2023 British Superbikes - Oulton Park: Race Results (2)

Results from race two, round nine of the 2023 Bennetts Superbike Championship at Oulton Park.

Updated: 17 Sep 2023

Oulton Park, Race Two, Irwin, round 9,showdown , 2023

For the second meeting in a row Glenn Irwin enters the final race of the day poised to pull off a treble with a win, but it was his teammate who had crossed the line first in a thrilling end to race two of round nine as the Showdown continued as BSB returned to Oulton Park.

Tommy Bridewell had confirmed he was in tune with Sunday’s conditions, topping warm-up, while Irwin had opted not to take any risks, happy with his package.

From pole the #46 initially lead the BeerMonster duo on track, but Irwin hit the front at the end of lap two.

From there Irwin was sat in behind, stuck to Bridewell like glue. This time matters came to a head between the pair as the safety car peeled back in.

Safety car brings joy for Irwin and penalty for Bridewell

A late crash for Storm Stacey at Clay Hill saw him walk away, but his bike needing to be cleared, so the safety car was deployed. The pack closed up behind Bridewell on lap fifteen as they waited for the car to re-enter the pits.

The race restart was a mess on track. Bridwell ran close to the back of the car, leading to him bunching up the pack more than was safe, with several riders, notably Lee Jackson and Ryan Vickers, needing to shoot out ahead of him when no overtaking was allowed, to avoid collisions behind.

They retook their places in the pack and racing resumed. Unusually for a safety car appearance the final laps saw everyone pretty much where they started, including Bridewell in front who celebrated over the line.

Almost instantly a investigation was announced, with a long lap penalty added soon after. Unaware, Bridewell did not take the loop in on track, so a three second time penalty was applied, sending him down to sixth as the riders behind had gained under the safety car.

Irwin didn’t make a lunge on the last lap, presuming there might be a penalty to be had. The result meant the Northern Irish rider again found himself taking the top spot on the podium while his teammate returned to the garage, shutters slammed down.

Gains for Jackson

The saftey car made a huge difference to Lee Jackson. The Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki rider had been in the front group as a five, but by the latter stages was battling with Leon Haslam for fourth as Kyle Ryde pulled away.

The #14 had been battling rear brake issues, which he and the team had thought to be ironed out in warm-up, only to return in the race. The safety car allowed Jackson a shot at progression, which he grabbed to finish 1.823s, promoted to second.

Kyle Ryde worked hard with his team overnight and had been reaping the benefits on track, catching the PBM duo on more than one occasion, while steering clear of trouble on the restart to return to the podium in third for LAMI OMG Yamaha.

The trophies for the podium finishers were presented to them by the late Chrissy Rouse’s niece, Betsy, in honour of his passing.

It was once again a mix of manufacturers at the front of the race, with Leon Haslam, who was proving hard to pass for Jackson before the safety car appearance in fourth on his Rokit BMW Motorrad bike.

Josh Brookes had been at the head of the chasing pack, but the situation allowed him to finish right behind the #91 in fifth for FHO Racing, with Bridewell slotted back into sixth.

Christian Iddon was a distant seventh for Oxford Products Ducati, while a pair of eighth places effectively ended McAMS Yamaha rider Jason O’halloran’s slim title hopes.

Ryan Vickers, moved back into ninth and stayed there to the line on the second OMG Yamaha machine, with Peter Hickman elveated to a top ten finish on the second FHO bike.

