The opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown delivered drama in an intense Oulton Park weekend as Glenn Irwin returned to winning ways in race two, but Kyle Ryde rebounded in style in race three to close the gap to Tommy Bridewell to just six points in the standings ahead of Donington Park.
Three intense races in Cheshire saw seven different riders claim podium finishers for as many different teams and five different manufacturers, as Irwin added to his winning tally, whilst Ryde made it a double victory in the final race of the weekend.
After dry conditions yesterday, race two was wet and Hager PBM Ducati emerged victorious after Irwin made a determined last lap move on Leon Haslam at Hislops. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team rider ran on, but was able to re-join in third place as Danny Kent capitalised to take second place at the McAMS Racing Yamaha team’s home round.
Bridewell bounced back from yesterday’s race one crash to finish fourth in race two for Honda Racing UK, but it was disappointment for Ryde who could only finish 13th, which meant he lost the standings lead to the reigning champion.
Race three began in damp but improving conditions and several riders looked set to make a gamble on tyre choice. However, after a red flag interruption when Lewis Rollo crashed out at Hislops, the race was restarted in full wet conditions after another rain shower with a five lap sprint to the chequered flag.
Bridewell heads into the penultimate round of the Showdown with just a six-point lead as Ryde prepares for his home round on 27/28/29 September.
Irwin meanwhile leads the chasing pack after nearly halving the advantage to the top of the standings in Cheshire, trailing Bridewell by 45 points with a maximum of 180 points remaining over the final two rounds.
