Hashtag: Snetterton

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Bridewell stamps his authority on BSB with Snetterton treble

After a weekend of British Superbikes action like we saw at Snetterton last weekend, it’s time to (try) and condense it all down.

But there’s one point that really needs nailed down and focused on in particular: Tommy Bridewell.

An eight-point lead heading into the fifth round quickly jumped up to a 25-point buffer come the end of the weekend’s action, making one thing clear.

Bridewell has truly stamped his authority on this year’s championship.

Of course, there’s still absolutely anything that could happen with six rounds and 18 races remaining this year, and as we’ve seen in the past things can change in the blink of an eye in the UK’s premier motorcycle racing series.

However we’re seeing a side of Bridewell that has been waiting to be unleashed for years, and right now the 34-year-old is flying.

“These types of meetings don’t come around too often, so I’m delighted to take my first ever treble”

Tommy Bridewell

He took three wins from three at Snetterton, something he’d never achieved in the BSB prior to last weekend, and each of those victories were more than deserved.

But the BeerMonster Ducati rider had to work for it right from the off, with Saturday’s opening race coming down to the wire as Bridewell snatched the lead from teammate Glenn Irwin at Nelsons corner.

The disappointment for Irwin didn’t end there however, as he then dropped another two places at the final corner with Josh Brookes sliding up the inside of the Ducati which then invited Jason O’Halloran through on the run to the line.

Snetterton’s second race of the weekend was a little more straightforward for Bridewell, who made the most of a red flag restart to edge away from his rivals as they scrapped for the remaining podium positions.

But once again the pair of PBM Ducatis put on a show in the final race, and this time it was Irwin chasing down Bridewell for the win after the Northern Irishman made a slight mistake in the closing stages when he ran wide and lost the lead.

On the final lap Bridewell looked comfortable out in front, but that gap quickly diminished in the final sector, and it was a drag race to the line with the championship leader coming out on top by just 0.032 seconds.

A treble in the books and a comfortable lead in the championship going to Brands Hatch meant Bridewell was understandably delighted.

“What can I say!? It’s been a great weekend and these types of meetings don’t come around too often, so I’m delighted to take my first ever treble,” he told Paul Bird Motorsport.

“We’ve hardly changed the bike all weekend and the team absolutely hit the nail on the head with set-up so a huge thanks to them.

“It was nice to go toe to toe with Glenn in the final race with neither of us willing to give an inch, but it was good, clean racing.

“I focused on preserving the tyre in the early stages and we exchanged places on more than one occasion, so it was nice to come out on top and get the job done.”

As mentioned earlier, it’s been clear Bridewell has had this talent locked away for quite some time, and now with everything falling into place he certainly is the man to beat in 2023.

Find the standings after Round 5 here.

Featured Image Credit: @OfficialBSB on Twitter

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British Superbikes Snetterton – Round 7

The second most important round of the year? The final round before the Showdown positions are confirmed.

With 3 races to go until the top 8 contenders for the British Superbike Championship are promoted into the Showdown, their points reset to 1000 and their podium credits applied, Snetterton is one of the most important rounds of the year. People are saying that the pressure is now off for Bradley Ray, Jason O’Halloran and Rory Skinner, who have already mathematically secured a place in the Showdown, but those people are wrong. The pressure is relentless now. Podium credits are King.

At the point of writing this piece, there are only 2 podium credits between O’Halloran and Ray should the showdown start now. O’Halloran is on 48 while Brad Ray is on 46, with Tarran Mackenzie back on 24 podium credits. After a poor round at Cadwell Park, O’Halloran has lost his advantage to Ray significantly while also losing the lead in the current overall standings. However, under the British Superbike format and rules, maintaining the lead is not the priority as the points total will be reset after the Snetterton round. All the riders in the top 8 of the standings will enter The Showdown. Their points total will be reset to 1000 points and their podium credit will them be applied (e.g. O’Halloran would be on 1048 and Ray on 1046).

Podium credits are accrued over the whole season and applied at the start of the Showdown phase. Five for the win, 3 for a 2nd place and 1 credit for a 3rd. This is exactly what the format is designed for. It creates a winner takes all situation and if O’Halloran and Ray continue to share the wins into the final round, it would create a next goal wins scenario where whomever wins the final race would take the championship gold and glory.

