2024 British Superbikes: Brands Hatch - Race Results (3)

Race three at Brands Hatch proved that no matter the conditions, Ryan Vickers was able to pull away as he impressed again with a comfortable, managed win.

In the lead once again as early as turn one after another electric start, the newly crowned king of Brands was once again able to rapidly gap the field, leading by over a second by lap four.

Once again, the OMG Grilla Yamaha rider was able to get into his groove undisturbed and soon found himself back in the low 1m 25s laps consistently, easing out his lead to over four seconds in the closing stages.

The riders directly behind fighting for position also helped his gap increase, allowing Vickers to ease off, as he did in race one - and soak up his win, waving to the fans as he took the chequered flag by 3.073s.

It is the second time Vickers has dominated a meeting in 2024, winning both the races held in Navarra. It is only the third time in history a rider has done the triple at Brands Hatch, with the #7 joining Josh Brookes (2019) and Tarran Mackenzie (2021) in doing so.

• 2024 British Superbikes: Brands Hatch - Race Results (2)
• 2024 British Superbikes: Brands Hatch - Race Results (1)

Behind for most of the race, it was his teammate Kyle Ryde who was taking up the chase. The #77 had plenty of company for the final laps with both Christian Iddon and Tommy Bridewell joining in the hunt for second.

After a tense few laps, Iddon found a way through on lap 18, only to see Ryde fight straight back and block, with Bridewell still sat in behind ready to pounce. That move at turn one on the start of the penultimate lap did not stick, with Iddon under pressure form the current champion. There was a big push from the Oxford products rider in the approach to Surtees, allowing Iddon  his eighth podium visit in a consistent season.

That left Ryde third after he struggled for grip over the final laps, with both OMG Yamaha bikes on the podium again in a 1-3.

Bridewell was forced to settle for fourth, and enjoyed a comfortable gap over the next rider to the line, his Honda UK Teammate Andrew Irwin.

Lee Jackson was a much improved sixth for MasterMac Honda, just over a second behind.

Glenn Irwin comes from back of the grid to seventh

The dramatic crash at the beginning of the sprint initially left Glenn Irwin a doubt for the final race, leaving the scene in an ambulance on a stretcher. Checks showed no fractures, but the Northern Irish rider was experiencing muscle spasms in his neck and shoulder area, so was the last rider declared fit.

The turn one fall left no space for a fast lap, so the PBM Hagar Ducati joined the grid in 23rd. Irwin immediately attacked and was 18th at the end of the first lap.

From there the only way was up and the #2 picked off rider after rider, anywhere a pass was on. His last move was to take seventh from Jason O’Halloran on lap fifteen, with the Australian sitting in behind for the final five laps for Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki.

Charlie Nesbitt was not far behind in ninth on the second MasterMac bike, keeping Leon Haslam at bay in tenth after he could not maintain his early launch which saw him third briefly on the opening lap for ROKiT Haslam Racing.

Haslam was only just the best placed BMW in the race, with Josh Brookes right behind on the FHO bike in eleventh.

Max Cook was a lonely twelfth for Completely Motorbikes, with Peter Hickman also having a gap behind him after he broke free of the fight for the final points over the closing laps on the second FHO bike.

That train was lead over the line by Billy McConnell for Look Forward Racing in 14th, with McAMS Yamaha rider Danny Kent salvaging a point in 15th after he too started from the back of the grid following the sprint crash, with fellow faller Danny Buchan just missing out.

Lewis Rollo was back to being the top pathway entry for Aprilia, in the same group, finishing 19th.

Official British Superbike Brands Hatch Records:

Lap record: Josh Brookes (Yamaha, 2017) 1m 24.873s

Brands Hatch in 2023:

Round 6
Qualifying (superpole): 
1: Tommy Bridewell
2: Ryan Vickers
3: Josh Brookes

Race 1 (Sprint):
1: Ryan Vickers
2: Danny Kent
3: Christian Iddon

Race 2:
1: Tommy Bridewell
2: Christian Iddon
3: Danny Kent

Race 3:
1: Tommy Bridewell
2: Glenn Irwin
3: Ryan Vickers

Round 11 (showdown)
Qualifying : 
1: Jason O’Halloran
2: Leon Haslam
3: Charlie Nesbitt

Race 1 (Sprint):
1: Kyle Ryde
2: Jason O’Halloran
3: Tommy Bridewell

Race 2:
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Tommy Bridewell
3: Kyle Ryde

Race 3:
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Tommy Bridewell
3: Kyle Ryde

Crashes, injuries and replacements
 

Richard Kerr completed his meet replacing Rory Skinner at Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad, placing 22nd.

The only rider out in race three was Franco Bourne, who fell on lap nine.

Both Tom Neave and Luke Hedger were ruled out due to their accidents earlier in the weekend.

Championship Standings

Tommy Bridewell heads to Thruxton as championship leader, his fourth place taking him to 217 points, extending his lead to 19.

Glenn Irwin dug deep to salvage his race, limiting the points damage with seventh, though Bridewell remains the only rider to hit the 200 point mark, with Irwin on 198.

Another podium visit for Iddon sees him edge closer to Irwin, now with just five points between them in the overall standings.

Kyle Ryde also dug deep to turn his weekend around and his double podium sees him close in on 185 points in fourth.

Kent remains fifth, moving onto 148 after picking up a point, with a triple win seeing Vickers close in on the top five after a difficult few rounds, taking his total to 146.