Brookes injured in Silverstone BSB test crash | O’Halloran P5

Images by David Yeomans Photography

Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin has completed the Silverstone BSB test on top of the time-sheets, setting the fastest ever BSB lap by 0.090s, in a strong start to the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship. Day two saw a reshuffle of the fastest riders, as Australia’s Jason O’Halloran was pushed down the sheets, with Josh Brookes suffering a nasty crash that ended his day.

The top 17 riders were covered by just 0.988s on combined times after the two days on circuit, with four different manufacturers represented in the top four positions ahead of next week’s second test at Snetterton.

Glenn Irwin’s lap record-breaking time came in the penultimate session of the test, with the Honda Racing rider putting himself firmly at the head of the times, although McAMS Yamaha rider Tarran Mackenzie was also under the existing record and just 0.016s adrift of his rival.

Glenn Irwin – P1

“It has been a really productive test and one of two halves; yesterday the pace was slower than last year and you put it down to conditions, but it was also similar conditions today. I think we all know how to ride, but I think you forget all the niche things that make you compete at this level and I feel we did that better today. I improved today and we had a lot that we needed to get through here. We tried some new things that we thought might not even work, but the lap time in the third session was really good and I was happy. In the final session I was on another faster lap so I was buzzing, but I came across another rider in the last sector so didn’t get to complete it, but it has been a good day and the team have worked amazing. We can’t be complacent as we don’t know what everyone else is working on, but I feel strong and we can now look forward to the next test at Snetterton.”

Tarran Mackenzie – P2

“The first day of the test was a bit of a nightmare for a few reasons out of our control, but things went a lot better on Thursday! It was nice to have a full day of trying things and getting a better feeling for the bike. The setting is very similar to what we ran last year so it’s just a case of fine tuning that. I had a good first session and then built on from that. We called it a day in the last session as it was a bit too cold and we’d done everything we needed to do. We are going to Snetterton with a good feeling on the bike and feeling confident, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Silverstone again proved to be a strong circuit for the Buildbase Suzuki team and after setting the pace at lunchtime, Danny Kent’s time in that session put him third overall on the combined times as he proved to put his track knowledge to use as he prepares for his new campaign.

Danny Kent – P3

“I’ve got to be happy with that at the end of the day. This, really, was my first proper go on a Superbike with a good team around me that know the bike and have the experience, so to come away in the top three; it feels good. I was a bit worried; you have thoughts about if you’ll be fast enough when it comes to it and people have asked that question of me – and understandably maybe – but I think today’s answered those questions, and confidence is pretty high at the moment. The objective at this test was to just get comfortable, and I wanted to come away feeling like the bike was mine, and we definitely achieved that. The bike felt great and the team have done a really good job. They’ve got so much experience at this level I just rode the bike and let them make any changes they wanted to make. The result was it made doing the lap times so easy and I think with a more experienced rider than me onboard it could easily have topped the times. I just kept making the odd mistake when pushing hard and I’d over ride and do the wrong things to go fast. So I’ve got a bit of learning to do still but I think I could have gone faster. Plus we lost nearly two sessions with a crash on Wednesday morning. Being at Silverstone made it easier as I know that track, and I know it’ll be harder at Snetterton. But I also know the bike can go fast there. It’s just going to be a case of putting the laps in, learning the circuit, the bike, and keep building that connection. For the first day back it feels pretty good.”

Kyle Ryde showed impressive pace with the new BMW M 1000 RR to post the fourth fastest time for the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW team, he had topped the timesheets in the final session of the test, despite conditions meaning the pace couldn’t match what was set earlier in the day.

Jason O’Halloran had set the pace on the opening day of testing action and the McAMS Yamaha rider ended the test fifth fastest overall, holding off the second Buildbase Suzuki of Gino Rea and the SYNETIQ BMW pairing of Danny Buchan and Andrew Irwin.

Jason O’Halloran – P5

“The first day couldn’t have gone any better for us. We focused on trying the new engine on day one and turned our focus to the chassis on the second day. I was a bit nervous about changing the chassis as we didn’t change a lot last year, I’d ridden the same bike all year and we had a good year so it took me a bit of time to adjust to it. Once I started to use the benefits of the new settings, it started to come to me and I started to feel really good. We just worked through our programme, got through everything we needed to get through. In the third session I did a long run and set my best lap on the last lap of the run. We came in, made a few changes and went back out and bettered that time again and by that point the tyre had done 31 laps. To be doing 53’3 with 31 laps on a tyre is exactly where we need to be for race day here. The final session was just a bit too sketchy for me, as nice as it would have been to have stuck some fresh rubber in and gone for a time!”

Christian Iddon held ninth place on combined times for VisionTrack Ducati, his teammate and reigning champion Josh Brookes suffered a high-speed crash in the final session, which ended his day prematurely leaving him in P12 overall. The Australian was able to walk away from the crash but sustained a finger injury.

Josh Brookes

“I’ve taken a lot of skin off the little finger and there is a risk of infection as it’s down to the bone but apart from that I’m OK and my finger is fine. There are no other injuries so it’s just a case of getting it cleaned up. I’m still working out what happened in the crash, but the track was cooling down and I perhaps carried a bit too much brake so maybe that’s what happened. The test was good to a point, but we did a lot of experimenting and didn’t really find a lot that improved our existing package. It’s now a case of working on what we know best and finding the consistency we need.”

Christian Iddon – P9

“I’m really happy with the way the test has gone, everything is good. Silverstone is unique as Christian Iddoneveryone ends up with very similar lap times, it’s just one of those tracks. My aim over the two days was to experiment with a few ideas and to try some stuff we didn’t get round to trying last year, mainly to do with tyre life and some other settings. We achieved what we needed and in the last session, I just did a race run rather than chasing a lap time. It was unfortunate for Josh to crash and hope his finger injury is not too serious.”

Ryan Vickers completed the top ten for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team, edging out FHO Racing BMW’s Xavi Forés by just 0.038s.

BSB Official Test, Silverstone – Overall Combined

British Supersport

Lee Johnston was fastest British Supersport rider, leading Harry Truelove and Rhys Irwin, while Aussie Ben Currie was just outside the top three in P4+0.328s off top pace.

British Supersport Combined Results

Pirelli National Superstock

Tim Neave topped the Pirelli National Superstock time-sheets, narrowly leading Billy McConnell, while Chrissy Rouse was third overall. Matt Truelove was fourth fastest, while Brayden Elliott completed the top five.

New Zealand’s Shane Richardson was P12, with Damon Rees P16. Australian Levi Day finished the test in P21.

Billy McConnell

“A great day testing at Silverstone yesterday on the new BMW M Sport Series. We started the first session on a damp track but despite the conditions earlier in the day the track dried up and as always the team worked so well together. The dial end started in standard position and after a few changes the team managed to perfect the settings and we happily finished off over all in a comfortable place in P2.”

Pirelli National Superstock Combined Results

Junior Superstock

David Jones was fastest in the Junior Superstock, ahead of Josh Day and Jack Nixon. Australian Seth Crump was P14 +1.543s off the fastest pace.

Junior Superstock Combined Results

2021 British Superbike Championship Calendar