Ryde Secures Victory To Narrow The Margin as Bridewell Maintains The Lead at Brands Hatch British Superbike Final Round World Racing News

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Kyle Ryde secured a thrilling victory in the fiercely contested BikeSocial Sprint Race, bringing him closer to his competitors in the title race for the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. However, the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rider faced a formidable challenge, with a mere 0.015 seconds separating him from Jason O’Halloran at the finish line.

Commencing under intermittent dry conditions following previous rain, the choice of slick tyres persisted despite the presence of wet patches at specific locations on the Kent circuit. Right from the start, O’Halloran took the lead from Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) and Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha).

Bridewell swiftly ascended to third place, and at the conclusion of the opening lap, the order was O’Halloran, Haslam, Bridewell, Ryde, Kennedy, and Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati). Irwin had already made an impressive advancement, moving up seven places from his 17th starting position to secure the tenth spot.

Bridewell overtook Haslam for second place at Surtees on the following lap. Haslam, who was slightly pushed wide and fell to sixth place, didn’t remain there for long as Ryde quickly claimed the second position. Iddon rose to fourth place, and although Irwin was still in tenth place, he was now the fastest rider on the track.

A confident Ryde took the lead from O’Halloran on the exit of Westfield on the third lap, and Bridewell secured the third position by overtaking Iddon on the subsequent lap. By the fifth lap, Irwin had joined the leading group, claiming the fourth position by passing Kennedy on the inside at Surtees.

At the race’s halfway point, the gap between Ryde and O’Halloran was a mere 0.152 seconds, with Bridewell trailing by an additional 1.3 seconds. Irwin was only half a second behind his teammate. Haslam and Iddon had regrouped in fifth and sixth positions, while Kennedy had fallen back to seventh.

Ryde increased his lead to a quarter of a second over O’Halloran as they embarked on the eighth lap, while Irwin was actively seeking a way to pass Bridewell. The Ducati riders were separated by just a tenth of a second as the race entered its final third. Unfortunately, Haslam’s championship aspirations suffered a severe setback on the ninth lap when he crashed out.

At the front, Ryde maintained his lead over O’Halloran. However, Irwin’s attempt to overtake Bridewell forced him off the ideal racing line, which materialized on lap 11 when he made a move on the inside at Stirling’s corner but ended up running wide, ultimately securing the third position for Bridewell.

The final lap witnessed O’Halloran closing the gap and momentarily passing Ryde, only for Ryde to respond immediately. He went on to clinch the victory by the narrowest of margins, a mere 0.015 seconds. With his third-place finish, Bridewell extended his championship lead over Irwin to 10.5 points.

Iddon secured the fifth position, and as Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing) crashed out in the closing stages, Peter Hickman moved up to sixth place. This positioned him one place ahead of his FHO Racing BMW teammate, Josh Brookes. The top ten was rounded out by Kennedy, Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki), and Ryan Vickers, who was riding the second OMG machine.

Oh Its Close

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, BikeSocial Sprint Race