Tag: motorsport

Posted on

Round 9 WorldSBK Portimao, Portugal, Race 1

The earlier Superpole saw Rea (Kawasaki KRT) claim top spot with an unbeaten lap time of 1:39.610, followed by Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), and Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) in 2nd, and 3rd respectively.

An earlier red flagged incident in the SSP300 race, forced race direction to delay the start of race 1, and subsequently cut the laps down to 14. This was going to be a short and sharp shootout, reminiscent of a Superpole race.

WSBK 08.10.2022 Portimao, Alex Lowes picture courtesy of KRT Kawasaki

Lights out then for the delayed start to Race 1, and it was Rea with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Lowes, Toprak, and Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati).

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Lowes 4. Bassani 5. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) 6. Redding (BMW Motorrad) 7. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha). Further back it was Lecuona (Honda HRC) 11th, Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) 12th, and Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) in 15th.

With 12 laps to go Rea was making the most of his good start, and was extending his lead over the reigning champion in 2nd, putting in the fastest lap of the race with a 1:40.604, and held a gap of 0.6s. After initially making a good start, Lowes now found himself down in 4th, after first Toprak, then Bassani and Bautista overtook him.

Next lap and Toprak had cut the gap to Rea down to 0.4s, and set the new fastest lap of the race in the process with a 1:40.328. Bautista was now in 4th, after coming through on Lowes, but he would have work to do if he intended on catching his title rivals out in the lead.

With 10 laps to go Rea only held a gap of 0.1s to Toprak, who in turn held a gap of 0.5s to Bassani behind in 3rd.

Next lap and Toprak makes an aggressive move on Rea into turn 1, the R1 getting out of shape and Toprak slammed under Rea, while the rear of the R1 was sideways. No love lost between the pair!

With 7 laps to go, Bautista, as was a familiar scenario this season, was finding good late race pace and passed Bassani to take over 3rd. This group of 5 riders had pulled out a significant gap to the rest of the field. Further back it was Locatelli in 6th, and Redding in 7th. Rea held a gap of 0.7s to Bautista behind.

With 5 laps to go Bautista had cut the gap to Rea down to 0.2s, and was soon going to be all over the back of the ZX10-RR.

Next lap and Bautista, after getting good traction out of turn 15, blasted past Rea down the straight and briefly into 2nd, although he over cooked it into the corner, and subsequently ran out wide, allowing Rea to retake the position. The intention from the Spaniard was clear however. Meanwhile further back it was Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) in 8th, Vierge (Honda HRC) 9th, and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 10th.

With 3 laps to go Bautista lined up Rea, and this time made the pass stick, moving into 2nd. Toprak was clear out in the lead, and held a gap of 1.5s, which you felt was enough to see him take the win. Meanwhile Lowes had found a bit extra, and was all over the back of Bassani looking for a pass.

Next lap and Lowes lined up Bassani, and made a pass, but the Italian snapped straight back into turn 5 to retake the lead.

WSBK 08.10.2022 Portimao – Podium: Razgatlioglu, Bautista, Rea, picture courtesy of WorldSBK

Last lap and Toprak crossed the line to claim the win, followed by Bautista in 2nd, and Rea in 3rd. Bassani 4th, Lowes 5th, Locatelli 6th, Rinaldi 7th, Vierge 8th, Baz 9th, Gerloff 10th. Drama for Scott Redding, who went down into turn 5, was able to pick up the bike and eventually crossed the line down in 18th.

Result top 5:

  1. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  2. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  3. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  4. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)
  5. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 414 pts
  2. Razgatlioglu – 360
  3. Rea – 343
Posted on

Perez provisionally takes Singapore GP victory, with potential penalty looming

Sergio Perez survived a late-race onslaught from Charles Leclerc to provisionally take victory at the Singapore GP but finished under a cloud as he awaits the results of an investigation for an infringement under the Safety Car.

Perez got a good start off the line to be P1 into turn 1. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

The Mexican took the lead at the start of the race and was never headed, in a race where he and Leclerc were the class of the field, finishing well ahead of Carlos Sainz who came home third in the second Ferrari. With Max Verstappen only finishing in seventh after an eventful afternoon, the championship battle continues onto next week’s race at Suzuka.

The race start was delayed due to torrential rain at the start, meaning that the formation lap finally got underway 65 minutes later than originally planned, at 21:05 local time. The entire field started on intermediate tyres, with conditions much wetter than they were in qualifying on Saturday.

Those on the traditionally ‘dirtier’ side of the grid got the better start, with Perez comfortably ahead of Leclerc before they hit the brakes for turn one. Sainz was also able to get ahead of Lewis Hamilton but it was a lot less straightforward for the Spaniard, as he made contact with Hamilton’s Mercedes before finally staying ahead. This was the start of a frustrating race for Hamilton, as he spent the first half staring at the diffuser of Sainz’s Ferrari.

Verstappen fighting Magnussen after losing places at the start. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool.

It was a difficult start to the race for Max Verstappen, who bogged down at the start, dropping down to twelfth on the first lap. The reigning champion didn’t waste any time moving through the field, however, quickly dispatching Kevin Magnussen (after contact between the two which caused the Dane to pit) and Pierre Gasly to get back into the points.

It was an attritional race at the Marina Bay circuit, with multiple safety car and virtual safety car periods. The first safety car came after Nicholas Latifi squeezed Zhou Guanyu into the wall as the Alfa Romeo attempted an overtake, with the resulting damage causing both to retire. Latifi was given a five-place grid penalty for Suzuka after the incident.

The next three interruptions were all virtual safety cars. Fernando Alonso was doing a superb job of keeping Verstappen behind in his 350th race, before pulling off with power unit issues. Shortly after, Alex Albon made contact with the wall, leaving his front wing out on track before retiring in the pits. Esteban Ocon compounded a miserable day for Alpine when his engine failed spectacularly on lap 28, as the Enstone-based team failed to score points for the second race in a row.

In a carbon copy of yesterday, the track reminded slippery well after the rain had stopped, meaning drivers had to struggle around on their old intermediates. The first person to try something different was George Russell, who had been stuck in a train all race after starting from the pit lane. His medium tyres looked to be the wrong call, before finally coming into their own by lap 34, as he started setting purple sectors.

Russell on the mediums sooner than expected. Image courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media

This led to a glut of cars coming into the pitlane, including Hamilton, who had to change his front wing after making contact with the barriers at turn seven. McLaren stayed out longer than everyone else, and their gamble paid off when Yuki Tsunoda crashed into the wall at turn ten after hitting a wet patch, bringing out the race’s second full safety car. This allowed Norris to retain his fourth place after the pitstops and brought Daniel Ricciardo up into sixth, with Verstappen sandwiched in between.

The Red Bull got a superb run on Norris into turn seven on the restart, but locked up on the damp part of the circuit, dropping down to last after taking to the escape road. He was able to recover back to the pits and put on a fresh set of soft tyres, eventually recovering to seventh place after a fantastic battle in the final laps with Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton nearly another collision as he tried to overtake Vettel, with his front wing coming within inches of the Aston Martin’s rear tyre, as Lewis ran deep to allow Max through.

Sainz didn’t have the best race despite finishing P3. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

Out in front, Perez and Leclerc were quickly able to pull away from Sainz and traded fastest laps with each other for the first laps after the restart. Even after DRS was activated, however, the Ferrari was not able to get close enough to Perez when it really mattered, with a small mistake in the final sector from Leclerc dropping him out of DRS range, and giving Perez a clear path to on-track victory.

The late drama with the leaders came as the FIA announced that Perez’s alleged safety car infringement would be investigated after the race. Red Bull were wise to any potential penalties, quickly telling Perez to up the pace, as he finished 7.7s ahead of Leclerc in second. However, with Perez under investigation for both safety car restarts, it is possible that Leclerc may still be awarded the victory.

Both McLarens finished in the top five, as they jumped Alpine to take fourth in the constructor’s championship. Lance Stroll finished sixth, his best of the season, ahead of Verstappen, Vettel, Hamilton and Gasly. The double points finish for Aston Martin means they leap both Alpha Tauri and Haas in the constructor’s championship, with the Silverstone squad now three points ahead of Haas and Alpha Tauri in the battle for seventh.