Rory Skinner isn’t under as much pressure as the likes of O’Halloran and Ray due to the fact he has 9 podium credits and without being defeatist, I don’t think anyone expects him to challenge for the 2022 championship. Skinner is effectively the grey man that will want to perform at his best for himself and his team in the hopes of finishing as high up as possible but Skinner becomes a victim of the scoring system where he could potentially move from 3rd overall to 7th or 8th due to his lack of time spraying the champagne this year.

The riders who haven’t quite done enough to secure their spot in The Showdown, but are currently inhabiting the remaining places available are: –

Lee Jackson – Cheshire Mouldings FS3 Kawasaki

Glenn Irwin – Honda Racing UK

Tommy Bridewell – Oxford Products Racing Ducati

Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha

Kyle Ryde – Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha.

There are also 3 riders capable of securing a spot in The Showdown at the expense of one of the riders named above: –

Danny Buchan – Synetiq BMW only 14 points from the Showdown.

Peter Hickman – FHO BMW only 34 points from the Showdown.

Leon Haslam – VisionTrack Kawasaki only 35 points from the Showdown.

There are 75 points up for grabs at Snetterton. It is a very important round for these riders too. Riders like Jackson, Irwin, Bridewell, Mackenzie and Ryde are vying to keep their place within the showdown while Buchan, Hickman and Haslam are trying to swipe their spots away from them. Couple this with a recent dip in form for Kyle Ryde, and a poor Cadwell Park round for reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie, those final spots are looking like they’re up for grabs.

As it stands, Tarran Mackenzie has good form at Snetterton landing himself on the podium in all 3 races during 2021, taking 2 wins and a 2nd place. O’Halloran took two 3rd place finishes and a race win. It goes without saying the McAMS boys are expected to be running at the front during the Snetterton round and with Bradley Ray’s recent form, he should be right in the mix too.

The Norfork circuit, not far from the Southwest coast nr Norwich is another one of Motorsport Vision’s venues, owned by Jonathan Palmer’s company who also own Cadwell Park, Brands Hatch and Oulton Park. Snetterton is another airfield circuit, originally RAF Snetterton Heath opened in 1943 and closed in 1948 after World War 2 when it was handed back to the local landowners. Soon after in the 1950’s it became a venue for two and four wheeled racing and has changed layout somewhat over the years to its current one, with the addition of the infield section in 2011 to make up the Snetterton 100 track, 200 and the 300 track formats. The Snetterton 300 layout used by British Superbikes is 2.969miles long and is the second longest racing circuit in the country. To this day it continues to host all manner of racing events, including British Superbikes and British Touring Cars.

Who will take the bull by the horns this weekend?

We will soon see!

Picture courtesy of Official BSB

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BTCC Snetterton Preview

Josh Cook at last years Snetterton race. Image courtesy of BTCC

This weekend is the sixth meeting on the 2018 BTCC calendar, and also marks the sixtieth anniversary of the BTCC forming. There are numerous things to be discussed about the weekend, most notably the special ‘Diamond Double’ race, which is a mouth-watering prospect for both the drivers and their fans. First, however, let’s recap.

Recap

Last time out at Croft was a hectic event packed with action as well as a resurgence from the reigning champion Ash Sutton. Sutton scored his first win of the season in round thirteen and his second in round fourteen. Dan Lloyd took to the top step of the podium in round fifteen after benefiting from the reverse grid. Colin Turkington emerged from Croft as the championship leader, despite having only won a single race so far this year. The BMW driver, however, has finished on the podium an impressive five times, showing that consistency has been key to the season thus far. His nearest challengers, Tom Ingram and Matt Neal, aren’t far behind. Neal in particular should be one to watch this weekend, with the Hondas having run fastest in the two day test at Snetterton.

Ash Sutton at Croft 2018. Image courtesy of BTCC

The circuit

The circuit itself is an exciting one, with two of the longest straights in the country as well as the iconic ‘bomhole’. Rob Collard is the man with the lap record, a 1m56.352, which was set in 2016.

Diamond double

The drivers will have the perfect opportunity to set a new lap record in the third race of the weekend. Dubbed the ‘Diamond Double’, round eighteen of the season has a completely different format to the other races. The race will be for double points, with its own qualifying session used to determine the grid. All cars will be on base weight and the length of the race is approximately double that of a regular one. The double points on offer will allow drivers to potentially close gaps (or open them) throughout the championship standings. Expect a highly competitive race with perhaps a hint of caution, as not finishing this race would be very detrimental to driver’s championship hopes.

Overall this weekend looks set to be another thrilling chapter of this season’s BTCC championship. Be sure not to miss the action, especially the Diamond Double race. Going into the business end of the season, it could be hugely significant.

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