Charlie Nesbitt of MasterMac Honda made a strong statement on the opening day of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown at Oulton Park, topping both Free Practice sessions and setting the pace for the weekend ahead.
Free Practice 1: Nesbitt Edges Out Vickers
The morning session saw Nesbitt narrowly displace Ryan Vickers from the top spot, with the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider having set the benchmark until the closing minutes. Nesbitt’s time of 1:34.246 was just 0.032s faster than Vickers, showcasing the tight competition right from the start.
Leon Haslam had a promising start to the weekend, securing third place for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team. Lee Jackson made it two MasterMac Hondas in the top four, while Josh Brookes rounded out the top five for FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team.
Championship leader Tommy Bridewell found himself in tenth place after the first session, hinting at the challenges that lay ahead for the Honda Racing UK rider.
Free Practice 2: Nesbitt Maintains Dominance
As the afternoon session got underway, times began to tumble, but Nesbitt maintained his grip on the top spot. He improved his time to 1:33.703, putting him 0.182s ahead of his nearest rival.
Josh Brookes made significant progress in FP2, climbing from fifth to second place in the final minutes. The double champion’s performance split the MasterMac Honda teammates on the timesheets, as Lee Jackson set an identical time to Brookes. However, Brookes’ superior second-fastest lap gave him the edge over Jackson.
Kyle Ryde, currently 19 points behind Tommy Bridewell in the championship standings, led the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing charge in fourth place. Meanwhile, Bridewell struggled to find pace, ending the day in 12th position and narrowly making it into tomorrow’s Speedy Hire Q2 session.
Glenn Irwin and Christian Iddon, both looking to close the gap in the championship standings, finished fifth and sixth respectively, separated by a mere 0.004s.
The session was briefly interrupted by a red flag when Ryan Vickers experienced a technical problem with his OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing R1, forcing him to sit out the remainder of FP2. Despite this setback, his strong FP1 performance kept him in eighth place overall.
Combined Times and Championship Implications
The combined times from both sessions paint an intriguing picture for the Showdown:
With championship leader Tommy Bridewell finishing the day in 12th place, the stage is set for a potentially dramatic shake-up in the standings. Kyle Ryde’s strong performance puts him in a good position to challenge for the lead, while Nesbitt’s dominance could see him climb rapidly if he maintains this form through qualifying and the races.
As the riders head into tomorrow’s qualifying sessions and the first race of the Showdown, all eyes will be on whether Nesbitt can convert his practice pace into race results, and if Bridewell can find the speed to defend his championship lead on this crucial weekend at Oulton Park.
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