Results today mean Perez and Leclerc still have a mathematical chance of claiming the world championship. A win for Verstappen with his two rivals failing to finish second would secure a second world championship for the Dutchman, who will be hoping for a much more straightforward race next weekend.

The race podium. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

 

Posted on

The Oulton Park Showdown Shocker!

I’ve written this intro something like 10 times. Deleted it and started again! Deleted it and started again! Deleted it and started again! Deleted it and started again! I’m struggling to find the words to describe what happened this weekend that you can follow in a logical pattern and order which will make sense by the end of this article. A roller coaster of action, emotion, shock, confusion, anger, deflation and a whole other host of feelings towards situations beyond our control. Huge amounts of disappointment for some, while others breath a huge sigh of relief, albeit with a concerned eye on the health of their racing colleagues but appreciating that one third of the Showdown battle is behind them.

Oulton Park in the Autumn of 2021 changed the season for two McAMS Yamaha riders. One rider’s fortunes were changed for the better, where the other lost a season’s worth of hard work in 2 days. Of course, I am referring to Tarran Mackenzie’s success and Jason O’Halloran’s disastrous ‘two crash weekend’ 1 year ago. Well it seems ‘The Curse of Oulton Park’ his struck again in 2022 for the same team, though it seems it has swept through the McAMS team like a case of the common cold! Take this in for a second… The McAMS Yamaha pairing of reigning champion, Tarran Mackenzie and [the man who up until Saturday inhabited second place in the championship standings] Jason O’Halloran have failed to finish a single race this weekend. 6 FULL RACES. GONE! The British Superbike Championship has been turned on its head.

Jason O’Halloran – Image courtessy of McAMS Yamaha

Race 1

A typical Oulton Park race, of which we have seen many over the years, where riders try to pass on the tight, twisty, undulating circuit but ultimately the attempts are short in supply and the laps tick off one by one in the countdown to the checkered flag. The first shock of Race 1 came when a charging Tarran Mackenzie crashed his Yamaha R1 on the entry to Shell Oil’s hairpin, trying to bridge the gap to the front group after his poor start from his qualifying position of 5th on the grid. Oulton Park, 1 – Tarran Mackenzie, 0. The first mistake of the Showdown coming from the reigning champion. Before you know it, fans and teams alike looking at Bradley Ray entering the final lap with a 3.1 second lead over the following group of Tommy Bridewell in second place, followed by Jason O’Halloran, Peter Hickman and Leon Haslam. A group of three riders chasing Ray, but who will round out the podium on the final lap?

Now here’s the rub! After cresting Clay Hill and entering the Druid’s right-hand turn for the final time, there was contact between the motorcycles of Peter Hickman [FHO Racing BMW] and Jason O’Halloran [McAMS Yamaha] resulting in a crash for The O’Show. Hickman letting the brake off and moving for an inside line overtake, O’Halloran turns in and the end result is a trip to the gravel trap ending O’Halloran’s first race in the Showdown. A potential podium chance gone. Oulton Park, 1 – Jason O’Halloran, 0. Being it was the final lap, the incident was investigated after the race and resulted in Bennetts British Superbike Race Direction disqualifying Peter Hickman from the race, handing him 2 points on his racing license and a 3-place grid penalty for Race 2. Official BSB later released the onboard footage from Hickman’s BMW and Leon Haslam’s Kawasaki following behind.

Hickman was quick to defend his position, taking to Twitter to issue a statement. “Of course, I’m absolutely gutted that JO and McAMS Yamaha didn’t finish that race, that was never my intention and never would be. I’m just glad he’s ok. I am however shocked at Race Directions decision, don’t get me wrong they have a tough job to do but disqualification… 2 points on my race license and a 3 place grid penalty is absolutely way over the top. We are racing, not playing today [Hicky meant tiddly] winks! I stand by what I said on Eurosport after the race, there was a gap, he was weak in that area and I was strong, and I had a chance of a podium so… of course I had a go. It’s a huge shame that he tagged the back of my bike and went down, but we are racing on very small margins and sometimes it happens. As for comments about not having a go at passing someone because they’re in the showdown and lack of respect etc I… completely disagree, but each to their own eh! Thanks for the support from everyone as always, I’ll be on the grid again tomorrow and trying just as hard. Hicky.”

Jason O’Halloran took to his own social media outlets to post a picture of his accident damaged Yamaha in the McAMS garage and wrote “All my guys and I have worked so hard this year to put ourselves in a position to win this championship. A little bit of respect would go a long way.”

 Race 1 Results – Ray, Bridewell, Haslam, Glenn Irwin, Buchan, Jackson, Iddon, Skinner, Ryde, Brookes, Sykes, Kent, Neave, Harrison, Rouse, Takahashi, Owens, Mizuno, Delves. 

DNF – Mackenzie, O’Halloran, Andy Irwin, Jeacock, Vickers, Stacey.

Race 2 – Start 1

Unlike last year (which was shorts and a t-shirt) it was freezing cold on Sunday. Raining on and off and blowing a gale. Not the best weather for a British Superbike race. Declared a wet race, then after a slight delay and the rain abating, it was declared a dry race meaning any sudden rain would cause a red flag.

Dry Race – Image courtessy of Official BSB

LAP 1 Away from the lights it’s Brad Ray who gets the holeshot, followed closely by Jason O’Halloran and Tommy Bridewell. As we return to the scene of Saturday’s Race 1 incident at Druid’s corner, racing fans and teams look on in shock as Tommy Bridewell puts a move on Jason O’Halloran, that sends the McAMS Yamaha rider barreling through the same gravel trap as the previous day. Oulton Park, 2 – Jason O’Halloran, 0. Race direction investigates the incident as the race continues to circulate.

Oulton Park, Race 2 – Image Courtesy of Official BSB

Tommy Bridewell was ordered to perform a Long Lap Penalty (which is down at Hissy’s chicane while you perform the slalom between the barriers) but a lap later, while entering the Hislop Chicane Tarran Mackenzie slipped off his Yamaha R1 and slid into the path of Peter Hickman. In a split second, contact was made between Hicky’s BMW and Mackenzie’s lower body and legs. Oulton Park, 2 – Tarran Mackenie, 0. The race was then red flagged. The Mackenzie family and McAMS Yamaha later released a statement officially ending Tarran’s season due to a fractured femur, which after surgery leaves the Scottish / Derbyshire-man unfit for the remaining rounds in the 2022 season. While the medical team were dealing with Mackenzie on circuit, Bridewell gave an interview to Eurosport insinuating that he also thought O’Halloran was going too slow in the Clay Hill / Druid section and he thought the move was on.

Statement from McAMS Yamaha with reference to the Oulton Park Round.

Race 2 – Start 2

Shortened to a 14-lap race and Bridewell’s unserved long lap loop penalty was changed into a time equivalent, which effectively put him to the rear of the grid. Race 2 kicks off again for the second time, only for the race to be stopped again due to rider contact at Britten’s Chicane a few laps later. This time it was contact between Rory Skinner, Christian Iddon and a luckless Kyle Ryde. Iddon and Ryde both a victim of ‘wrong place, wrong time’. Entering the Britten Chicane, Iddon and Skinner had the same idea at the same time. Iddon lined up Ryde on the brakes into the left / right chicane and as he moved left to pull off the maneuver Skinner behind had lined Iddon up for the same move. All happening in a split second, with only a heartbeat to react Iddon realised the move wasn’t on and lined up to slide in behind Ryde but Skinner had already put his own move into action. The result was Skinners FS-3 Kawasaki crashing into the rear of Iddon’s Buildbase Suzuki, sending Skinners bike careering across the track to collect Ryde’s Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha from behind, bringing down the Yamaha rider.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of the crash for Skinner himself. He was scooped up between the rear wheel and subframe on the Suzuki GSXR of Iddon and dragged into the back wheel. This caused Iddon’s rear wheel to lock and dropped them both to the ground. Red Flag x 2. Iddon later confirmed he has a broken bone in his hand and has also been ruled out of the Donington Park round this weekend due to the sports concussion protocol. Skinner has also suffered multiple fractures in his hand and requires surgery. It is yet to be confirmed if Skinner will attend the Donington Park round or not.

