The Bennetts British Superbike Championship returns this weekend (June 16/17/18) and just a narrow ten points separate the top five in the title fight after the opening three rounds as the series reaches Knockhill in Scotland.
Seven different riders have celebrated podium success from the opening nine races, with five of those securing race wins, but ahead of this weekend, it is Tommy Bridewell leading the standings for BeerMonster Ducati.
Bridewell surged to the top of the points after the previous round at Donington Park, moving three points ahead of his teammate Glenn Irwin, with the pair both already race winners in 2023 Bennetts BSB.
Double champion Josh Brookes heads to Scotland holding third in the title race; the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad rider is a double winner this season and just two points adrift of Irwin, but also knows that he only holds a slender four-point edge over another previous champion, Leon Haslam and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad team in fourth place.
Reigning champions LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha currently hold fifth place in the standings with Kyle Ryde who bounced back from a crash at his home round of Donington Park to move to within ten points of Bridewell at the top.
Meanwhile both Yamaha and Kawasaki are targeting a fightback at Knockhill; McAMS Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran and Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki’s Lee Jackson are equal on points in sixth overall with the pair keen to repeat their previous success at the Scottish circuit. O’Halloran became the fifth different race winner of the season last time out, whilst Jackson aims for his first top three finish of 2023.
Reigning Quattro Group British Supersport champion Jack Kennedy and Mar-Train Racing Yamaha currently lie equal on points in eighth with the second LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha of Ryan Vickers, who claimed his first podium finish in Bennetts BSB last time out. However just a single point puts them ahead of Oxford Products Racing Ducati’s Christian Iddon, who in turn holds a one point advantage over the second FHO Racing BMW Motorrad contender, Peter Hickman.
There will however be several riders hoping that the fast and frantic dynamic of Knockhill can play to their advantage this weekend, including Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda), Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing), Storm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki), Tom Neave (Honda Racing UK) and Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW).
Meanwhile championship rookies Max Cook (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki), Bradley Perie (Lee Hardy Racing Kawasaki) and Jack Scott (Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki) will be eager to impress.
This weekend’s fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship will be live on Eurosport 2 with Sunday’s raceday also broadcast live on free-to-air channel Quest.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 119
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 116
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) 114
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 110
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 109
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 70
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 70
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 50
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 50
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 49
Tommy Bridewell
BeerMonster Ducati
“I think for me, Knockhill is crucial to really maximise the potential for one lap in qualifying to put ourselves ideally on the front row and worst case, on the second row, then take the race from there.
“I feel that we have good potential there and a good opportunity to do a good weekend, so we just need to let it play out and go from there. The goal is always to extend the championship lead and that is definitely something that I will be looking to do.
“The test that we had at Knockhill was positive and we were bang on the pace. The main thing for us was to get as many laps under our belt so that our side of the team could analyse the data over the break to come back stronger this weekend.”
For more info check out our dedicated British Superbikes News page
Or visit the official Bennetts British Superbike Championship website www.britishsuperbike.com
