BSB Thruxton Sunday Round Up

Ryan Vickers Maintains Strong Form at Thruxton Following Brands Hatch Success

Ryan Vickers Clinches British Superbike Sprint Victory at Thruxton

Following his teammate Kyle Ryde’s thrilling win on Saturday, Ryan Vickers secured victory in the British Superbike Sprint race at Thruxton on Sunday.

Saturday’s opening race was a wild one, setting the stage for two more action-packed races on Sunday. With a mixed-up grid, the British Superbike Sprint race promised top-tier racing.

However, the race took a dramatic turn on the opening lap when Championship contender Glenn Irwin suffered a massive high-side crash, prompting a red flag and his evacuation by ambulance. The race was restarted as a shortened 10-lap Sprint, down from the original 12 laps, with the grid reset to its initial order.

The OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing team celebrated their second win of the weekend, this time with Ryan Vickers at the helm. After a rocky start to 2024, Vickers has found his stride since Brands Hatch, winning four of the last five BSB races.

Max Cook of Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki took an emotional first BSB podium, narrowly missing out on his first-ever BSB win. Cook was overjoyed with his podium finish, especially after missing out last year.

Danny Kent, who failed to finish Saturday’s race after a last-lap incident, rebounded to claim third place for McAMS Racing Yamaha. His podium finish came just a day after announcing his plans for the 2025 BSB season.

Australians Josh Brookes and Billy McConnell secured fourth and fifth places, respectively. Brookes, who has struggled throughout the 2024 BSB season, managed a solid fourth, while McConnell continued to impress with his second fifth-place finish of the weekend.

Despite a mistake at the final chicane, Christian Iddon held on for a sixth-place finish, keeping his Championship hopes alive. Championship leader Tommy Bridewell, still in search of a home podium, finished seventh, moving up through the order to secure his result.

Kyle Ryde, Saturday’s race winner, couldn’t replicate his victory in Race One, finishing eighth. Leon Haslam, facing a challenging weekend, added another top-ten finish to his 2024 points tally.

After starting from the front row and battling for a podium, Storm Stacey was shuffled down the order in the latter stages, ultimately rounding out the top ten.

British Superbikes Round Thruxton – Race 2 Results

British Superbikes Race 3

Ryan Vickers Overcomes Challenges to Secure Second Win at Thruxton

Starting from pole position, Ryan Vickers faced a tough beginning in the third and final race at Thruxton, but he managed to bounce back, narrowly avoiding a last-lap disaster to claim his second victory on Sunday.

The OMG Grilla rider was quickly shuffled back to sixth in the opening laps, as Tommy Bridewell took an early lead from his front-row start. With the race unfolding under hot conditions at a sticky Thruxton, tire management became crucial. Vickers gradually worked his way back up, carefully managing his tires over the 20-lap distance.

By the midway point, Billy McConnell was leading with Vickers close behind in second. Vickers made his move at the start of lap six, taking the lead and looking strong out front despite constant pressure from behind.

Danny Kent moved into second place on lap sixteen with a smooth pass through the Club Chicane, keeping the pressure on Vickers. In the final corners of the race, Vickers nearly lost control, echoing a similar moment in Navarra, but managed to hold on, crossing the finish line just 0.150 seconds ahead of Kent.

Kent, still seeking his first BSB win, was forced to settle for second, marking another solid performance for the McAMS Yamaha rider. Despite a DNF in the first race after contact with Andrew Irwin, Kent showed steady improvement throughout the weekend.

McConnell eventually dropped back but secured a well-earned third place for the C&L Fairburn/Look Forward Racing Honda team, marking his best result since returning to the BSB paddock.

Kyle Ryde, starting ninth, climbed as high as third before a late battle with Charlie Nesbitt saw him finish fourth by a narrow margin on the second OMG Grilla Yamaha. Nesbitt, a local rider for MasterMac Honda, finished fifth, showing the pace that made him a triple podium finisher at Thruxton last season.

Tommy Bridewell experienced a strange moment when McConnell nearly collided with his bike, causing evasive maneuvers from other riders. The incident dropped Bridewell to eleventh, but he regrouped to finish sixth, just ahead of Lee Jackson. The pair battled fiercely to the line, both receiving track limits warnings.

Jackson finished seventh, with a clear gap over Josh Brookes, who continued his improved form with an eighth-place finish for FHO Racing BMW Motorrad. Andrew Irwin bounced back from his race one crash, securing ninth place just behind Brookes.

Leon Haslam, who gambled on a hard front tire, managed to climb back to a top-ten finish for ROKiT Haslam Racing, moving his BMW up after nearly dropping out of the points.

Pathway rider Lewis Rollo, who was in podium contention mid-race, faded towards the end, finishing eleventh on the Aprilia, just behind Haslam in a close run to the line.

Peter Hickman brought the second FHO bike home in twelfth, ahead of Christian Iddon, whose Ducati continued to struggle at Thruxton, finishing 13th.

Glenn Irwin, starting from the back of the grid after his race two crash and the resulting red flag, fought his way through the pack to finish 15th, just behind Storm Stacey, who claimed the final points position for Kawasaki.

British Superbikes Round Thruxton – Race 3 Results

Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:

1. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 248
2. Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 223
3. Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 213
4. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 201
5. Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 198
6. Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 178
7. Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad) 145
8. Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) 142
9. Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) 119
10. Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 118

Images: C&L Fairburn Properties Look Forward Racing, OMG Racing UK