Lee Jackson. Winner of Race 2 – Image Courtesy of FS-3 Racing

Race 2 – Start 3

A relatively tame version of events, barring poor Kyle Ryde’s Turn 1 slip off which can only be put down to cold tyres. In comparison to the first two attempts, the restart running to the finish was a welcome relief to everyone but the delay had affected the schedule for the remaining races of the day. After the two earlier versions, the surprise of the restart was Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha’s Bradley Ray seemingly not having an answer for the FS-3 Kawasaki of Lee Jackson or the Oxford Products Ducati of Tommy Bridewell who took the win and second place respectively after Bridewell had made up half the grid at the restart, before the red flag, to then make up the rest of the grid on the 3rd restart. Lee Jackson returning to the winning step of the podium for the first time since his earlier win at Oulton Park back in the summer.

Race 2 Results – Jackson, Bridewell, Ray, Glenn Irwin, Buchan, Haslam, Sykes, Brookes, Andrew Irwin, Hickman, Stacey, Kent, Vickers, Takahashi, Mizuno, Jeacock, Delves. 

DNF – O’Halloran, Mackenzie, Harrison, Rouse, Ryde, Neave, Owens, Iddon, Skinner. 

Race 3

It was announced by McAMS Yamaha that a battered and bruised Jason O’Halloran would not take part in the remaining race of the day. Oulton Park, 3- Jason O’Halloran, 0. Race 3 turned out to be a very tame affair and the surprise came in the form of a battle for the win between Honda Racing UK’s Glenn Irwin and Oxford Products Tommy Bridewell, with Bridewell claiming the victory. Another great result for Race 3 was the addition of Tom Sykes and his MCE Ducati making it into the top 6, not more than a handful of seconds from the winners. In race three the temperature had dropped significantly and with the news that his closest rivals weren’t taking part in the remaining race, it seemed Brad Ray could also ensure he had a solid finish to a chaotic race meeting.

Race 3 Results – Bridewell, Glenn Irwin, Jackson, Buchan, Ray, Sykes, Hickman, Brookes, Ryde, Kent, Stacey, Andrew Irwin, Vickers, Haslam, Harrison, Takahashi, Rouse, Owens, Jeacock, Mizuno. 

DNF – O’Halloran (Did not Start) Mackenzie (Did not start) Delves, Neave, Iddon (Did not start) Skinner (Did not start).

The overall championship has been turned on its head. McAMS Yamaha have dropped down the order to be replaced by Tommy Bridewell, Lee Jackson and Glenn Irwin, however Bradley Ray has extended his championship lead from the 13 points he had on O’Halloran coming into Oulton Park, to 40 points over Tommy Bridewell in 2nd place overall.

Tommy Bridewell, Oxford Products Ducati – Image courtesy of Official BSB

Donington Park this weekend. Who will take the second round of the Showdown in their stride and come out on the other side leading the championship?

Posted on

Round 8 WorldSBK, Catalunya, Spain, Race 1

Superpole saw the rookie, Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC), claim his maiden WorldSBK pole with an unbeaten lap of 1:40.766. The Kawasaki team mates of Lowes, and Rea, were in 2nd, and 3rd respectively.

Lights out for race 1, and it was Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), with an amazing start to get the hole shot, after only qualifying in 5th. The same couldn’t be said for Rea who got nudged out wide by Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati), and then almost got taken out by Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), the Italian himself also going wide. The Northern Irishman found himself down in 9th after that dust up. It was Toprak (Pata Yamaha) in 2nd, with Lowes trailing behind in 3rd. Drama also for Oettl (GoEleven Ducati) who went down, his race was over.

Next lap and positions were as follows; 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Lowes 4. Rinaldi 5. Lecuona 6. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) 7. Rea 8. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) 9. Locatelli 10. Redding (BMW Motorrad). Lecuona then got dropped a further place, after Bassani came through to take 5th, the pole man finding himself in 6th. Drama then for Bernardi (Barni Racing Team), who got taken out by Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad), and his race was over, Vd Mark stayed on track.

With 18 laps to go, Redding, who was not having a good start to his weekend crashed out, the BMW ploughed into the gravel, and his race was over. Bautista was already applying the pressure out in front, and was putting down some quick lap times. Lecuona had regained some composure after his bad start, and was now up to 4th, Bassani, and Rea were behind in 5th, and 6th respectively.

Next lap and Bautista was continuing his relentless pace, he set a new fastest lap of 1:41.926. Toprak was trying to stay in contact, with the gap now 0.4s to the Spaniard ahead. These leading two were already pulling away from Lowes behind in 3rd. Rea was still in 6th, and was desperate to make up positions, as he could see his title rivals disappearing down the track.

With 15 laps remaining, Lecuona moved through on Lowes to take 3rd. Bautista increased his gap over Toprak to 0.7s. Meanwhile further back, Rea who had been lining up Bassani, made his move into turn 10, trying to cut up the inside, however Bassani snapped straight back immediately and shut the door. Rea was growing increasingly frustrated to be so far back.

With 13 laps to go, Bautista now had a gap of just over 1s to Toprak, and showed no signs of letting up the ferocious pace. Meanwhile there was now a 4 way battle for 5th, between Bassani, Rea 6th, Locatelli 7th, and Gerloff 8th.

Next lap and Rea once again lined up Bassani, this time down the long straight, and into turn 1, the move stuck this time, and Bassani had no answer as Rea dived up the inside to take 5th. Rea was now behind his team mate, and had massive work to do in order to limit the points deficit to his title rivals.

With 11 laps remaining, Vd Mark, who had had an earlier altercation with Bernardi, was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue, and that was both factory BMW riders out now, a bad start to the weekend for them. Toprak was struggling to keep contact with Bautista, and the gap was out to 1.6s. Meanwhile further back Locatelli made a pass on Bassani into turn 6, cutting up the inside of his Italian compatriot. Bassani responded a few corners on into turn 9, and retook the position. Locatelli who was having an eventful race, then ran out wide for the second time, and managed to rejoin in 9th. It was; 6. Bassani 7. Gerloff 8. Rinaldi 9. Locatelli.

Next lap and Lowes had a gap of 0.5s to his team mate behind in 5th. Would we see team orders come into play? Meanwhile out in the lead Bautista now had a commanding 2.5s lead over Toprak, who seemed to be struggling with tyre grip. The Turk was 3.5s ahead of Lecuona in 3rd. Further back it was; 12. Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW), 13. Mahias (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki), and 15. Nozane (GRT Yamaha).

With 8 laps remaining, Rea was still trailing his team mate by 0.5s. Toprak continued to lose his advantage, and was now only 2.3s ahead of Lecuona in 3rd. Meanwhile further back, Gerloff pulled off an audacious move into turn 1, taking both Bassani, and Rinaldi, and cut through into 6th. Locatelli was still in 9th.

Michael Rinaldi – Barcellona WSBk 2022. Image courtesy of Ducati

With 7 laps to go, Rinaldi was finding extra pace on the Ducati, and barged through on Bassani into the last corner to take 7th. Meanwhile Lecuona continued to reel in Toprak, the gap closing all the time, the harder tyres were paying off for Lecuona. It didn’t appear to be team orders, but Rea did come through on Lowes to take 4th.

Next lap and Rea continued his late race charge to the front, out braking Lecuona into turn 1 to take over 3rd. Rea was now only 1.6s behind Toprak, and you wonder what could have been, had he not had the bad start. Meanwhile out in the lead, and with the hammer firmly down, Bautista was now leading by 5.9s, and that you felt would be enough to claim the win.

With 5 laps to go, Toprak continued to drop back like a stone, and was now only 1.1s ahead of Rea. The R1 had grip issues, and the rear was spinning up out of every corner now. There was now a 3 way battle for 4th between Lecuona, Lowes, and Gerloff. Meanwhile at the front Bautista increased his lead to 7.5s.

