BSB Knockhill: Christian Iddon secures his first victory of 2024

Christian Iddon claimed his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship victory of the season after the final race of the weekend at Knockhill was brought to a premature end due to a red flag.

The riders had just completed two-thirds distance when Leon Haslam crashed at turn four, with the ‘Pocket Rocket’ down and hurt after already suffering a huge highside on Friday. As he was being assessed, the red flags were waved.

Iddon led the majority of the race and held a 0.6s lead over Tommy Bridewell when the result was declared. It’s Iddon’s first victory as an Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider, and his first overall since the third round of the 2021 season at Brands Hatch. Iddon is fourth in the standings, 23 points behind Bridewell.

Bridewell’s podium was his sixth consecutive visit to the rostrum onboard the Honda Fireblade and as a result becomes the first Honda rider to achieve that feat since Alex Lowes during his title-winning 2013 campaign.

With Glenn Irwin coming home in ninth, Bridewell has extended his championship lead to 11 points over his former PBM Ducati teammate.

Danny Kent bounced back from his crash in race two to complete the podium. It’s Kent’s fourth podium of the season and he continues to lead the Yamaha challenge in the championship standings. Kent is third overall, 16 points behind Bridewell.

Rory Skinner completed an excellent weekend in fourth, whilst Billy McConnell produced a stunning display to take fifth onboard the C&L Fairburn/Look Forward Racing Honda. Likewise, Fraser Roger’s impressive visit to Knockhill concluded with a sixth-place finish.

Danny Buchan secured his best result of the season so far in seventh, whilst Charlie Nesbitt, Glenn Irwin and Lee Jackson completed the top 10. Josh Brookes was 11^th for FHO Racing BMW, crossing the line ahead of Luke Hedger, Storm Stacey, who was last after the opening lap after being pushed out onto the grass, and Kyle Ryde secured the final points available.

It’s been a tough weekend for Ryde and the OMG GRILLA Yamaha racing team. Ryde, who was unwell on Friday, injured his knee during qualifying before taking a weekend best of fourth, whilst Ryan Vickers crashed out of race one and missed both of Sunday’s races due to illness. Ryde is now 31 points behind Bridewell, whilst Vickers is 73 points adrift.

Brayden Elliot, Franco Bourne and Louis Valleley were the final classified riders in the final race at Knockhill.

Max Cook’s weekend went from bad to worse when he pulled off the circuit with an issue with his Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki on lap three. Teammate Jason O’Halloran crashed at the hairpin on lap seven.

Tom Neave pulled up with a bike problem on lap eight, whilst Dean Harrison also retired from the race with an issue. Jaime van Sikkelerus retired from the race on lap 16, whilst Andrew Irwin’s difficult Sunday continued when he pulled off the circuit on lap 20.

---

Rory Skinner claimed a sensational maiden Bennetts British Superbike Championship victory at Knockhill after dominating a wet second race of the weekend.

The Scot took the lead of the race at the final corner on the opening lap and was left largely unchallenged from that moment. Skinner’s vast experience at his local track came in handy as he managed the tricky conditions in front of jubilant fans at trackside.

Christian Iddon was Skinner’s closest challenger and kept to within half-a-second of the former Moto2 racer, but ran in too deep on two consecutive laps at the final hairpin, allowing Skinner to pull away.

It’s Skinner’s first visit to the top step of the podium inside the BSB paddock since the final race of his title-winning British Supersport campaign at Brands Hatch in 2020. Meanwhile, it’s Cheshire Mouldings BMW’s (TAS Racing) first BSB success since Danny Buchan’s double at Cadwell Park in 2022.

Iddon ended up pipping Tommy Bridewell to the line by 0.014s to secure second spot, with Bridewell taking the championship lead in third. Bridewell now has a two-point lead over Glenn Irwin, who fought his way through to eighth from the back of the grid.

Storm Stacey impressed in fourth spot ahead of Charlie Nesbit, as did Fraser Rogers and Billy McConnell in sixth and seventh respectively. Lee Jackson and Max Cook, who survived a huge moment after touching one of the white lines, completed the top 10 behind Glenn Irwin.

Lewis Rollo was the leading Pathway-Spec rider in 11^th, coming home ahead of Josh Brookes and Danny Buchan. Kyle Ryde and Luke Hedger secured the final two points available in race two.

Andrew Irwin crashed out of third on the opening lap at turn six, whilst Jason O’Halloran went down at turn six on the fourth lap. A few moments later Franco Bourne crashed out at turn six.

Leon Haslam’s difficult weekend continued due to an issue with his ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW M1000 RR on lap 10. Peter Hickman returned to the pits at the end of lap 12 to retire from the race onboard his FHO Racing BMW.

Danny Kent crashed out of third at the final corner on lap 16, moments after setting the fastest lap of the race. Louis Valleley crashed whilst being lapped by race leader Skinner on lap 17.  Meanwhile, Ryan Vickers did not participate in the race due to an overnight stomach bug.

