BSB Oulton Park Results (2), Race 3 - Perfectly set

This weekend, British Superbikes contests its ninth round of 2023, and the first round of its new Showdown format, with the points payout for each race increasing round-by-round between now and the final round in Brands Hatch. Check this page throughout the weekend for BSB Oulton Park results.

Overview

Race 3 - Bridewell finally puts it together to take Race 3 win

Race 2 - Irwin wins as penalty costs Bridewell

Race 1 - Irwin wins as Bridewell falters in Showdown opener

Qualifying - Bridewell takes pole, 0.006 faster than Irwin

FP2 - Irwin strikes back in FP2 as everyone improves

FP1 - Bridewell kicks off Showdown on top

Race 3

It was PBM Ducati domination in BSB Race 3 at Oulton Park, and it was Tommy Bridewell who came out on top, finally putting together a race without mistakes.

Tommy Bridewell started on pole position once more, and once again he made the holeshot ahead of his PBM Ducati teammate, Glenn Irwin.

The early pace from Bridewell was not enough to split up the front group too much; the top seven were still together after the opening tours.

Credit: Mar-Train Racing

The middle part of the race saw a few changes of lead between the teammates but, by lap 10, the pace was beginning to take its toll on the front group, with Lee Jackson in fourth the last rider connected. At the beginning of lap 11, the chance for the Ducatis to breakaway was presented when Jackson tried to pass Haslam at turn one, but immediately lost out on the exit, and by lap 13 there were 1.4 seconds between Jackson in third and Irwin in second.

Bridewell made his break from Irwin on lap 16. The gap opened up to half-a-second, and that proved an unsurmountable obstacle for Irwin to overcome. The #2 was denied the treble, but he secured a 15-point swing in the championship on the weekend, and he leads by half-a-point to Donington.

The argument can be made that Tommy Bridewell should have won all three races in Oulton Park this weekend, but in the end he was only able to make his pace count in Race 3, setting the fastest lap on the penultimate tour to defeat his teammate. Although he lost points in the championship, Bridewell is still more than in touch with six races to go.

Lee Jackson proved to have comparable pace with the Ducatis, and he caught Irwin a bit in the final laps. But he lost out because of where he started. Nonetheless, he secured a second podium of the day with third place (top Kawasaki).

Leon Haslam was fourth (top BMW), ahead of Josh Brookes (5th), Kyle Ryde (6th, top Yamaha), Christian Iddon (7th), Ryan Vickers (8th), Jason O’Halloran (9th), and Storm Stacey (10th), who completed the top 10.

Full BSB results from Race 3 in Oulton Park are below.

2023 BSB Oulton Park Results | Race 3

Race 2

Despite Tommy Bridewell’s late mistake, BSB Race 1 at Oulton Park was dominated by the PBM Ducati riders, and the same was expected for Race 2. This turned out to be reality, but another mistake from Bridewell once again saw Glenn Irwin take victory.

After their strong pace early on in Race 1, it was unsurprising to see one of the PBM Ducatis lining up on pole but, whereas Tommy Bridewell started from the front, Glenn Irwin started from fifth. Bridewell made the holeshot, but a strong start from Irwin pushed him up to second place.

Bridewell led the opening lap, but Irwin came through into the lead at the final corner on lap two. Soon after, the small gap that had opened between the Ducatis and Kyle Ryde in third place had closed up, with Leon Haslam and Lee Jackson in fourth and fifth, respectively, not too far away, either.

A mistake from Glenn Irwin into Hislop’s on lap six went onto push him wide into Knickerbrook, which cost him drive up Clay Hill and allowed Bridewell back to the front.
Bridewell’s pace was beginning to tell by lap 10. Although Irwin and Ryde could live with the #46’s pace, Haslam and Jackson began to drop back. A couple of laps later and Ryde had dropped off, too, as Bridewell set the fastest lap of the race on lap 12.

It was now down to two, but that only lasted until lap 14, when the safety car was deployed after a crash for Storm Stacey at Clay Hill from which the #79 walked away.

Of course, the safety car bunched the pack back up, but only to an extent. It was only out for two laps - coming out on lap 14 and going back in on lap 15 - which meant that only the top 14 were stacked up by the time the safety car came in.

Credit: Mar-Train Racing.

When it did, Bridewell made an error. He pulled the pin on the exit of Druids, but then realised he would overtake the safety car if he did not back off again. Everyone else was reacting to what was in front of them, unable to overtake, but when Bridewell backed off he did so to such an extent that many had no choice but to overtake, because the only other option was to crash. Race Direction determined the restart was illegal, and therefore handed Bridewell a long lap penalty. Because there was only just over one lap remaining when Bridewell was given the penalty, he was given a time-equivalent penalty of three seconds.

That meant that, although he crossed the line second, Glenn Irwin took the win and the 25 points along with it for the second time this weekend. He was joined on the podium by Lee Jackson (2nd, top Kawasaki), and Kyle Ryde (3rd, top Yamaha). 

Leon Haslam took fourth place - and top BMW - ahead of Josh Brookes who completed the top six. Tommy Bridewell’s penalty dropped him to sixth, meaning Glenn Irwin now takes the lead in the championship by 3.5 points.

Christian Iddon repeated his result of Race 1 with seventh, ahead of Jason O’Halloran (8th), Ryan Vickers (9th), and Peter Hickman (10th), who rounded out the top 10.

Full BSB results from Race 2 in Oulton Park are below.

2023 BSB Oulton Park Results | Race 2

Race 1

Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell started alongside each other for BSB Race 1 in Oulton Park, as the Showdown period of the season got underway. They proceeded to dominate the race together, but it was Irwin who emerged victorious.

