2022 British Superbikes Brands Hatch- Race Results (1)

Glenn Irwin won the race as Bradley Ray took the British Superbike title in fifth in the Sprint Race in the final round of the season at Brands Hatch.

Pole man Glenn Irwin kept his end of the bargain, needing to be in the top two and then still at the will of Ray’s performance to even stand a chance to keep the title race open, he lead on the Honda from start to finish.

He pushed and gave everything to keep in contention, while also racing for the memory of Chrissy Rouse, putting on a dominant, electric performance up front.

At one point leading by almost three seconds, the #2 was able to allow that to drop to come safely over the line in front, winning by 1.374s.

It is Irwin’s first win since completing the triple right at the start of the season at Silverstone.

Though he got a flying start Irwin had company in the early stages of the race from Peter Hickman and his brother Andrew.

Hickman came home second trying to keep Irwin on his toes ahead for as long as possible for FHO Racing, with fellow BMW rider Irwin third for the Synetiq team. It is the third podium this year for both riders.

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Tommy Bridewell took the race to Bradley Ray, passing him only to run wide and having to catch the Yamaha again, which he did, passing at Surtees to finish fourth for Oxford Products Ducati.

Ray Takes Title From Fifth.

Qualifying hadn’t gone Ray’s way, leaving him sixth when then the rain arrived. Relaxed and knowing his rivals had the uphill battle to prevent him winning the title, the Kent man stayed collected on his local track and did what was necessary to bring the British Superbikes title home in fifth.

His off the podium position means he is still yet to take a rostrum finish at Brands Hatch on the GP layout.

Behind the Rich Energy OMG rider, Jason O’halloran was staging a comeback, but was never in danger of catching the #28, now sporting the #1 plate after the race.

The McAMS rider had an uphill battle to record a good result after qualifying eighth but having a three place grid penalty applied for causing the collision with Tom Sykes last round at Donington Park.

Danny Buchan was a lonely ninth on the second Synetiq BMW Motorrad entry, ahead of Danny Kent, who was a much improved eighth and the best of the Buildbase Suzuki’s.

Kyle Ryde was close behind in ninth and was quick to congratulate his team-mate Ray on his ew title, the pair having spent much of their career in step with each other.

Tom Sykes completed the top ten for MCE Ducati.

Charlie Nesbitt found himself in the points in eleventh on the Buildbase Suzuki as they retained him for another round despite Christian Iddon returning.

Josh Owens recorded a best finish for the season in twelfth for Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki after a strong showing in qualifying.

Takumi Takahashi was 13th for Honda while newer riders to the class for the weekend - Jack Kennedy out on the Mar-Train Yamaha for a second round and Davey Todd on his Milenco by Padgetts Motocycles Honda completed the points finishers in 14t and 15th respectively.

The race started with the grid awash with pink as the paddock again turned out a poignant tribute to Chrissy Rouse, with pink t-shirts and flags from front to back covered in the Rouse 69 logo. His Superstock winning bike and 2022 race bike were take out on a lap of Brands before the race.

DNF’s

The race was bookended by two huge incidents.

The first corner of the first lap saw Tom Neave catch the tyre of the bike in front, crashing in the group and lucky not to take a whole host of bikes with him on his way into the gravel. Lee Jackson exited at the same time, while avoidance lead Josh Bookes to retire early.

Leon Haslam and Ryo Mizuno also pulled into the pits as the race went on.

The last lap saw Christian Iddon, who had made up the most places in eleventh at the time and Ryan Vickers, who was on for a solid points finish in his 100th GP start, experience contact on the last lap,with the incident investigated by race direction.

Brands Hatch Statistics

BSB Brands Hatch Lap Record - Josh Brookes (2017) Yamaha - 1m 24.873s

Qualifying:

Pole: Glenn Irwin

Round Five At Brands Hatch 2022

Qualifying:

Pole: Jason O’Halloran

Race One: Jason O’Halloran

Race Two: Tarran Mackenzie

Race Three: Tarran Mackenzie

2021 at Brands Hatch

Round Three:

Qualifying:

Pole: Tarran Mackenzie

Race One (sprint): Tarran Mackenzie

Race Two: Jason O’Halloran

Race Three: Christian Iddon

Round Eleven(Showdown):

Qualifying:

Pole: Luke Mossey

Race One (sprint): Tarran Mackenzie

Race Two: Tarran Mackenzie

Race Three: Tarran Mackenzie

Donington Park, Round Ten:

Qualifying:

Pole: Jason O’Halloran

Race One: Tom Sykes

Race Two: Tom Sykes

Race Three: Bradley Ray

Where does that leave the championship?

Ray only needed the first sprint race to claim the crown, his tally of 1182 sees him an unbeatable 52 points clear of Glenn Irwin, with Tommy Bridewell 65 off his total.

Peter Hickman's result sees him pull clear in the secondary standings for the riders’ cup, on a total of 247 compared to Danny Buchan’s 236.