Next lap and again Gerloff pulled off another audacious move into turn 1, again taking two riders to move into 4th, this time its Lecuona, and Lowes. The Texan was having one of his best races of the season so far. Rea made an easy pass under Toprak into the long turn 4, to move into 2nd, with his lack of grip Toprak couldn’t respond.

With 3 laps to go Gerloff dived under Toprak, again into turn 1 to take 3rd. Meanwhile further back, Rinaldi continued to make up positions late in the race, this time moving up to 6th after getting through on Lecuona.

Next lap and Toprak continued to drop back, and Rinaldi was able to move through on him into turn 10. Positions were as follows; 4. Rinaldi 5. Toprak 6. Lecuona 7. Lowes 8. Bassani 9. Locatelli.

Alvaro Bautista winner of race one at Barcellona wsbk 2022. Image Courtesy of Ducati

Last lap and Bautista had extended his lead to an unassailable 10.5s. Gerloff had caught Rea, and was looking for a way past. Bautista crossed the line to take the win, Rea managed to hold off Gerloff to take 2nd, while Gerloff gets 3rd. Rinaldi 4th, Toprak 5th, Lecuona 6th, Lowes 7th, Bassani 8th, Locatelli 9th, and a respectable top 10 for Laverty.

A dominant victory for Bautista, who maybe had a point to make, after the spat between himself and Rea.

Result top 5:

  1. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  3. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha)
  4. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)
  5. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)

 

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 357 pts
  2. Razgatlioglu – 313
  3. Rea – 305

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

Posted on

Snetterton 300 – British Superbikes Round 8 – 2022 Race Report

Who do you think is going to be the 2022 British Superbike Champion?

The Showdown is finalised and now the nail biting starts. Round 8 of the BSB season was an important one for a small group of riders. Some hoping to secure their spot in the showdown, while others hoping to snatch a spot away from their competitors. In with a chance to enter the showdown were Danny Buchan, Peter Hickman and Leon Haslam and hoping to retain their place were Lee Jackson, Glenn Irwin, Tommy Bridewell, Tarran Mackenzie and Kyle Ryde.

BSB Snetterton 11.09.2022 Picture courtesy of Josh Brookes

As is always the case with British Superbikes, there is a trend for riders who have struggled in the earlier part of the season to start hitting the top 10 and Round 8 was no different. A surprise podium for Kyle Ryde after a poor showing in the last few rounds, joined by Christian Iddon in 4th, who has the skillset for this position but perhaps not the backup from him machinery. Leon Haslam fought back into the top 5 again in Race 1, as he seems to be getting the Vision Track Kawasaki dialed in albeit too little, too late. Also a surprise top 10 finish from Danny Kent and Takumi Takahashi in 11th. While regular top 10 finishers Peter Hickman, Glenn Irwin and somewhat regular top 10 finisher, Tom Sykes were in the mix too.

Danny Buchan needed to have a strong round to gain a position in the title Showdown but a lap 1 pileup seemingly caused by yet another Ryan Vickers DNF took him out along with Josh Owens, effectively ending his chance to secure a position in the top 8 positions. Tommy Bridewell was also left looking at the championship standings through gritted teeth after his Race 1 DNF when his Oxford Products Ducati Panigale stopped along the start finish straight causing his retirement from the race. Eurosport’s Steve Day and Jamie Whitham confirmed that Tommy had accidentally hit the kill switch on his bike and with the modern superbikes, it simply is not a case of flicking it back on. The bike needed to stop and reset the whole system, by which point Tommy was at the rear of the field.

Race 1. A dominant victory from Rich Energy OMG Racing’s Bradley Ray has seen him extend his lead in the championship, but more importantly his podium credits too. A very strong 2nd place from Tarran Mackenzie sees him gain a few more points in the chase for retaining his championship, especially with their championship rival Jason O’Halloran continuing a sudden avoidance of the podium positions after a poor Cadwell Park by finishing Race 1 at Snetterton down in 12th place. His position within the Showdown is secure, but with full podium credits going to rival Brad Ray, never has it been more important for the O’Show to turn in a championship winning performance. Congratulations to Kyle Ryde. Ryde ended his recent run of poor form with a 3rd place podium finish secured his place within the Showdown and no doubt gives the young rider a huge sigh of relief, and much needed boost of confidence.

Race 1 Results: – Brad Ray, Taz Mackenzie, Kyle Ryde, Christian Iddon, Leon Haslam, Lee Jackson, Tom Sykes, Peter Hickman, Glenn Irwin, Danny Kent, Takumi Takahashi, Jason O’Halloran, Josh Brookes, Tom Neave, Storm Stacey.

Race 2 started well for Ray, Mackenzie, Ryde and O’Halloran until a wheel-to-wheel collision between Andy Irwin and Jason O’Halloran caused Irwin to crash and dropped O’Halloran down the field to 6th place. Bradley Ray and Tarran Mackenzie continued to gap the field, with Bridewell chasing hard in 3rd. The laps counted down with a steady away race after an overtake from Mackenzie into the lead, with the battles continuing further down the field. Danny Buchan putting a harsh move on Lee Jackson when trying to pass up the inside at the right-hand hairpin, with contact from Buchan’s bike into Lee Jackson. Luckily Jackson was able to take the brunt of it and continue the race while Buchan moved on to attack Sykes on the MCE Ducati, which allowed Jackson to come through with him. Buchan moved on to attack McAMS Jason O’Halloran to further compound the Australian rider’s frustrations, also allowing Lee Jackson past. One lap to go and Bradley Ray has done his research behind Mackenzie. Closing right up on the rear wheel they entered the last lap Bradley Ray timed his slipstream to perfection, putting his move on Mackenzie in the chicane at the midpoint leaving no way back for Taz.

Race 2 victory cemented for Ray followed by Mackenzie, Bridewell, Glenn Irwin, Hickman, Ryde, Buchan, Jackson, O’Halloran, Sykes, Skinner, Brookes, Stacey, Neave, Mizuno.

Race 3. Started in much of the same way as Race 2. Not a slugfest, no wild moves. Plenty of tyre saving going on after Taz took the lead from Ray. Storm Stacey’s stricken Kawasaki brought out the safety car at the midpoint of the race. Upon resuming the race, when rounding the last corner, it seems Mackenzie had misjudged his distance to the safety car and closing speed, as by the time Tarran made his jump for rolling race restart, Mackenzie, Ray and Glenn Irwin overtook the safety car while it was still on the track, albeit just slowing down while entering the pit lane. Each rider was handed a 2 second time penalty which affected the finish positions of Race 3. Bradley Ray had enough of a gap to maintain 1st place. Glenn Irwin finished in 2nd on the track but was demoted to 4th after the penalty which put Peter Hickman in 2nd place and Tarran Mackenzie just managed to pickup 3rd on time after his penalty. A bit of a mess really and it took some time to explain to the riders what happened, but Stuart Higgs of British Superbike explained that the result stands and the rules must be applied. Tarran was later hit with 2 penalty points on his racing license as he lead the field into the early race restart.

BSB Snetterton 11.09.2022 Brad Ray Picture courtesy of Official BSB

Race 3: – Ray, Hickman, Mackenzie, Glenn Irwin, O’Halloran, Haslam, Bridewell, Ryde, Andy Irwin, Jackson, Brookes, Kent, Neave, Mizuno, Harrison.

The Showdown positions have been finalised, and the podium credits have been applied and this is how the championship now looks moving forward to Oulton Park in 2 weeks’ time.

1 – Brad Ray – 1061

2 – Jason O’Halloran – 1048

3 – Tarran Mackenzie – 1031

4 – Glenn Irwin – 1016

5 – Lee Jackson – 1014

6 – Kyle Ryde – 1013

7 – Rory Skinner – 1009

8 – Tommy Bridewell – 1008

Who do you think will win the 2022 British Superbike Championship?

Feature image courtesy of Oxford Products Moto Rapido BSB

Posted on

Round 7 WorldSBK, Magny-Cours, France, Race 2

The Superpole race saw Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) claim the win, followed by Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) and Rea (KRT Kawasaki) respectively.

