Tarran Mackenzie claimed his second victory of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown at Donington Park, moving ten points ahead of his McAMS Yamaha teammate Jason O’Halloran in the title fight with three crucial races remaining at Brands Hatch (15/16/17 October). However, Gino Rea reigned again in a wet race three, making it a double victory for Buildbase Suzuki.
The McAMS Yamaha teammates arrived at today’s raceday equal on points, but Mackenzie delivered an impressive performance in the second race of the weekend to take the victory, despite his fifth row starting position on the grid.
Danny Buchan and Christian Iddon had been duelling for the advantage constantly but as the leading pair fought for the victory, Mackenzie had been consistently making his way through the order, moving into the top six by lap ten before being within striking distance of the leaders just five laps later.
The McAMS Yamaha rider dived ahead of Iddon with three laps remaining, and despite a huge moment at the Melbourne Hairpin, he was instantly able to regain composure and pass Buchan for the lead on the penultimate lap into the Fogarty Esses on his way to victory.
In the final race of the weekend, Rea added to his debut Bennetts BSB race win from yesterday by mastering the wet conditions, holding off Iddon and Jackson for victory.
The race start was delayed initially with a heavy shower imminent and when the action got underway, it was held in wet conditions over a reduced 15-lap battle.
Championship leader Mackenzie got the best start off the line to lead, but Rea was soon attacking and he moved ahead on the Buildbase Suzuki.
Iddon and Jackson were holding onto second and third as the leading trio had an advantage over the rest of the pack, but it was disappointment for Mackenzie as he was forced out of the action when a broken battery connector brought his R1 to a halt.
As Rea claimed the double victory, it was a significant moment in the title chase for Iddon as the VisionTrack Ducati rider more than halved the advantage to his McAMS Yamaha rivals after the three races at Donington Park. The VisionTrack Ducati rider now heads to the final round with just a 15-point deficit to Mackenzie at the top.
Jackson became the 15th different podium finisher of the 2021 season with his top three finish for the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki team, as the leading trio had a clear advantage over Tommy Bridewell in fourth place for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team.
Josh Brookes was the first of the Title Fighters to suffer a disappointing end to the race, crashing out unhurt at Craner Curves, ending his hopes of a late championship comeback. Glenn Irwin had to start from pitlane after a problem on the warm up lap and despite salvaging tenth, the Honda Racing rider is now also out of title contention, leaving six riders mathematically in the mix for the finale at Brands Hatch.
It was another tough day for Jason O’Halloran who was unable to capitalise on his McAMS Yamaha teammate’s misfortune in the final race, as he claimed an eighth place finish, meaning he heads into the season finale now 10-points adrift.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Race 2 result:
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha)
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.833s
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +1.400s
- Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +2.031s
- Lee Jackson (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +3.658s
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +4.214s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +4.546s
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +7.163s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +7.928s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +8.678s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Race 3 result:
- Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki)
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +2.635s
- Lee Jackson (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +8.610s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +41.557s
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +54.092s
- Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) +58.052s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +1m:01.016s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1m:08.487s
- Joe Francis (FHO Racing BMW) +1m:08.917s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +1m:17.813s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Donington Park:
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 1127
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 1117
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 1112
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 1106
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) 1061
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 1059
- Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 1047
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) 1041
Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha
Championship leader
“I think there are a lot of positives to take out of this weekend as we come away from Donington with a bigger points lead than we had coming here, so I’m really happy with that.
“We showed our speed in the first race coming through from 13th to win. In the dry we have a great setting, in the wet in the final race I also felt really comfortable and had a good feeling but unfortunately a little technical problem, which was no-one’s fault, ruled us out.
“We go to Brands Hatch with a bit of a buffer, it’s not a lot, but it’s a bit and I look forward to getting stuck in there.”
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