages to finish fourth.

The RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team though celebrated Vickers’ best result of the season and on the opposite side of the garage, Jack Kennedy was one of three riders to opt for an intermediate rear tyre, which saw him move up to seventh in the closing stages and he will start on pole position for Round 14.

Vickers was able to maintain fifth ahead of Gino Rea, who claimed his best finish for Buildbase Suzuki after also opting for the intermediate rear tyre option as conditions improved in the closing stages with teammate Kyle Ryde holding eighth place.

Danny Buchan and Lee Jackson completed the top ten for the Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki team .

Race One Results

British Superbike Race Two

A hectic opening lap was lead by Kyle Ryde on the Buildbase Suzuki ahead of Tarran Mackenzie, Gino Rea, and pole-sitter Jack Kennedy, but the Silverstone race winner was later forced out of the action with a technical problem.

However the race action was ended prematurely for Ryan Vickers and Andrew Irwin, who crashed out together at the Melbourne Loop for the first time, with Peter Hickman and Danny Buchan also falling on the exit to curtail their bid for results.

At the front, Kennedy had then grabbed the advantage on the RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki, but Rea was attacking and he moved into the lead at Redgate at the start of lap three.

Brookes was calmly working his way up from sixth, were he was at the start of the race, taking the lead with a decisive move on lap five to push Rea into second place and then the VisionTrack Ducati rider put in a consistent run of laps to break the pack.

Jason O’Halloran was on the move, and the McAMS Yamaha rider was able to move ahead of Glenn Irwin and then Rea by the ninth lap, and despite his best efforts to reel Brookes back in, he crossed the line second and 0.578s adrift. The podium finish moves him back up to second in the standings now ahead of today’s final race.

Glenn Irwin was having a tough final part of his race and he was dropping back down the order, but ahead of him Mackenzie had got the better of Rea to grab third place and ensure that he made a break to give McAMS Yamaha a double podium finish.

Rea claimed his best result of the season in fourth for Buildbase Suzuki, with Tommy Bridewell having a resurgent race two to finish fifth ahead of Christian Iddon, who had been at the top of the standings after his second place in the first race of the day.

Glenn Irwin eventually crossed the line in seventh place ahead of Kennedy with Luke Mossey and Joe Francis completing the top ten.

Race Two Results

British Superbike Race Three

The final race of the weekend got underway with Josh Brookes leading the pack into Redgate for the first time ahead of Jason O’Halloran, but Tommy Bridewell was instantly on the attack and grabbed second on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati.

Glenn Irwin was making a move up the order, edging into third with a move on lap four, before the Honda Racing rider snatched second two laps later from Bridewell.

Bridewell’s race ended in disappointment when he retired with a technical problem on lap seven, but at the front Brookes was leading Glenn Irwin with Mackenzie piling on the pressure in third place.

On the ninth lap, there was drama for O’Halloran, when the McAMS Yamaha rider collided with Christian Iddon as the pair battled for fourth place and the collision with jammed his clutch in his lever guard, which dropped him down to eighth place by the finish.

By the tenth lap Glenn Irwin had grabbed the lead with Mackenzie in second and Brookes in third, but the McAMS Yamaha rider made his move at the Fogarty Esses and was able to hold off his Honda Racing rival.

Brookes completed the podium and his biggest points haul overhaul from the three races meant he was crowned the Monster Energy King of Donington; the VisionTrack Ducati rider leads the standings by 16-points into the final three rounds.

Christian Iddon was fourth fastest on the second of the VisionTrack Ducatis, and he heads into the final rounds in second place in the standings, with Gino Rea completing his best weekend of the season in fifth place for Buildbase Suzuki.

Lee Jackson led the Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki charge in sixth place, ahead of Round 13 winner Andrew Irwin and O’Halloran whilst Luke Mossey and Joe Francis completed the top ten.

Josh Brookes – P1

“The target is always to win a race at the slowest possible speed as the faster you go, the more you risk. In the second race, I had a couple of minor issues, so I tried to maintain my rhythm and the lead which I was able to do for the win. It was a lot trickier in the first race when I had to ride more conservatively due to the damp. The bike was moving around a lot, so it was all about consolidating the points. In the final race, I tried to keep the lead for as long as possible, but I didn’t have the pace to win so brought the bike home for some more good points. It’s been a strong weekend and great to lead the championship going into the final meeting at Brands Hatch.”

