British Superbike Championship Round 8: Cadwell Park – Race 1 Summary
Kyle Ryde secured his first-ever victory at Cadwell Park during the opening race of the Bank Holiday weekend in Round 8 of the British Superbike Championship. Despite a strong challenge from pole-sitter Jason O’Halloran on the opening lap, Ryde managed to hold his lead and maintain a gap of 1.5 seconds for most of the race. He eventually crossed the finish line 0.791 seconds ahead, riding the OMG Grilla bike.
O’Halloran initially swapped positions with Ryde after gaining the holeshot, but by the end of the first lap, Ryde had taken control. As expected, the injured Australian struggled to maintain his pace, allowing Ryde to pull away.
The MasterMac team completed the podium, with local rider Lee Jackson overtaking his teammate Charlie Nesbitt by lap seven to secure second place. Jackson’s performance marked the team’s first podium finishes of 2024, with Nesbitt taking third on the second Honda.
Race direction closely monitored the intense battle for fourth place, where Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell clashed once again. Irwin, starting from fifth on the PBM Ducati after advancing through Q1, faced off against Honda’s Bridewell, who had to cut through the pack from twelfth after a pre-race penalty to Danny Kent.
Bridewell briefly passed Irwin before a forceful move by Irwin pushed Bridewell onto the grass. The narrow track made passing difficult, favoring Irwin, and no action was taken against the move. However, Bridewell recovered, passing Irwin again before a minor off-track excursion, ultimately holding on for fourth, with Irwin finishing fifth.
Jason O’Halloran fought through the pain of injured fingers to earn a hard-fought sixth place for Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki. Josh Brookes finished a distant seventh for FHO Racing BMW Motorrad after a close battle with Leon Haslam, who settled for eighth on the ROKiT Haslam BMW.
Billy McConnell and Danny Buchan engaged in a tight fight for tenth place after passing Storm Stacey, with McConnell taking the spot for C&L Fairburn/Look Forward Racing and Buchan completing the top ten for DAO Racing. Stacey fell to eleventh for LKQ Car Parts Kawasaki.
Peter Hickman clawed his way into the points in twelfth on the second FHO Racing bike, just missing out on moving past Q1. Christian Iddon struggled to thirteenth for Oxford Products, receiving a two-second penalty for cutting the chicane while avoiding another rider.
Danny Kent, penalized three grid positions for his involvement in Andrew Irwin’s FP3 crash, launched from 13th but fell to 17th early on before recovering to 14th on the McAMS Yamaha. Tom Ward, substituting for Franco Bourne, claimed the final point in fifteenth for Rapid Honda.
Lewis Rollo was the top Pathway entry on the Aprilia, finishing 18th, one place ahead of rival Alex Olsen.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, race one result:
1. Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 18 laps
2. Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +0.791s
3. Charlie Nesbitt ((MasterMac Honda) +3.795s
4. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +5.214s
5. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +5.320s
6. Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) +6.269s
7. Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +11.293s
8. Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad) +11.846s
9. Billy McConnell (C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda) +17.644s
10. Danny Buchan (DAO Racing Kawasaki) +17.733s
Pictures: MSVR, MasterMac Honda, Lee Jackson