With the track temperature nearing 40 degrees Celsius for race 2, the action on track would surely be heating up too.

Lights out for race 2, and it was Toprak with the hole shot into turn 1, followed closely by Bautista and Rea. As was the case in race 1, Bautista used the power of the Ducati to blast into the lead down the back straight, Toprak didn’t have an answer. Then Rea dived into 2nd place, looking aggressive early on. Lowes (KRT Kawasaki) got pushed out wide, and dropped down into 6th. Then massive drama as Rea took out the championship leader, sending Bautista flailing into the gravel. Rea caught him on the inside into turn 13, and the two bikes bumped into each other. There was nothing Bautista could do about that, and his race was over.

WorldSBK Magny Cours 11.09.2022 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Toprak 2. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) 3. Rea 4. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) 5. Lowes. Then Bassani takes the lead making a great move on Toprak, and sets the new fastest lap of the race with a 1:37.000. Positions were changing, by numerous riders, every corner in a chaotic start to the race.

With 17 laps remaining, Rea got a long lap penalty for the incident with Bautista. Positions were as follows: 1. Bassani 2. Toprak 3. Rinaldi 4. Lowes 5. Rea 6. Redding (BMW Motorrad) 7. Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 8. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) 9. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) 10. Lecuona (Honda HRC).

With 15 laps left, Bassani was having one of his best races of the season so far, and doing his best at keeping the world champion at bay behind in 2nd. The leading trio of Bassani, Toprak and Rinaldi had now pulled away from the rest. Rea took his penalty, and rejoined in 7th, in front of Baz 8th and Gerloff in 9th. The gap from Rinaldi in 3rd to Lowes in 4th was 1.2s, and Lowes held a gap of 1.4s to Redding behind in 5th. Rinaldi then makes an audacious move and moved from 3rd into the lead, taking both Bassani and Toprak. Toprak snapped back and took 2nd, while Bassani got forced into 3rd.

With 13 laps to go, Lowes had clawed his way back onto the leading group. Rea had moved up to 6th, and was in front of Locatelli in 7th.

Next lap and Vierge (Honda HRC), went down into turn 13, his race was over. Rinaldi was holding his own out in the lead, and so far was managing to keep Toprak at bay. Toprak however, was getting quicker lap by lap, and set a new fastest lap of 1:36.8. Bassani held a gap of 0.4s to Lowes behind in 4th. Meanwhile further back it was Mahias (Puccetti Kawasaki) 12th, and Nozane (GRT Yamaha) 14th.

Just over half race distance, and Redding in 5th held a gap of 1.7s to Rea in 6th.  Bassani was struggling to keep contact with Rinaldi and Toprak, both had pulled away.

With 8 laps to go, Toprak eventually made his move, and came through on Rinaldi to retake the lead.

With 6 laps remaining, Toprak had pulled out the gap to 0.4s to Rinaldi, who then ran too hot into turn 11, the Chicane, running straight through, and losing time in the process. The gap to Toprak in the lead was now up to 0.8s.

Next lap and Rea moved up into 5th after Redding ran wide. Further back there was a three way battle for 7th between Locatelli, Gerloff 8th and Baz 9th.

With 3 laps to go, Toprak now held a gap of 0.7s to Rinaldi in 2nd, Bassani was in 3rd, Lowes 4th, and Rea in 5th.

WorldSBK Magny Cours 11.09.2022 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

Last lap, and Toprak crossed the line to take his 2nd win of the weekend. Rinaldi took 2nd, and Bassani took 3rd, to claim his 2nd podium of the weekend. Lowes 4th, Rea 5th, Redding 6th, Locatelli 7th, Gerloff 8th, Baz 9th, and Lecuona 10th.

Result top 5:

  1. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  2. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)
  3. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)
  4. Lowes (KRT Kawasaki)
  5. Rea (KRT Kawasaki)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 332
  2. Razgatlioglu – 302
  3. Rea – 285
Posted on

F1 Weekend Preview: Zandvoort

From Spa to Zandvoort we move to the home Grand Prix of Max Verstappen who won in dominant style at Spa. The fast banking of Zandvoort is unlike any other track on the calendar so it will be a real test to see who can match RedBull’s pace.

Ferrari problems… again

Sainz enjoying P3. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

At Spa, it was not Ferrari’s weekend. The RedBulls were just too fast for them to keep up so could only get a P3 and P6. Whilst the P3 for Carlos Sainz was the best they could have hoped for, Charles Leclerc had a very unlucky weekend.

Having started P15 with various engine penalties, he managed to make his way up to P9 until he was forced to stop when it appeared a tear-off from Verstappen got caught in his brake duct. Having managed to make his way back up to P5 throughout the race, Ferrari pitted him to put on soft tyres and take the fastest lap from Verstappen.

However, another Ferrari strategy didn’t quite work because he came out behind Alonso with only two laps to go. This meant he had to overtake Alonso and didn’t achieve the fastest lap. To add insult to injury he was speeding in the pitlane by 1km/h on his last stop and was given a 5-second time penalty at the end of the race. Putting him back to P6.

Ferrari will want to put that behind them and try to gain points on the RedBulls in Zandvoort. Leclerc may be able to keep up with a new engine at his disposal, however, with the pace of Verstappen, it is difficult to see how Ferrari can bring their way back into this championship fight.

Mercedes crashing back to reality

After a successful outing in Hungary and a competitive run before the summer break, it was expected that the new regulations would help Mercedes be even closer to the top two teams. This was not the way it worked out.

Hamilton fly’s after contact with Alonso. Image courtesy of Mercedes media

They were 1.8 seconds slower than the pole lap in qualifying, struggling to get the cold tyres to work for them. When it came to the race Hamilton had a first-lap clash with Alonso, forcing him to retire from the race early.

George Russell on the other hand had a reasonably solid performance if you ignore the pace of Verstappen. He finished a respectable P4 which showed once again Mercedes’s race pace is better than their qualifying pace.

The last thing Mercedes need now is to go back to the unpredictability of their car before Silverstone, but Zandvoort may not be in their favour with the high-speed banking. The key for them on Saturday will be tyre management to prevent the large deficit they had in Spa.

Posted on

Cadwell Park – Round 7 Bennetts British Superbikes 2022

Well, that wasn’t what we were expecting, was it? I for one am a little shocked at the somewhat disappointing round for the insanely dominant McAMS Yamaha team. I expected a Yamaha 1, 2, 3 in every race with Bradley Ray in 3rd but it just goes to show that Cadwell is the Monaco of BSB.

Qualifying is everything and with round 7 trailing the Superpole method (just one flying lap to set your time) it goes to show how your weekend can go to s**t before the lights even go out for Race 1. Seems the season has fallen apart for a few names this weekend too. So where do we start?

BSB Cadwell Park 28.08.2022 O’Halloran and Mackenzie Picture courtesy of McAMS Yamaha

I said on a podcast recently that I thought Bradley Ray wouldn’t be able to turn up the pressure on Yamaha counterparts Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie. I (WRONGLY) claimed that Jason and Taz would turn the amplifier up to 11 where Brad would be at 10 due to the pressure of having never fought for a BSB title. How wrong was I? Where Jason and Tarran seemed to let the races slip away from them for one reason and another, Brad Ray was there to pickup a win and a couple of second place finishes to seriously stick it to rival Jason O’Halloran. Even going as far as to swap the positions in the championship standings. Bradley has moved from second in the standings to 1st overall. Ray now also sits on 46 podium credits v O’Halloran on 48 credits meaning not only has Ray taken the lead in the overall points in the build-up to the Showdown, but he has also closed the podium credits to 2 points. Meaning if the Showdown started tomorrow, O’Halloran would be in 1st place on 1048 points to Ray in 2nd place on 1046 points.

It couldn’t be closer if it was engineered. It makes me very nervous for O’Halloran as he also saw his season slip away in 2021 in the Showdown rounds. Fingers crossed this is not a repeat of that. The positive for O’Show to take is Tarran Mackenzie also seemed to have a somewhat disappointing round buy his own high standards. Were it not for Ray’s dominant performance, we would have said Cadwell Park clearly isn’t a Yamaha circuit this year, as surprising as that sounds due to it being a circuit rewarding of the best handling bikes.