Christian Iddon – P2

“The main focus was to leave Donington Park still with a good chance of the Christian Iddonchampionship and I’ve managed that and got the boxes ticked. It was good to get on the podium in the first race in the damp conditions, but I struggled quite a lot in the second race with a couple of issues. We improved the bike for the final race but fourth was the best I could do although maybe I should have tried a different plan in hindsight. I’m just 16 points off the championship lead with all to play for at Brands Hatch, although we missed a couple of opportunities to close the gap today but either way, I’m looking forward to it.”

Glenn Irwin – P3

“If you summarise this weekend from a points view it was really disappointing because we have come away 18 points behind after starting the weekend in front, so to gain back some points in the last race was so important. In the final race I knew immediately from the warm-up lap that the Fireblade was working well, so hats off to the team, they deserved this second place position backing up Andy’s win. Again it’s an all-new Fireblade and over three races this weekend we have grabbed a first and a second place finish, Tom has also done a mega job again in Superstock. So looking ahead, it’s a big ask at Brands, I would rather be the one with the target on my back because if nothing changes you are the champion, but we won’t give up. The team never give up and neither will I.”

Andrew Irwin – Race 1 Winner

“This weekend has been a little up and down, but we won another race again – it was something I needed to lift my spirits. In the second race unfortunately I got hit on the first lap and took out. It’s one of those things, I have been on both ends of it before, it’s racing and we will just move on from it. In race three it took me far too long to get going, I got a good start but kind of got beat up in the first turn, which upset my rhythm a bit. It then took me about four or five laps to get into it again but once I did we had quite good pace. I feel we should have been fighting for the podium, but we didn’t and I came seventh. However the Fireblade felt good and I’ve built some confidence going into Brands, I think we can do a good job, I’m looking forward it.”

Tarran Mackenzie – Race 3 Winner

“The first race was really nice today, coming through from 19th. It was a calculated gamble to go with the harder wet tyre as I knew the track would dry out and that would leave me with some tyre at the end of the race. The aim was to get a good lap for race two, which I did. I did not expect to get third in race two, I went in having only done five dry laps all weekend, so we bolted in the setting from Silverstone and I had the first few laps of the race to adapt to it! It was a tough race, I got knocked back to seventh or eighth and had to come back through so to get third I was really happy. I knew if I could get a better start in the last race I could maybe have something to show at the end, and that was the case. I didn’t get a good start but I made my way back through, when I got to Glenn I was quite comfortable sat behind him so I knew I could maybe put some time into him if I got past in the last few laps, which I did so I was really happy with that. I’ve always wanted to win in the superbike class so it was an epic feeling. It’s been a good day for the whole team, so we’re looking forward to getting to Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks.”

Jason O’Halloran

“Race two today was really good, we came from 12th on the grid to finish second which was great. Race three was going pretty well, I lost a few places in the middle and I was struggling to find a way past Christian, I just needed to get by as I was losing too much time. I was trying everywhere but the bikes are quite different and the one place I could pass was into McLeans, he knew that as well and blocked me going in there and I clipped him on the way through. When I hit him the brake guard on the left hand side moved up and pulled the clutch in, I didn’t know it was in and took a couple of laps to figure out what was going on – when I got the lever back down the clutch was fried. I was able to get some pace back towards the end, but the clutch kept slipping. I’m a bit disappointed but we managed to get a couple of positions back in the last couple of laps which is a few more points. The pressure isn’t on us at Brands now, we have to turn up there, get maximum points and see what happens with everyone else. It’s not over yet, that’s for sure.”

Race Three Results

British Superbike Championship Standings

British Supersport Race One

It was Championship leader Skinner who grabbed the holeshot, notching up a 3.6 second lead after the opening lap with Ben Currie and Lee Johnston leading the chasing pack. The conditions then began to catch some riders out, with Ben Currie crashing out on the second lap.

As Skinner held his lead, Johnston then began to put the pressure on and he quickly forced the Championship leader into a mistake, with Skinner crashing out on lap five, handing Johnston the lead.

By half race distance Johnston led the way from Westmoreland and James Rose, who had worked his way into a podium position after starting from the back of the grid, and they began to chase down the ‘General’ at the front.

But with four laps remaining the Gearlink Kawasaki man of Westmoreland put the hammer down, caught and passed Johnston, and continued to push hard as he led the race.

With just three laps to go Johnston had brought the gap down to under half a second, but on the final lap he crashed out, meaning Westmoreland would take his first victory of the season. James Rose finished second with Cameron Horsman third. Ben Currie crashed out early in the race.

