BSB Knockhill Results, Race 3 - Last lap teammate battle

British Superbikes resumes this weekend after the break for some of the major road races, including the Isle of Man TT, and the series heads north to Scotland. This page will be updated throughout the weekend with BSB Knockhill results.

Overview

Race 3 - Irwin defeats Bridewell for Race 3 victory as O'Halloran crashes out

Race 2 - Ryde takes victory as Irwin crashes out late on

Race 1 -  Irwin fends off Ryde for Race 1 win

Qualifying - Glenn Irwin takes pole as Yamaha stay strong and lock out front row

FP2 - Ryde fastest as crash disrupts O'Halloran

FP1 - O'Halloran kicks off Knockhill weekend on top

Race 3

The third and final race for British Superbikes at Knockhill in 2023 saw a conclusion to an unusually consistent weekend in terms of weather, as dry conditions continued to prevail. Such conditions allowed for a close lead battle between the PBM Ducati teammates, from which Glenn Irwin emerged the winner.

Jason O’Halloran made the holeshot yet again, this time his Yamaha ahead of a trio of Ducatis, which Christian Iddon led from Tommy Bridewell and Glenn Irwin.

O’Halloran’s time at the front lasted only one-and-a-half laps, as he crashed out halfway around the second tour of the race. That promoted Bridewell, who had passed Iddon at turn one on lap two, to the front, and Kyle Ryde soon made his way up to second place.

Jason O'Halloran waves to the crowd after 2023 Knockhill BSB Race 1. Credit: McAMS Yamaha

However, Ryde would slip back to fourth place by the end of the race, as the Ducatis established themselves at the front and he was passed by his OMG Racing teammate, Ryan Vickers. When Vickers passed Ryde, both were promoted a place, as Iddon made a mistake and ran on at the hairpin.

Unfortunately for Vickers, there was little he could do about the two Ducatis remaining at the front, and had to settle for third, to which he hung on comfortably ahead of Ryde.

From the Bridewell-Irwin battle, the advantage was with Irwin in the final five laps, by which time he had found his way past Bridewell and begun to impose his pace. 

It was visibly stressful for Bridewell to hang onto the pace of his teammate, as the #46 had numerous moments of losing traction at both ends of his Panigale. 

It is hard to say that Bridewell ‘settled’ for second, but that is the position in which he finished, despite his evident efforts to deny Irwin, whose winning margin, in the end, was 0.879 seconds.

Behind the aforementioned Ryde was Lee Jackson (5th, top Kawasaki), who demoted Leon Haslam to sixth (and top BMW) in the closing laps. Tom Neave was seventh and the top Honda finisher, ahead of Josh Brookes (8th) on the top-placed 2023 M1000RR, Christian Iddon who was ninth after his run-on, and Dean Harrison who rounded out the top 10.

Full BSB results from Race 3 in Knockhill are below.

2023 British Superbike Championship (BSB) | Knockhill | Race 3 Results

Race 2

BSB Race 2 at Knockhill saw Kyle Ryde take victory, after Glenn Irwin crashed out of the lead late on.

Jason O’Jalloran made the holeshot from pole position, ahead of the OMG Racing duo of Kyle Ryde and Ryan Vickers. However, those OMG riders went opposite ways by the end of the first lap. As Ryde went to the front, Vickers went backwards, behind Glenn Irwin, to fourth place.

Some strong battling throughout the race saw Glenn Irwin come to the front, and by lap 27 it seemed like he was getting away. But, he crashed at the hairpin, which gave the lead to Kyle Ryde. 

While Irwin had been battling his way to the front, his PBM Ducati teammate, Tommy Bridewell, had fought his way up to third place, which became second when Irwin fell. He held off Jason O’Halloran at the end to maintain that second place, while the Australian settled for third.

Ryan Vickers was strong in fourth place, ahead of Christian Iddon (5th) and Lee Jackson who rounded out the top six as the top Kawasaki.

Storm Stacey took seventh place, ahead of Tom Neave (8th) on the lone Honda Racing machine, Josh Brookes (9th, top BMW) and Leon Haslam, who rounded out the top 10.

Full BSB results from Race 2 in Knockhill are below.