British Superbikes Round Nine - Oulton Park- Race Results (2)
Pos	Rider	Nat	Team	Time
1	Glenn Irwin	GBR	BeerMonster Ducati	28m 56.668s
2	Lee Jackson	GBR	Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki	+1.823s
3	Kyle Ryde	GBR	Lami OMG Racing Yamaha	+2.056s
4	Leon Haslam	GBR	Rokit BMW Motorrad Team	+2.518s
5	Josh Brookes	AUS	FHO Racing BMW Motorrad	+2.584s
6	Tommy Bridewell	GBR	BeerMonster Ducati	+2.954s
7	Christian Iddon	GBR	Oxford Products Ducati	+3.788s
8	Jason O'Halloran	AUS	McAMS Yamaha	+4.104s
9	Ryan Vickers	GBR	Lami OMG Racing Yamaha	+5.020s
10	Peter Hickman	GBR	FHO Racing BMW Motorrad	+6.858s
11	Bradley Perie	GBR	Lee Hardy Racing Kawasaki	+6.987s
12	Charlie Nesbitt	GBR	MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing	+7.405s
13	Max Cook	GBR	Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki	+7.713s
14	Luke Stapleford	GBR	McAMS Yamaha	+10.544s
15	Luke Mossey	GBR	Tactix by Lloyd & Jones BMW	+11.026s
16	Davey Todd	GBR	Synetiq BMW Motorrad	+12.499s
17	Jack Scott	GBR	Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki	+17.726s
18	Hector Barbera	ESP	TAG Racing Honda	+29.014s
19	Brayden Elliott	AUS	DAO Racing Kawasaki	+29.164s
20	Louis Valleley	GBR	Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki	+1m 04.106s
21	Storm Stacey	GBR	Starline Racing Kawasaki	DNF
22	Michael Dunlop	GBR	Hawk Racing	DNF
23	Jack Kennedy	IRL	Mar-Train Racing Yamaha	DNF
24	Franco Bourne	GBR	Honda Racing UK	DNF
25	Tom Neave	GBR	Honda Racing UK	DNF

Official British Superbike Oulton Park Records:

Lap Record: Bradley Ray (Yamaha) 1m 33.620s (2022)

2023 At Oulton Park(Round Two)

Pole:Josh Brookes (2nd Leon Haslam 3rd Storm Stacey)

Race One:
1: Josh Brookes
2: Leon Haslam
3: Glenn irwin

Race Two:
1: Josh Brookes
2: Glenn Irwin
3: Leon Haslam

Race Three:
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Leon Haslam
3: Kyle Ryde

2022 at Oulton Park

Round Two - Pole: Kyle Ryde (2nd Josh Brookes, 3rd Rory Skinner)

Race One:
1:Bradley Ray
2:Rory Skinner
3:Kyle Ryde

Race Two:
1:Bradley Ray
2: Lee Jackson
3: Leon Haslam

Race Three:
1: Lee Jackson
2:Tommy Bridewell
3: Bradley Ray

Round Nine (Showdown)

Pole: Bradley Ray (2nd Tommy Bridewell, 3rd Jason O’Halloran)

Race One:
1: Bradley Ray
2: Tommy Bridewell
3: Jason O’Halloran

Race Two:
1: Lee Jackson
2: Tommy Bridewell
3: Bradley Ray

Race Three:
1: Tommy Bridewell
2: Glenn Irwin
3: Lee Jackson

Last Round (Cadwell Park)

Pole: Ryan Vickers (2nd Leon Haslam, 3rd Glenn irwin)

Race One:
1: Glenn irwin
2: Kyle Ryde
3: Ryan Vickers

Race Two:
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Kyle Ryde
3: Jason O’Halloran

Race Three:
1: Tommy Bridewell
2: Glenn Irwin
3: Leon Haslam

Bradley Perie took his equal best finish, elevelth for the fourth time this season, and was the best of the rookies for Lee Hardy Racing as they all crossed the line together.

Charlie Nesbitt was next in twelfth for MasterMac Honda, with Max Cook thirteenth for Cheshire Holdings Kawasaki after gaining the most places in the race.

The remaining points went to Luke Stapleford in 14th for McAMS Yamaha and Luke Mossey (Tactix by Lloyd and Jones BMW) in 15th.

Crashes and Injuries and replacements

Davey Todd was the best of the replacement riders in 16th in for Danny Buchan at Synetiq BMW.

Brayden Elliott (18th) in his debut BSB weekend with DAO Kawasaki,replacing the departed Dean Harrison was 19th, while Michael Dunlop (Hawk Racing- in for Josh Owens) suffered an early exit.

Jack Kennedy, Franco Bourne and Tom Neave also failed to finish, joining Dunlop and Stacey.

Where does that leave the championship?

Irwin takes over at the top following the late race drama. The #2 holds a total of 338.5 points, now a small 3.5 ahead of teammate Bridewell as the pair swap places.

Kyle Ryde is mathematically still in with a shot following his podium, with 286 points, 52.5 behind Irwin.

Jason O’Halloran remains fourth overall, now a distant 70 points adrift. Leon Haslam is closing down on him in the standings in fifth, just 3.5 points behind. Lee Jackson is also capable of passing him in the overall standings as he moves onto 260.5 points, with just 4.5 less than Haslam.