BSB 2013: Oulton Park race results

SAMSUNG Honda rider Alex Lowes and Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne shared the honours at Oulton Park this bank holiday Monday (6 May).

It was Lowes who set the early pace with a fantastic qualifying lap half a second quicker than anyone else. The Lincolnshire rider backed up his impressive performance with an emphatic win in race one, as Shayne Byrne crashed out behind him from second on lap 13. This left the other podium positions open for James Ellison, who put in a fantastic performance to come through from 10th on the grid, and Josh Brookes who had been running second but suffered with tyre wear issues at the end of the race.

Keen to make up for his mistake in race one, the number 67 machine of reigning BSB champion Byrne battled hard at the front in the second outing, and led a four-bike lead pack followed by Lowes, Brookes and Ellison. Despite some challenging moves from the in-form Alex Lowes, he held on to take the win in race two by just under a second.

Lowes couldn’t quite maintain the pace he’d shown throughout the rest of the weekend, and was overtaken by a resurgent Josh Brookes who had found something in the set-up between races. Lowes does, however, maintain his unbroken record of BSB podiums in 2013, and leaves Oulton Park with a lead of a single point over Shane Byrne in the championship standings.

Behind the leading group it was an impressive weekend for Jon Kirkham and Tommy Bridewell, who finished fourth and five respectively in both races, and at the other end of the field, it was another disappointing weekend for the returning Japanese rider Ryuichi Kiyonari, who still didn’t manage to find his old form around what is one of his most successful British circuits. 

British Superbike Championship 2013, Oulton Park

Race 1 result:

1.  Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) 29:03.128
2.  James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) +3.348
3.  Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +5.460
4.  Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) +6.655
5.  Tommy Bridewell (Bathams Honda) +6.808
6.  Peter Hickman (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Honda) +20.568

Race 2 result:

1.  Shayne Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 29:00.552
2.  Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.788
3.  Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) +0.956
4.  Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) +11.927
5.  Tommy Bridewell (Bathams Honda) +12.066
6.  Chris Walker (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +28.214

Championship standings after round 3: Oulton Park