The third and final race of the weekend at Knockhill is due to begin at 16:00.

---

Tommy Bridewell dominated the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Knockhill to claim his first win as a Honda Racing UK rider.

The reigning champion led from start-to-finish in a race which, whilst declared a wet race, was run on a largely dry track. Starting from pole, Bridewell immediately pulled away from the chasing pack and set fastest lap after fastest lap to open up a healthy advantage over the chasing pack.

Bridewell’s lead was up to five seconds at one stage, with the Honda racer eventually crossing the line with an advantage of 2.572s. Victory moves Bridewell to within four points of championship leader Glenn Irwin, who failed to finish the race.

Irwin’s race came to an end after being shown the black and orange flag to indicate a problem with his Hager PBM Ducati. Smoke was seen coming from the rear of his V4 R on multiple occasions whilst he was running in third spot, and Irwin returned to pit-lane as a result.

Rory Skinner battled his way through from eighth on the grid to finish second in front of the Scottish fans. Skinner battled hard against the likes of Christian Iddon and the Irwin brothers to claim his first podium since his return to BSB with Cheshire Mouldings BMW. Skinner’s last BSB podium came at Cadwell Park in 2022.

Andrew Irwin also made an emotional return to the podium for the first time since the 2022 season finale at Brands Hatch. Irwin has endured a tough year after missing the majority of the 2023 season with a broken humerus.

Kyle Ryde bounced back from his big crash during qualifying to finish fourth, ahead of Jason O’Halloran and Josh Brookes. Danny Kent crossed the line in seventh, whilst Hawk Racing duo Lee Jackson and Charlie Nesbitt finished eighth and ninth respectively. Leon Haslam completed the top 10.

Danny Buchan claimed his best result of the season so far in 11^th, with Storm Stacey behind him in 12^th. Fraser Rogers, Luke Hedger and Franco Bourne secured the final points on offer.

Peter Hickman retired from the race with a technical problem, whilst Iddon and Ryan Vickers crashed together at turn three on lap 17. Max Cook retired from the race with a bike issue on the same lap.

Sunday’s races at Knockhill are due to take place at 12:15 and 16:00.

---

Tommy Bridewell put Honda on top at Knockhill on Saturday afternoon as he claimed his 28^th Bennetts British Superbike Championship pole position.

It’s Bridewell’s first pole onboard the Honda Fireblade following his move to the team from PBM Ducati, whilst it’s the first non-Yamaha pole position of 2024.

Bridewell will be joined on the front-row by Jason O’Halloran and Josh Brookes, with the latter building upon his impressive performance at the Isle of Man TT.

Ryan Vickers is the leading Yamaha rider in fourth, returning to action after undergoing surgery on a fractured collarbone. Championship leader Glenn Irwin qualified fifth, whilst brother Andrew Irwin completes the second row on the second of the factory Honda machines.

Danny Kent was seventh ahead of local hero Rory Skinner, with Christian Iddon ending the session in ninth spot onboard the Oxford Products Racing Ducati.

The Q2 session was red flagged with just over 11 minutes remaining due to a crash for Kyle Ryde at turn two. Ryde took plenty of bumps as he went across the wet grass and was reportedly suffering with some left knee pain.

Should Ryde be fit enough to race this afternoon, he’ll start race one from 10^th on the grid. Ryde had already been forced to go through Q1 after missing FP1 with a sickness bug.

Lee Jackson was 11^th onboard the MasterMac Honda, ahead of three-time Knockhill race winner Danny Buchan and Charlie Nesbitt. Leon Haslam, riding hurt after a huge highside on Friday, and Fraser Rogers completed the Q2 runners.

Franco Bourne had made it through into Q2 but saw his fastest lap-time cancelled for exceeding track limits on the run into turn one. As a result, Bourne will start the opening race from 20^th on the grid.

Luke Hedger qualified 21^st onboard the Whitecliffe CDH Racing Kawasaki, just ahead of Storm Stacey. Tom Neave qualified 19th on his return to action. The Lincolnshire racer has missed the last two rounds after suffering a knee injury at Navarra.

Lewis Rollo was next in 19th, whilst Peter Hickman struggled down in 21^st onboard the FHO Racing BMW M1000 RR. Dean Harrison and Billy McConnell were next up, with Alex Olsen, Brayden Elliot and Jaime van Sikkelerus completing the timesheets in Q1.

Max Cook had a big crash during the FP3 session prior to Q1, leaving his Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki team with a big job on their hands to get him back out in time for qualifying.

Given the limited time available, Cook was unable to make it back out onto the circuit and will therefore start the opening race of the weekend last on the grid (28th). Cook will have the chance to turn his weekend around with a good lap-time in race one, as that determines the grid for race two.

Race one at Knockhill is due to take place at 16:15 on Saturday afternoon (June 15).