Race 1 started with contact between Danny Buchan on his Synetiq BMW and MCE Ducati’s Tom Sykes. Both riders starting further up the grid than they are used to this year and a move by Buchan in the hairpin at the penultimate corner saw him line up for the inside of Sykes, only for Tom to tip in and close the door to Danny meaning a rear wheel to front wheel collision sent both riders on to the grad re-joining much further down the field. However, a lifeline was thrown to both riders in the form of a serious collision on the mountain section involving Dan Jones and Lee Jackson’s stricken FS3 Kawasaki motorcycle. Dan crested the mountain, unsighted to the Kawasaki ZX10 and ultimately collided with the bike. The race was red flagged, Dan was transported to hospital by Air Ambulance. Luckily for Dan a bruised lung, some internal bleeding and a broken collar bone were the worst of it. He considers himself lucky to be alive after a big one.

The race was re-started with everyone in their original positions, barring the riders that were unable to make the restarted race. Ray, Rory Skinner and Danny Buchan were able to lead off from the front of the grid. Cadwell Park doesn’t create the same racing spectacle as we saw, for example at the previous round at Thruxton. Cadwell is a very tricky place to overtake and it can be a bit of a procession. Hence my earlier remark as to it being the Monaco of BSB.

Rory Skinner was able to pull off a strong aggressive move under Ray at Chris curve, a long right-hand corner leading into a right / left flip flop chicane called the Gooseneck. Ray was able to take the position back and tick off the laps down to a race win and a very impressive 2nd place podium finish by Rory by just under a second with Danny Buchan rescuing a podium from the jaws of a top 10 finish that would have been prior to the red flag earlier. The biggest surprise of Race 1 was the lack of pace shown by the reigning British Champion, Tarran Mackenzie. Although not a great weekend for him, he remained positive while bemoaning a lack of rear grip but saying he just needs to look to the next round at Snetterton.

Race 1 Podium: – Bradley Ray, Rory Skinner, Danny Buchan. O’Halloran finished 4th with Mackenzie in 11th.

 

Race 2 on Sunday was slightly different in terms of a great start off the grid saw Buchan lead off with Bradley Ray and Tommy Bridewell chasing. Such was the lead the front three were able to clear, they were the only riders to make it to lap 16 when the race was red flagged due to a DNF for ‘King of the Mountain’ Josh Brookes when he slipped off his MCE Ducati over the mountain section leaving his V4 Panigale in the middle of the track. Race Direction were quick out with the red flags to ensure we didn’t have a repeat of the Dan Jones crash, and fair play to Josh Brookes, he was up on his feet straight to the bike to do his best to remove it from the racing line.

BSB Cadwell Park 28.08.2022 Leon Haslam Lee Hardy Racing Vision Track Kawasaki

Race 2 was somewhat rejuvenating for riders such as Leon Haslam on his Vision Track Kawasaki and Andy Irwin on his Synetiq BMW. In desperate need of some form, Haslam, Buchan, Hickman and Irwin were able to bring their bikes inside the top 10 to a better run of results finishing in front of both 7th and 8th place current holders in the overall championship standings, Tarran Mackenzie and Kyle Ryde. Based on Thruxton and Cadwell Park, suddenly it doesn’t look such a shoe in for Mackenzie to be in the showdown and if I were Kyle Ryde, I would be very nervous indeed. It could be that if Taz and Kyle have a bad weekend at Snetterton, any of Buchan, Hickman or Haslam could find themselves in the Showdown at their expense.

Race 2 Podium: – Danny Buchan, Bradley Ray, Tommy Bridewell. O’Halloran finished 8th with Mackenzie in 11th again.

 

Race 3 was quite simply a belter. Not so much in terms of the win. The front running riders were showing so little signs of being able to put a move on each other that most of the TV time went to covering the fight for 4th downwards. Stars of the show? Leon Haslam and Rory Skinner. They must have swapped positions 10 times. Skinner kept slinging it up the inside of Haslam at Chris Curve, which had quickly become his signature move while Leon kept out-dragging Rory down the Park Straight into Park Corner for Rory to turn a tighter line and cut back in front. It must have been frustrating for both riders to keep putting the manners on the other, only to have them chomping back again at the first opportunity with Haslam ultimately taking the honors again for 4th place over Skinner in 5th. Another strong finish by Peter Hickman and Andy Irwin bringing up the tail end of the top 10 with O’Halloran in 9th and Mackenzie in 10th.

Race 3 Podium: – Buchan, Ray, Bridwell.

BSB Cadwell Park 28.08.2022 Rory Skinner Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing

MCE Ducati had another poor weekend with Sykes not finishing Race 1, 10th in Race 2 and 18th in Race 3 while Brookes finished 10th in Race 1, crashed in Race 2 and finished 11th in Race 3.

Neither of Paul Bird’s bikes are in the Showdown this year for the first time since it’s incorporation. A tough season for the Cumbrian team but rumours are circling around whether Paul Bird will continue to run a team with his interests lying elsewhere with his son racing cars and other family members taking up other competitive sports outside of motorcycles. Paul said himself recently on a podcast he cannot do this forever. Only time will tell on this one as Paul Bird has made no secret of the fact he expect his riders to win races and compete for the British Superbike title and there’s no doubt he will be disappointed with how 2022 has gone.

Other riders / teams/ thoughts of note at Cadwell…

A disappointing weekend for Lee Jackson of FS3 Kawasaki after a DNF in Race 1, which meant a poor race qualifying position for race 2 battling back to 13th place, and a 10 second time penalty in race 3 for jumping the start meaning he finished the race in 12th place. Not what Lee needed however due to his strong season so far, he has only lost out to his team mate in the standings and now finds himself in 4th place overall behind Skinner, but we are now at the point where the podium points are more important than ever and finishes outside the top 10 are not going to help this underdog story come to the publishing table.

Crowe Performance BMW’s Chrissy Rouse had 2 crashes in the races and a 21st place finish over the weekend. A tough round for the popular Northeast rider on his privateer bike. Fingers crossed for a strong Snetterton round in 2 weeks.

Buildbase Suzuki’s Christian Iddon picked up a time penalty after wiping out MCE Ducati rider Tom Sykes on the run downhill into the Mansfield corner with a late move for the inside. Christian tried to pick the bike up and get out of the move but unfortunately it collected Tom Sykes causing the Ducati DNF while Christian was able to re-join after quite the excursion on to the grass which looked more like a hare and hounds scramble than a BSB race. These things happen in racing and Cadwell Park is a very difficult circuit to pass on, so any move can end up in such a position when riding on the limit. Luckily for Christian he has a reputation for being one of the safest riders on the grid. Tom didn’t have much to say on the incident and the weekend in general, barring a disappointing result after a positive Superpole session, he’s looking forward to Snetterton.

Shout out to Ryan Vickers of FHO BMW for 3 points finishes. Just what the doctor ordered for re-building confidence after quite the run of race DNF’s. Hopefully Ryan can build on this positivity now and continue this on to Snetterton and beyond.

Special mention to Tito Rabat too. Seems he took one look at Cadwell Park and said ‘no thank you’. I wish I wasn’t correct in my assessment of Tito being another big name to turn up at BSB and do nothing. Thruxton and Cadwell was never going to be the way to do it though. I feel very vindicated in my opinions before the Thruxton round. Shame to see him go though. The ever smiling, popular Spaniard could have brought a lot of publicity to the series on foreign soil. I wonder if he was smiling after doing a lap of the circuit or whether he had turned green?

Finally… Where has Kyle Ryde gone? Can someone please send out a search party? After such a strong start to the year, Ryde’s confidence has taken such a knock which seemed to start at Brands but really kicked in at Thruxton. Ryde has never ridden a Superbike at Cadwell Park and, in fairness, he was only 1 second a lap from the leader’s pace but in superbike racing that is a country mile. Kyle needs a strong round at Snetterton or I fear he will find himself demoted from the showdown positions and that would be a great shame.

