Tommy Bridewell celebrated his first ever Bennetts British Superbike Championship treble win at Snetterton, denying Glenn Irwin the final victory of the weekend following an intense third race as the BeerMonster Ducati teammates were separated by just 0.032s at the chequered flag.
Snetterton produced the first hat trick of the season and whilst Bridewell claimed three race wins, a further four riders representing four different teams sealed podium finishes as Ducati, Yamaha and BMW featured in the top three across the weekend.
After winning the BikeSocial Sprint Race yesterday, Bridewell’s confidence was high ahead of today’s races, whilst yesterday’s podium finishers Josh Brookes and Jason O’Halloran aimed to increase their tally.
Race two became an eight-lap dash following a red flag earlier in the race, and at the start Brookes hit the front of the pack from Irwin and Bridewell, with the leading pair trading blows on the opening lap, but the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team rider had the edge.
Brookes led until lap four when O’Halloran grabbed the advantage at Coram with a move down the inside. His Australian rival had moved ahead into Riches, but O’Halloran regained the position into Wilsons.
As O’Halloran led, Irwin moved into second with a move at Wilson on lap five, with the leading trio then the McAMS Yamaha, Irwin and Brookes, but the race was red flagged when Peter Hickman and Danny Buchan crashed out at Hamilton on lap seven. Buchan was taken to Norfolk and Norwich hospital for further scans and assessment after suffering a concussion.
On the restart, Brookes took the initial advantage before Bridewell grabbed the lead on lap three with a move at Agostini. The BeerMonster Ducati rider then pulled the pin as he edged out his advantage over the closing stages.
The battle for the remaining podium positions was a four-way tussle on the final lap with Brookes emerging ahead to claim second place after holding off Haslam, who had been piling the pressure on his rival as he returned to the podium for ROKiT BMW Motorrad.
Irwin and O’Halloran went head-to-head for fourth place but the second BeerMonster Ducati rider was able to hold off the Yamaha after a series of passes on the final lap with positions changing three times.
The final race went down to the wire, but at the start, home contender Ryan Vickers launched into the lead from Bridewell, Brookes and Irwin with Haslam and Danny Kent in close contention.
Brookes was instantly on the attack and grabbed second at Brundle, before fighting for the lead. Initially he made a move into Riches on the second lap before Vickers reclaimed the position.
It was another disappointing race for Peter Hickman as he crashed out with Franco Bourne at Wilson on the second lap, but at the front, his FHO Racing BMW Motorrad teammate grabbed the lead at Nelson on the same lap.
Bridewell was carving his way up the order and he moved into second on lap three, but his BeerMonster Ducati teammate was soon behind him as he dived into third at Brundle ahead of Vickers.
Brookes continued to lead the pack as Irwin moved into second on lap at Agostini on lap four, easing his teammate back into third. However, the pair had Haslam for company and the ‘Pocket Rocket’ moved into third a lap later, launching ahead of Bridewell at Riches.
Irwin and Haslam were then dicing for second but after swapping places on the seventh lap, the BeerMonster Ducati rider remained ahead.
There was heartbreak for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team when Brookes was forced to retire on lap ten from the lead with a technical problem and that handed the position to Irwin, who was holding position ahead of Haslam, Bridewell and Vickers who completed the first pack on track but Christian Iddon was also pushing to close in.
As Irwin led, Bridewell was pushing Haslam for second and he made a pass on the brakes into Murrays on lap 12, but the ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider regained second into Riches. The BeerMonster Ducati rider wasn’t giving up though and as they approached Wilson, Bridewell was back ahead.
The BeerMonster Ducati teammates then duelled at the front with the battle for the podium finishes going all the way down to the wire, but Irwin had made a mistake at Wilson and after running wide he dropped to fourth and then had to regain the ground.
Irwin was hassling Bridewell all the way to the finish as the BeerMonster Ducati teammates ended the race separated by just 0.032s at the chequered flag.
Haslam and Vickers were also in close formation, but the ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider denied the Thetford contender a home round podium at the finish.
Iddon held onto fifth ahead of O’Halloran who worked his way back up the order to finish sixth ahead of Lee Jackson and Kyle Ryde. Kent held ninth ahead of Tito Rabat who claimed a second Bennetts BSB top ten finish.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, Race 2 result:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +1.635s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) +1.829s
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) +2.633s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +2.722s
- Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) +5.820s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +5.908s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +6.354s
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +6.732s
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) +6.784s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, Race 3 result:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) +0.032s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) +0.410s
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.763s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +2.504s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +3.230s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +3.616s
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +7.089s
- Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) +9.214s
- Tito Rabat (McAMS Yamaha) +10.183s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 217
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 192
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 171
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 168
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) 164
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 133
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 124
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 108
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 101
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 79
Tommy Bridewell
BeerMonster Ducati
“It’s so hard to make a game plan in general in any form of racing, because you never know what can happen and what hurdles you get and so on. I had an idea that if I could make the start and get away, fantastic, that wasn’t obviously the plan.
“I was conserving my tyre and it’s something me and the team have been working really hard on and its paying off. I knew I had some tyre left, I could remember looking at my pit board with seven laps to go thinking ‘I really could do with pushing on’.
“It came a bit late, it was a little bit too tight for comfort I must be honest. But credit to everyone out there. I think Glenn is a phenomenal rider and a very fierce competitor. But I’ve been around the block a few years and I’ve been there and seen it all, and I just keep my head down and just focus on what I’m doing.
“The fans have wanted to see me and Glenn go toe to toe for a few rounds now, he outrode me at Knockhill and did a phenomenal job and I was just happy to pick up the podiums there because it’s not somewhere I’m that confident and comfortable on the bike.
“So coming into this weekend I knew my target, as always, was to win. To get my first ever triple win is something that I’ve dreamt of for a long time. We most definitely do not get complacent on my side of the garage, I said to Paolo my Crew Chief that we’ve won two races on the trot, I feel brilliant, the bike’s working phenomenal, but let’s keep our feet on the ground. If I can win this race I will, if I’m second, third, fourth and that’s all that’s there, we need to accept it.
“I just want to enjoy the moment we’re in, fortunately the way the sport is, I save this moment and then when I’m driving home tonight, I’ll get up tomorrow morning, collect the dogs, check that all the sheep are alive and not got their head stuck in a fence, and then I’m preparing for Brands Hatch already!”
For more info check out our dedicated British Superbikes News page
Or visit the official Bennetts British Superbike Championship website www.britishsuperbike.com
