| Christian Iddon wins at Brands GP |
• Christian Iddon wins Race Three
• Two consecutive second places for Tommy Bridewell
• Riders all wish the best for Brad Jones
Tommy Bridwell scored two consecutive second places at Brands Hatch GP, but Christian Iddon went one better to win Race Three.
Race One
The opening British Superbike race at Brands Hatch was initially red flagged after Brad Jones (iForce Lloyd & Jones BMW) crashed on the opening lap at Clark Curve.
The restarted race saw Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Ducati) and Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) out at the front for the race entirety behind Tarran Mackenzie but neither racer was able to make a move on the McAMS Yamaha rider.
Mackenzie claimed his first win of the season, with Bridewell finishing second and Iddon third. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) closed his race in ninth.
Race Two
Bridewell scored a consecutive second place in Sunday’s first British Superbike race at Brands Hatch. He had lined up fourth on the grid, but a poor start saw him drop all the way down to ninth, only to carve his way back though the field.
Bridewell chased down race leader Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) as the two riders pulled a gap out at front, but ultimately Bridewell had to settle for a strong second place and valuable podium credits.
Iddon finished just off the podium in fifth, but his teammate Brookes had a nightmare, going off track at one point, and finishing outside the points in 18th.
Race Three
With a wet track Iddon made the brave move to race on slicks and this started to pay off for the VisionTrack rider. On Lap 12 with Iddon and Brooks in second and third respectively, and Bridewell having climbed from 14th to ninth and posting faster laps than several riders ahead of him, the red flag came out after Gino Rea’s Buildbase Suzuki engine blew along the Brabham Straight.
The seven-lap restart saw Iddon and Brookes line up on the front row of the grid in second and third respectively behind Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad), with Tommy Bridewell in ninth. The opening lap saw plenty of moves being made at the front but as the riders completed their first lap it was Iddon who led the field.
But disaster struck for Bridewell on Lap 2 after he was forced to retire after a technical fault, putting any end to hopes of a podium hat-trick.
Up at the front Iddon and Buchan kept swapping the lead, with Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) also getting into the mix. But it was Iddon who took the chequered flag 0.075s ahead of Mackenzie, with O’Halloran taking the final podium position.
Buchan crossed the line in fourth, with Brookes taking fifth to finish the weekend with his best result of the season to date.
The weekend was overshadowed by Brad Jones’ crash on Saturday, with riders, teams and fans all wishing him and his family the best.
Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati #21)
Race 1, 3rd – Race2, 4th – Race 3, 1st
“I was really wound up after the red flag came out and determined that the re-start was going to be mine. In such a short race, I didn’t have to worry about tyre life and I could just go for it which is exactly what I did! It was an amazing race and I was surprised at the pace we were all going at but I’m just glad I was able to get the job done, keep my lead in the championship and pick up a good haul of podium credits.”
Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati #1)
Race 1, 9th – Race 2, 18th – Race 3, 5th
“Sunday didn’t start well at all but ended a lot more positively and we can definitely take away a few good things from the second race – fifth isn’t where I want to be finishing obviously but given where we’ve been at, it’s a start. The bike clearly works well in the wet but in the seven-lap dash, I was able to lap comfortably quicker than I have done all weekend, so we definitely found something in the dry. The SCX tyre is still making the front feel bad, but something changed and I was able to lap in the 1’25s bracket which was more satisfying. I’m taking it day by day at the moment, but it’s nice to end the weekend on a positive note.”
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