British Supersport Race One Result

British Supersport Race Two

Skinner grabbed the holeshot and was able to extend a small lead over the pursuing pack over the opening laps, but team mate Brad Jones and Lee Johnston soon began chipping away. With the duo trading fastest laps, they were able to close the lead down to just 0.2s at the halfway stage of the race.

As they stated lap eight, Jones was able to find a way past his team mate to take the lead. Fighting straight back, Skinner wasted no time in retaking the lead but was unable to shake off Jones or Johnston. Continuing to trade places throughout the closing stages, the race came down to the final two laps and Skinner was able to edge away from Jones to take the victory and claim the 2020 Quattro Group British Supersport title.

Johnston completed the podium in third, with James Westmoreland in fourth ahead of Harry Truelove and the first of the of the GP2 machines of Charlie Nesbitt. After a disappointing race one, Ben Currie raced so seventh in race two.

British Supersport Race Two Result

British Supersport Standings

Superstock 1000 Race One

Launching off the line, it was Fraser Rogers who led the way at the end of the opening lap ahead of Chrissy Rouse and Rollo, with Danny Kent holding fourth. Trading places throughout the race, Rogers, Rouse and Rollo battled for the lead throughout the opening few laps, but a string of fast laps from Rollo saw him grab the lead and begin to stretch a lead over the two pursuers.

Things began to heat up in the closing stages as it became a seven rider battle for the podium. A fast charging McConnell climbed up through the field, taking second on lap six he continued to set fastest lap after fastest lap, closing down Rollo’s lead to take the win on the final lap. Tom Neave eventually secured third place ahead of Kent and Rouse.

Shane Richardson was top New Zealand performer in race one in 13th, while Damon Rees came come in 19th. Australian Brayden Elliott was 24th.

Superstock 1000 Race One Results

Superstock 1000 Race Two

McConnell grabbed the holeshot, leading across the line at the end of the opening lap by 0.6s ahead of Kent and Tom Neave. Neave moved into the lead on lap three, setting about trying to extend his lead at the front as title rival Chrissy Rouse moved into third.

At the halfway point, Kent had begun to close down Tom Neave at the front whilst Tim Neave was chasing down Rouse in third. With Tom Neave taking the win ahead of Kent, a mistake from Rouse on the penultimate lap saw Tim Neave find his way past Championship leader Rouse, to claim the final rostrum position. McConnell was fifth ahead of Rogers, Hedger and Rollo.

New Zealand’s Shane Richardson was 17th, while Damon Rees and Brayden Elliott both recorded DNF results. Rees crashed on the opening lap at Melbourne Hairpin and injured his AC joint, the Kiwi is undergoing medical evaluation as to if he will be able to make the championship finale.

Superstock 1000 Race Two Results

Superstock 1000 Standings

Superstock 600

Luxton made the best leap off the line, leading the way after the opening lap with Rhys Irwin second and Talbot third, but as the group headed into their second lap the safety car was deployed for an incident. By lap five the car returned to the pits, with Luxton aiming to regain his two second lead over the chasing pack.

By half race distance Luxton had increased his gap to 1.3 second over Talbot and R. Irwin and was consistently the fastest man on track. However, in the closing stages of the race, the group caught Luxton with R. Irwin and Jack Nixon dicing for the lead, and on the final lap it was Irwin who took the victory, with Nixon second and Luxton Third.

Superstock 600 Results

Superstock 600 Standings

British Junior Supersport Championship

It was Taylor who led the way after the opening lap, with Jones and Davie closely behind as they looked to pull an early gap on the chasing pack. The leader then quickly began to post quick lap times as started to increase his gap over second and third.

By half-race distance Taylor had a three second lead over Davie who held second place, and the number six rider held the lead to take the flag.

After a crash on the first lap for Owen Jenner and Seth Crump, it means that Jenner takes the 2020 Hel Performance British Junior Supersport title.

Junior Supersport Race One

Junior Supersport Race Two

It was the newly crowned Champion Owen Jenner who grabbed the holeshot, slowly extending his lead over the pursuing pack. However, a fast-charging Crockford was able to take over front running on lap three whilst Adon Davie and Lyndon Leatherland were also in close contention.

Trading places for much of the race, in the closing stages Crockford was able to take back the lead and pull away from the pursuers to eventually take the win by 5.5s ahead of Jenner and Leatherland. Seth Crump also came back from a Race 1 crash to claim fifth in Race 2.

Junior Supersport Race Two Results

Junior Supersport Standings