2023 British Superbike Championship (BSB) | Knockhill | Race 2 Results

Race 1

Race 1 at Knockhill for British Superbikes saw Glenn Irwin take victory, after a tight battle with Kyle Ryde.

It was Glenn Irwin who started from pole position, but Jason O’Halloran who made the holeshot, although Irwin soon took the lead away from the #22 McAMS Yamaha rider.

O’Halloran soon found himself back in third place, as Kyle Ryde made his way through. Things stayed that way - with Irwin leading from Ryde and O’Halloran - for the remainder of the race, and Irwin took his third win of the season.

Behind the podium fight, Tommy Bridewell fought his way up to fourth place after a tough qualifying, while Christon Iddon made similarly noteworthy progress through the field to round out the top five.

Leon Haslam, complete with a damaged shoulder, completed the top six, while Ryan Vickers (7th), Storm Stacey (8th), Josh Brookes (9th), and Lee Jackson (10th) rounded out the top 10.

Full BSB results from Knockhill Race 1 are below.

2023 British Superbike Championship (BSB) | Knockhill | Race 1 Results

Qualifying

2023 British Superbike Championship (BSB) | Knockhill | Qualifying Results | Round 4 / 11

FP2

After the dry FP1 for British Superbikes in Knockhill, the good weather remained for FP2. However, Jason O’Halloran was unable to remain at the top of the combined time charts, as he was displaced in the final moments of FP2 by Kyle Ryde.

O’Halloran’s second place in the combined standings came as a result of his FP1 time, which was at least partly due to a crash for the #22 in FP2. The Australian was unharmed in the fall, and was able to get back out late on in FP2, but unable to improve on his morning time.

As for Ryde, his strong afternoon backed up, and improved on, a promising morning for the #77. He will certainly be a contender in the three races coming up this weekend for the BSB riders.

Glenn Irwin made improvements in the afternoon to end the day third fastest overall and the top Ducati, ahead of Lee Jackson (4th, top Kawasaki) and Josh Brookes - another major improver in FP2 - who completed the top five as the fastest BMW.

Christian Iddon was yet another rider to go from without to within the top 10 in FP2, ending Friday in sixth place, while Danny Buchan (7th), Ryan Vickers (8th), Charlie Nesbitt (9th, top Honda), and Tommy Bridewell (10th) completed the top 10.

Full BSB results from combined practice in Knockhill are below.

2023 British Superbike Championship (BSB) | Knockhill | Combined FP Results

FP1

Heading to Knockhill, rain is very much among the expectations. However, temperatures of over 20C and dry track conditions greeted the British Superbike riders when they headed out for FP1 early on Friday afternoon. Jason O'Halloran set the fastest time, ending the first session on top.

Jason O'Halloran has historically not gelled especially well with the Knockhill circuit, but his weekend north of the border this weekend began with an advantage of 0.215 seconds on the field. Conventional wisdom says that the length of the Knockhill layout means that any advantage over the course of a lap is effectively worth twice that amount on a normal circuit, which would put O'Halloran's advantage at almost half-a-second on a more standard circuit length.

Leading the charge behind the Yamaha rider in BSB FP1 was another R1-mounted competitor, namely Kyle Ryde, who appears intent on continuing his strong form from Donington a few weeks ago.

Danny Buchan, in contrast to O'Halloran, has historically gone very well at Knockhill, and third place in FP1 was certainly a positive way for the #83 Synetiq BMW rider to begin the weekend.

Ryan Vickers was able to make it three Yamahas in the top four, continuing his own positive form from Donington, while Storm Stacey impressed in fifth overall, and the fastest Kawasaki.

Lee Jackson confirmed the progression made by the FS-3 Kawasaki team in recent rounds seems set to continue this weekend in Knockhill, and he rounded out the top six, ahead of Leon Haslam (7th), Glenn Irwin (8th, top Ducati), an impressive Tom Neave (9th, top Honda), and Tommy Bridewell, who rounded out the top 10.

Full BSB results from FP1 in Knockhill are below.

2023 British Superbike Championship (BSB) | Knockhill | FP1 Results

Image credit: Mar-Train Racing.

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