A one, two, three across Supersport and Superbike for Honda Racing UK
Brands Hatch GPAs the sun sets on a superb day of racing at Brands Hatch for round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Honda Racing UK celebrates a sweep of podium finishes with a first for Jack Kennedy in supersport and a two, three finish in superbike for Tommy Bridewell and Andrew Irwin.
On the anniversary of his brother's passing, Tommy Bridewell channelled the emotion of the day to earn himself a hard-fought second-place finish, and with it drew level on points with his championship rival Glenn Irwin at the top of the standings. Earlier in the day he had saved an enormous uncharacteristic rear wheel slide at the final corner, which ultimately cost him a front-row grid position. Needless to say, he was undeterred in his pursuit of a podium from his fifth-place qualifying position and made multiple decisive overtaking moves on his competitors. His sheer will and desire to perform was palpable and mastering the emotion of the occasion showcased the remarkable level at which he is performing.
Teammate and fellow podium finisher Andrew Irwin rode a composed and mature ride from a frustrating qualifying position of eleventh through the pack to finish right on the rear wheel of his championship-winning Honda peer. His popular return to the fight at the front of the field cements his upturn in performance. This third-place finish marked his second rostrum visit of the year and moves him up to eleventh in the championship standings, mere points away from the top ten.
It was not only towards the front of the field that Honda riders were excelling however, Dean Harrison, although frustrated not to score points in his first race, lapped the 2.4 mile circuit quicker than he ever has before. From a qualifying position of twenty-first, he fought hard through the field and was beaten by the smallest of margins at the line to finish in sixteenth. With a better grid slot in tomorrow's opening race however, the target is more.
In the ten-lap supersport sprint, Jack Kennedy made it four wins from five races, after emerging victorious following a race-long duel with championship rival Ben Currie. There was barely a moment to catch your breath as the two put on a masterclass of clean hard racing, each leading at different stages of the race. As they crossed the line though it was Jack who claimed the spoils, with a winning margin of just 0.015 at the flag.
The team returns tomorrow for a Sunday brimming with more BSB action.
That was a strong race for definite on a day like today, which in truth was tough. I didn’t feel at the races today until the race started, then once we got going I started to feel like I knew what I was doing. I felt good on the bike. Credit to Ryan, he did a cracking job, got out front and cleared away. I had a good go at catching him for sure. Had a good battle with Glenn and Christian as we came back through. I knew if I could get in front of them, with my advantage on braking I’d be able to gap them, which we did. When I came over the line, I was really chuffed to see Andrew behind me on the podium in third which was great, I’ve seen the progress he’s been making of late and it’s great to see. He’s a really good kid and it’s good to see him coming strong.
That was a strong race for definite on a day like today, which in truth was tough. I didn’t feel at the races today until the race started, then once we got going I started to feel like I knew what I was doing. I felt good on the bike. Credit to Ryan, he did a cracking job, got out front and cleared away. I had a good go at catching him for sure. Had a good battle with Glenn and Christian as we came back through. I knew if I could get in front of them, with my advantage on braking I’d be able to gap them, which we did. When I came over the line, I was really chuffed to see Andrew behind me on the podium in third which was great, I’ve seen the progress he’s been making of late and it’s great to see. He’s a really good kid and it’s good to see him coming strong.
I gave that everything I could, coming from eleventh through the pack and it feels great to be on the podium. I got a decent start and then got shuffled back a little bit before settling into a rhythm that was quite consistent and I was happy with. I was then starting to have a few little moments but I thought to myself, I am going to keep on pushing anyway. We came from eleventh to third, and it’s probably the first podium that I’ve had where I’ve come through the field. I've shown a little bit of aggression which is good and the team have been working really well, it shows where the Fireblade is at the moment. We will keep on working and see if we can improve on some things, particularly late in the race when the tyre drops. I think with a better grid slot we can be in that fight once more.
I gave that everything I could, coming from eleventh through the pack and it feels great to be on the podium. I got a decent start and then got shuffled back a little bit before settling into a rhythm that was quite consistent and I was happy with. I was then starting to have a few little moments but I thought to myself, I am going to keep on pushing anyway. We came from eleventh to third, and it’s probably the first podium that I’ve had where I’ve come through the field. I've shown a little bit of aggression which is good and the team have been working really well, it shows where the Fireblade is at the moment. We will keep on working and see if we can improve on some things, particularly late in the race when the tyre drops. I think with a better grid slot we can be in that fight once more.
It’s a bit frustrating to miss out on a point by next to nothing, but I focus on the positives, I’ve set my quickest-ever lap of Brands and we’ve been slowly building throughout the weekend. We made a big change to the bike before the race which made a big difference and from there we got stuck into the fight. I do think we have the potential to make another step and go even better tomorrow.
It’s a bit frustrating to miss out on a point by next to nothing, but I focus on the positives, I’ve set my quickest-ever lap of Brands and we’ve been slowly building throughout the weekend. We made a big change to the bike before the race which made a big difference and from there we got stuck into the fight. I do think we have the potential to make another step and go even better tomorrow.
