Jack Kennedy is the 2024 British Supersport champion
Brands Hatch GPIn a dramatic Saturday at Brands Hatch for the Bennetts British Superbike season finale, Jack Kennedy secures the British Supersport championship for Honda Racing UK with win number nine of the season.
Changeable October weather played a crucial part in the trajectory of the day's racing as almost every session that Honda Racing UK participated in was in different conditions. And with so much at stake, cool heads were required to ensure that the right decisions were made at all the right times whilst under enormous pressure.
For Jack Kennedy and his crew, tyre choice in a wet but drying qualifying session was critical to providing Jack with the bike, and rubber, underneath him to rocket his way to pole position. Then as the red flag was waved bringing his race to a premature end, they made the right call once more to send him back out on wet tyres in the five-lap restarted race. From pole once more and with his championship rivals opting for slicks, Jack launched away from the line and rode off into the distance with the rain intensifying to secure his ninth win of the season and championship victory.
Already the most decorated British Supersport rider in history, Kennedy rewrites the history books as a five times champion and becomes the first Honda rider to win the British Supersport crown since Sam Lowes in 2010. With one race still remaining this season he has so far raced to nine victories (including two doubles - Knockhill & Brands Hatch), four seconds and a further two third place finishes.
In British Superbike things were no less dramatic for riders Tommy Bridewell and Andrew Irwin as they raced through heavy rainfall for twenty laps in the opening BSB race of the weekend. From sixth on the grid Tommy once more showed the sheer grit and determination with which he has ridden all year to secure a vital rostrum finish in third. This crucial result cuts Kyle's lead in the championship to a single point with two races remaining tomorrow. Andrew Irwin meanwhile, struggled for feel from his Fireblade and achieved an eleventh place finish at the flag.
For Dean Harrison it was an eventful day that sadly culminated in a crash out of second place in the shortened five lap Supersport dash. He does however, start tomorrows feature race from pole position having set the quickest lap in today's race.
Honestly it was hard because any race over 20 laps in the wet is! In the wet conditions, it’s not the physical side, it’s keeping your focus. You don’t ever get any margin to make a mistake if you clip a white line, brake a bit too hard, if you run wide. There’s no margin. I knew we needed to get away, we’ve got a new swing arm this weekend and for the race the team took a calculated risk with the setup. The bike was working great, and I just knew I needed to get away with the front guys. It was nice to see on my pit board that I had like an eight and a half second gap. Just the last five laps when the track was drying out I just started to spin up a little bit. And no disrespect to those guys, but where the Yamaha is just a little bit more docile it kind of chugs along if you like.I’m happy, honestly. Those conditions are so easy to make a mistake and we didn’t. We went in four points behind, we’ve come out of it one point behind. A three point gain is better than no points. And it sets it up tomorrow really nicely because in the dry I feel like the bike is working really well. I feel great on the bike and I feel like I can really just attack. I’m excited – which is strange when there’s so much at stake. May the best man win!
Honestly it was hard because any race over 20 laps in the wet is! In the wet conditions, it’s not the physical side, it’s keeping your focus. You don’t ever get any margin to make a mistake if you clip a white line, brake a bit too hard, if you run wide. There’s no margin. I knew we needed to get away, we’ve got a new swing arm this weekend and for the race the team took a calculated risk with the setup. The bike was working great, and I just knew I needed to get away with the front guys. It was nice to see on my pit board that I had like an eight and a half second gap. Just the last five laps when the track was drying out I just started to spin up a little bit. And no disrespect to those guys, but where the Yamaha is just a little bit more docile it kind of chugs along if you like.I’m happy, honestly. Those conditions are so easy to make a mistake and we didn’t. We went in four points behind, we’ve come out of it one point behind. A three point gain is better than no points. And it sets it up tomorrow really nicely because in the dry I feel like the bike is working really well. I feel great on the bike and I feel like I can really just attack. I’m excited – which is strange when there’s so much at stake. May the best man win!
I struggled in the race today to get confidence and feel, which ultimately made it very difficult for me to make any progress and cost me to much time. As the conditions started to dry later in the race the feeling started to come back to me but by that point the race is done and the guys in front had gone. We have ninth on the grid tomorrow which is a step forward. I have to say a thank you for the team for rebuilding the bike in such a short space of time in qualifying after I crashed on Glenn's oil. And I also want to congratulate Jack on his championship victory, he has ridden the wheels off that bike all year and I look forward to celebrating with him.
I struggled in the race today to get confidence and feel, which ultimately made it very difficult for me to make any progress and cost me to much time. As the conditions started to dry later in the race the feeling started to come back to me but by that point the race is done and the guys in front had gone. We have ninth on the grid tomorrow which is a step forward. I have to say a thank you for the team for rebuilding the bike in such a short space of time in qualifying after I crashed on Glenn's oil. And I also want to congratulate Jack on his championship victory, he has ridden the wheels off that bike all year and I look forward to celebrating with him.
Havier Beltran - Honda Racing UK Team Manager
What a fantastic result for Jack and the team! Jack has been a breath of fresh air in the team this year and he has impressed me enormously with his determination, professionalism and attention to detail. His hunger to secure his fifth championship and to help drive this project forward has been relentless, and this championship victory is a just reward for his remarkable talent on a motorcycle. It is also a credit to every member of this team, it is their dedication, their commitment to the long hours and their unwavering work ethic that has built the platform on which Jack can deliver on the circuit. There is not a single team member who has not impressed me this year and I thank every one of them for their contribution to this team.