So there we have it. Not the most exiting of rounds in terms of the actual racing, but certainly an impressive venue on the calendar and one that has turned the championship on its head in terms of the results. Remember we hand out the points for the finishing positions, not the show or excitement created.

Snetterton in 2 weeks time. The final round before the Showdown positions are locked in. Who will step up to the claim those final positions in the race for 2022’s crown?

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

Posted on

The Jewel in the Crown of British Superbikes Cadwell Park – Round 6 of the 2022 season

Set in the picturesque countryside of Louth in Lincolnshire, Cadwell Park has been a venue for engine powered motor racing for nearly 100 years. Mansfield Wilkinson purchased the land for the purpose of hosting ‘rough shooting’ events back in 1934. Rough shooting being use of dogs to hunt game from within the fields and hedgerows, flushing them out to be shot but Wilkinson was convinced by son Charles to allow the use of the grounds for Motorcycle Racing instead.

BSB Jason O’Halloran Picture courtesy of McAMS Yamaha

Starting off as non-tarmac, gravel roads winding around the grounds of the old park house, the track was extended over the years and eventually tarmacked. Four wheeled racing was introduced in the late 1950’s and it never looked back. 1996 saw the inaugural British Superbikes race at the venue and it has hosted every year since except for 2020, the shortened “Covid” season. In 2004 Cadwell Park was purchased by current owners Motorsport Vision who, to this day, are still looking at ways the thin, twisty, compact circuit can be improved for the fans and made safe for riders alike with the purchasing of surrounding plots of lands to extend run-off areas and adding in footbridges over the circuit to improve foot traffic around the circuit.

When you read about the circuit’s history, some of the corner names make sense. Mansfield corner. Charlie’s Corner and Chris’ Curve are all named after family members from the Wilkinsons. Barn corner was literally that, where the old Barn once stood. To some, it’s very interesting. To others, Cadwell Park means only one thing. The famous Mountain section. The current 2.175m layout of the circuit has remained there or thereabouts the same since the early 1960’s after modifications to the run in to the mountain were made to slow down the approach for safety reasons. The circuit winds its way through the hillside with sharp climbs, steep descents and works its way through the sections of trees and it can be a very tricky track to ride, especially in damp or wet conditions.

Cadwell Park doesn’t lend itself to a particular bike or rider. No one has enjoyed regular success at the circuit. In the last decade, race wins have gone to Josh Brookes, Peter Hickman, Jason O’Halloran, Danny Buchan, Tommy Hill, Alex Lowes, Tommy Bridewell, Shane Byrne, Leon Haslam, James Ellison and from those riders only Brookes, Haslam and Hickman have won races in multiple years.

A very technical race circuit where riders look for flow. BSB riders say when you try and ride Cadwell ‘Hard’ the lap-time goes further away from you. This is a track where you need the motorcycle flowing with you, from corner to corner as when the bike is fighting against you or the rider doesn’t feel the bike is working for you, it can be a long weekend producing poor results and with Cadwell Park being the penultimate round before riders are inducted into the Showdown, it is a very important round for the top half of the standings. Not a race circuit where out and out speed is important, this is a place where the handling and stability of the bike will be the priority. Currently Jason O’Halloran and Bradley Ray are confirmed in the showdown and perhaps Cadwell will settle the remaining places before moving on to the next round at Snetterton in a few weeks.

The podium results of the weekend last year (2021) were: –

Race 1 – Hickman, O’Halloran, Bridewell.

Race 2 – Hickman, O’Halloran, Bridewell.

Race 3 – O’Halloran, Hickman, Bridewell.

This year adding a re-guvinated Tarran Mackenzie on his McAMS Yamaha R1, Bradley Ray on the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaga, Lee Jackson Cheshire Moulding FS3 Kawasaki, Rory Skinner FS3 Kawasaki into the mix could more than spice things up for the coming bank holiday weekend. Could we see a resurgence of the “King of the Mountain” and jump fan favourite Josh Brookes, who loves to put on a show for the crowds at the famous mountain section, or will we see form in the hands of 2022 Silverstone winner Glenn Irwin?

Returning to the venue for his first race in over a decade, MCE Ducati’s Tom Sykes will hopefully continue his forward progress seen from Thruxton and join the fight for results. Cadwell can throw some serious curve balls into the mix so I wouldn’t rule Leon Haslam out either as a quick look leads me to think he has the most race wins at the circuit in the last 10 years. With the weather forecast showing a more moderate 17-20° than recent rounds, grip and conditions should be perfect for some exciting racing this weekend. While some riders have their eye on Showdown positions, other riders will be starting to turn their attention 2023 and looking at who is going where and what bikes will be available. With only 5 rounds to go until we crown the 2022 British Superbike championship, things are hotting up and battle lines are being drawn.

Good luck to all the riders and teams attending this year.

Thanks for reading.

Have a goodun’…

Posted on

A Thriller at Thruxton – Round 6 British Superbike Championship

Round 6 of the British Superbike Championship was teed up to be an absolute belter and it did not disappoint!

BSB Round 6 Thruxton 14.08.2022 Picture courtesy of McAMS Yamaha

Viewers at the circuit and TV audiences were treated to a stunning show from Yamaha riders Jason O’Halloran, Tarran Mackenzie and Bradley Ray with the podium positions in races 1, 2 and 3 shared between them. The Yamaha R1 has proven to be the bike in the best riding window throughout 2021 and 2022. Tarran Mackenzie took championship glory in 2021 on the YZF-R1 and this year it is looking dead set to be another Yamaha victory (though which rider is yet to be seen). You must go back to 2015 previously and 2011 before that, to see Yamaha’s last British Superbike titles in the hands of Josh Brookes and Tommy Hill respectively. 2022 more so than ever, the Yamahas seem to be able to handle what the tracks throw at them and have a handle on the remainder of the field using the bikes strengths. It gets off the corner well, although it doesn’t have the legs on say the Ducati Panigale or the BMW M1000R but in true BSB style, most tracks don’t have long straights where the other manufacturers can overtake, as we see in the likes of World Superbikes and MotoGP. The Yamaha (according to its riders) has very good edge grip on the tyres and gives a good feeling in the turns. To the layman, it corners well and doesn’t destroy its tyres. All a combination of engine characteristics and chassis/swingarm combination which is the bike to beat again in 2022.

Race 1 on Saturday morning started off as a bit of an unknown with riders such as FHO BMW’s Peter Hickman, Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin, Cheshire Mouldings FS3 Kawasaki riders Lee Jackson and Rory Skinner being in the mix on lap 1. McAMS Yamaha’s Taz Mackenzie and Rich Energy OMG Racing’s Bradley Ray were running 4th and 5th followed by Buildbase Suzuki rider Danny Kent, Rich Energy OMG Racing’s Kyle Ryde, MCE Ducati’s Tom Sykes, Oxford Products Ducati Tommy Bridewell and Christian Iddon bringing up the rear of the front running pack.

The field had been split by a first lap crash involving Luke Mossey and Chrissy Rouse which looked to have been a collision caused by contact from Josh Brookes Ducati but was put down to a racing incident as no further action was taken by race control. The gap continued to grow as the field spread out. Things settled down by the midway point as Brad Ray and Taz Mackenzie made their way to the front of the group and sat in behind Jason O’Halloran, followed closely by Peter Hickman on the BMW but it seemed Hicky was doing everything he could to stay within a second or 2 of the front three Yamahas, Unfortunately Peter Hickman couldn’t keep the pace for the full race distance and was eventually overtaken by Glenn Irwin on the Honda Fireblade.

Interestingly Kyle Ryde had a problem, later alluded to as a setting issue which was out of their hands with his Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha and soon found himself slipping backwards out of the top 10. As the laps counted down, the field had settled into their rhythm and Jason O’Halloran maintained a few bike lengths of a lead going into the final lap.