From pole position, it was not a good start for Tommy Bridewell, who almost dropped to third place, but in the end was able to hang onto second place. His PBM Ducati teammate, Glenn Irwin, made the holeshot and led the first lap.

By lap four, a breakaway was emerging. The two PBM Ducatis were able to separate themselves significantly from those behind, who were led by Leon Haslam, following a crash for Storm Stacey on the first lap, and a pass on Kyle Ryde by the #91 to ultimately take over that third place. Ryde was also passed by Lee Jackson and, by lap seven, he and Haslam were closing in on the two leaders.

Credit: FHO Racing.

Haslam and Jackson were on the back of the Ducatis by lap 10, and it was then that Jackson decided to make his move on Haslam to take over third place. 

Irwin led onto the last lap, but ran wide into turn one, which allowed Bridewell through into turn two. Irwin, though, responded into Island and, before he could make his own retaliation, Bridewell ran on at the Hislop Chicane.

That mistake dropped Bridewell to fourth place, meaning it was Lee Jackson (2nd, top Kawasaki) and Leon Haslam (3rd, top BMW) who joined Irwin - who, for his part, defended almost perfectly (the exception being the mistake at turn one on the last lap) for the whole race, with his title rival Bridewell glued to his rear tyre throughout - on the podium.

Behind Bridewell and rounding out the top five was Josh Brookes, while Kyle Ryde (6th, top Yamaha) completed the top six. Christian Iddon was seventh, ahead of Jason O’Halloran (8th), Peter Hickman (9th), and Charlie Nesbitt, who rounded out the top 10 from his grid position of 19th.

Full BSB results from Race 1 in Oulton Park are below.

2023 BSB Oulton Park Results | Race 1

Qualifying

BSB qualifying in Oulton Park was entered with Glenn Irwin the favourite for pole, after he finished Friday as the fastest rider. 

Before Q2 got underway, the riders outside the top 12 on Friday had to decide which six of them would go through from Q1 to Q2 to join those fastest 12 from Friday. Storm Stacey was fastest of all in the first session, ahead of Bradley Perie, Luke Stapleford, Davey Todd, Max Cook, and Franco Bourne, who all made it through to Q2.

When it rolled around, Q2 was dominated by the PBM Ducati duo. Glenn Irwin was the first to go fastest, but he was eventually eclipsed by Tommy Bridewell, who took pole position by a monumental 0.006 seconds.

Credit: McAMS Yamaha

Almost 0.3 seconds back was Kyle Ryde, who was the fastest Yamaha in third place overall; ahead of Leon Haslam (4th, top BMW) who will head up row two from Josh Brookes (5th), and Storm Stacey (6th, top Kawasaki) who rounded out the top six.

Jason O'Halloran could only manage seventh, one place ahead of the rider he is replacing at Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki next year, Lee Jackson (8th), and Ryan Vickers, who nursed the cracked bone in his wrist from Cadwell Park to a ninth-placed qualifying.

Christian Iddon (10th) rounded out the qualifying top 10, and will be joined by Luke Mossey (11th) and Jack Kennedy (12th) on the fourth row.

Full BSB results from qualifying in Oulton Park are below.

2023 BSB Oulton Park Results | Qualifying

FP2

BSB FP2 in Oulton Park saw a continuation of the day's dry conditions, and the result of that was improvements in lap times across the board. Glenn Irwin was able to improve on his morning, and go fastest.

In all, every single rider went faster in BSB FP2 at Oulton Park compared to FP1 earlier on Friday. Although Glenn Irwin was fastest, he was only 0.047 seconds ahead of the top BMW of Leon Haslam in second place, while Ryan Vickers was just over 0.1 seconds off Irwin's pace in third place and as the top Yamaha.

Credit: McAMS Yamaha

Kyle Ryde immediately followed up his teammate in fourth place, while the second PBM Ducati of Tommy Bridewell was fifth, and Jason O'Halloran (6th) completed the top six.

Lee Jackson was the fastest Kawasaki in seventh place, ahead of Peter Hickman (8th), Luke Mossey (9th), and Christian Iddon (10th), who rounded out the top 10.

Full BSB results from FP2 in Oulton Park are below.

2023 BSB Oulton Park Results | FP2

FP1

FP1 for BSB in Oulton took place under heavy skies, but the track was dry, and so it was possible for a representative order to be established. Ominously, championship leader Tommy Bridewell was at the head of that order.

Although it was a strong session for Bridewell, who finished fastest, it was also a solid morning for his teammate, Glenn Irwin, at least in terms of lap times. He was 0.249 seconds slower than Bridewell, and the two Beer Monster Ducati riders were, for most of the session, the only ones to lap in under 1:35. There was a blot on the copy book for Irwin, though, as he suffered a crash.

Credit: McAMS Yamaha

Lee Jackson, now out-going from Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki, became the third rider into the 1:34s late on in the session, when he usurped Irwin to take over second place and move to within 0.1 seconds of Bridewell.

Leon Haslam was fourth-fastest and the top BMW, ahead of Peter Hickman (5th) an Kyle Ryde (6th, top Yamaha), who rounded out the top six ahead of Jason O'Halloran (7th). Behind the Australian, Ryan Vickers was eighth, and Christian Iddon (9th) and Luke Mossey (10th) rounded out the top 10.

Outside the top 10, Davey Todd started his competitive debut weekend for TAS Racing (in the Synetiq colours that Danny Buchan, who Todd is replacing this weekend, has run all season, not the Milwaukee livery he will run on the roads next year) in 14th place, Luke Staplefor made his McAMS Yamaha debut in 15th, Brayden Elliott started his BSB debut weekend in 23rd, and Michael Dunlop made his BSB return in 24th.

Full BSB results from FP1 in Oulton Park are below.

2023 BSB Oulton Park Results | FP1

Lead image courtesy of FHO Racing.

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