Tarran and Ray overtook each other, back and forth in the battle for 2nd place which gave Jason the space he needed to take the victory for Saturday’s Race 1. Brad Ray thought he had seen off Mackenzie in the final chicane, but Taz was able to turn a tighter racing line and cut back toward the chequered flag and pip Brad to 2nd by 0.003th of a second. On the photo finish picture released by the event organiser, 0.003 is about the profile depth of Tarran’s front tyre. Approx 2 inches was the difference between 2nd and 3rd place on the day.

Race 1 Points Finishers: – O’Halloran, Mackenzie, Ray, Irwin, Hickman, Jackson, Skinner, Haslam, Sykes, Bridewell, Vickers, Iddon, Ryde, Buchan and Mizuno in 15th.

BSB Round 6 Thruxton 14.08.2022 Josh Brookes Picture courtesy of PBMotorsport MCE Ducati

Of the riders finishing out of the points, the two riders of interest were Tito Rabat, who had been drafted in to ride the TAG Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade this weekend. The Spaniard is currently leading the Spanish Superbike Championship on board a Honda.

I got some grief on social media last week for stating that I didn’t see Rabat anywhere but at the back of the field. In my eyes, if the best riders in this championship struggle with Thruxton, a circuit where no testing or track days take place due to local planning rules, I didn’t see how someone can come to the championship and kick off there, on a bike with no electronic intervention, different tyres, a bike he hasn’t ridden, a team he’s never met etc etc etc (insert multiple other reasons here).

There is no doubting the skill of the 2014 Moto2 World Champion and EX-MotoGP rider, but Thruxton was only going to be a very rude awakening for the popular Spaniard. Tito has also ridden in the World Superbike series and failed to make an impression on their production based motorcycles. Perhaps I feel a little like James Toseland on commentary for the Donington Park round of the World Superbikes, where he spoke out against being unprepared for what you are letting yourself in for with reference to the McAMS Yamaha wild card, but for me it seemed an ill prepared choice and one that has proven to be the wrong one for Tito with 2 last place finishes and a DNF in race 3.

Tito will run out for the team again in 2 weeks at Cadwell Park and he is very excited to ride the Lincolnshire course after watching the races on the TV. Fingers crossed with more time on the bike and a better understanding of the team, his results will be more positive but again, one round after the next, Cadwell is another of Britain’s quirky tracks that leaves people wide-eyed. Imagine telling any of the current MotoGP riders (barring Jack Miller) there is a jump in the middle of the track. I can’t see Cadwell being much different for Tito but welcome the exposure his presence brings to the series.

The second rider shockingly outside the points on Saturday was two time British Champion Josh Brookes, who finished down in 20th place. Josh Brookes had grip issues at the circuit back in 2021 and it was clear by the end of Qualifying for this weekend’s Thruxton race, his problems were there and still the same. After a qualifying position of 26th for Race 1, Josh couldn’t make the progress through the field he needed to give his showdown chances a much-needed lifeline. I fear at this point the 2022 season has been written off for Josh Brookes.

Race 2 panned out in much the same way with O’Halloran, Ray, Mackenzie and Hickman getting into their rhythm and pulling a gap. O’Halloran setting a pace with Mackenzie and Ray putting overtakes on each other and Hickman watching on. Mackenzie made the first move sliding up the inside of O’Halloran at the end of lap 14 and this was the point the pin was pulled. Ray outbroke O’Halloran in the chicane on lap 15, rubbing himself up the inside of the McAMS rider but O’Halloran retaliated straightaway barging back through to 2nd place.

Ray and O’Halloran started to repeat the Ray/Mackenzie show from Saturday, allowing Taz to pull a small gap while Brad and Jason squabbled. Once Brad got his head down, he was able to catch and overtake Mackenzie and put himself in 1st position, battling for the win, but his tyres were about to show him why Thruxton is a very hard track to judge. Upon exiting Church corner and at approximately 170mph, Ray had a huge slide forcing him to close the throttle, bringing Mackenzie and O’Halloran back into contention.

Battle ensued and the race boiled down to the last lap. Ray led O’Halloran, who led Mackenzie and after a huge slide at Church corner this time for O’Halloran, they entered the final chicane three abreast for the race victory. Tarran drifting wide allowing Jason to square off to the line and sneak the victory in the same way Mackenzie pipped Ray, in Saturday’s sprint race.

Race 2 Points Finishers: – O’Halloran, Mackenzie, Ray, Hickman, Jackson, Irwin, Skinner, Buchan, Haslam, Bridewell, Iddon, Sykes, Irwin, Mizuno and Brookes in 15th place.

The surprise non-points finish for Race 2 was Danny Kent. After a podium in Race 3 last year, and a DNF Crash in Race 1 on Saturday, Danny would have been fired up for a good crack at Race 2, but it wasn’t to be for the local rider on the Buildbase Suzuki.

As you would expect, Race 3 panned out much the same, but the adrenaline seemed to have been spent in Race 2 for the most part. The three Yamaha riders got settled into their rhythm and made their way off into the distance leaving the midfield to fight amongst themselves. A strong race start from Sykes saw him running in the top 6 with Haslam, Jackson, Glenn Irwin and co but later would see his tyres struggle to maintain the grip on the 40+° tarmac.

Andy Irwin battled his way into the top 10 after a disastrous round so far with a DNS in Race 1 and finishing in just 13th place for Race 2, as the action from the leaders waited until the final laps. It seemed Jason O’Halloran either had no tyre left or the energy to use them. A goliath of a battle between these three Yamaha riders had entertained the viewers all weekend but the last lap battle came down to Tarran Mackenzie and Bradley Ray. Tarran defeating Brad using one of Jason O’Halloran’s own moves with the 170mph “up the inside” at Church corner and maintaining the lead into the final chicane. If you watched the drag to the line on the TV you will have seen both Taz and Brad’s rear wheels sideway pouring blue smoke while both tried to get the power down early to win the race.

British Superbikes seems to have moved in a different direction with its podium rider interviews. Previously they waited until the riders were off the bike and calmer, but it seems good viewing to have the interview as soon as the helmet comes off in parc ferme, while the rider is still sat on the bike. The result of this? Just go and take a look at the emotion pouring off Tarran Mackenzie after Race 3. Ecstatic with another return to the top step after battling his way back from an ankle injury earlier in the year, Tarran looked like he could burst into tears and was visibly shaking with adrenaline. It was quite something to see.

Race 3 Points Finishers: – Mackenzie, Ray, O’Halloran, Glenn Irwin, Jackson, Haslam, Bridwell, Andy Irwin, Rory Skinner, Tom Sykes, Christian Iddon, Mizuno, Vickers, Takahashi and Danny Kent bringing up the last point.

BSB Round 6 Thruxton 14.08.2022 Peter Hickman Picture courtesy of FHO Racing

What does this mean for the championship table and the showdown positions? It means Jason O’Halloran has extended his lead over Bradley Ray in second but more importantly, he has extended his podium credits lead.

1 Jason O’Halloran – 331 Points – 48 Podium Credits.

2 Bradley Ray – 307 Points – 35 Podium Credits.

3 Lee Jackson – 219 Points – 14 Podium Credits.

4 Rory Skinner – 199 Points – 6 Podium Credits.

5 Glenn Irwin – 192 Points – 16 Podium Credits.

6 Kyle Ryde – 173 Points – 12 Podium Credits.

7 Tarran Mackenzie – 170 Points – 24 Podium Credits.

8 Tommy Bridewell – 158 Points – 5 Podium Credits.

Looking at the podium credits, this is where people can lose out. For example, Rory Skinner would move from 4th in the championship to 7th based on podium credits. Tarran from 7th to 3rd etc. If the showdown was now announced, it would be O’Halloran, Ray, Mackenzie, Irwin, Jackson, Ryde, Skinner, and Bridewell as the championship standings.

Thruxton was a fantastic spectacle this year. Certainly one that can be looked back on as one of the key races of 2022. I cannot wait for Cadwell Park in two weeks, I just hope for some of the other riders to come and mix it at the front, however if the show is another Yamaha dominated one, after the three races at Thruxton, it’s still going to be a belter!

See you all soon.

©2014-2024 ThePitCrewOnline