Savvy Redding denies luckless Fores in rain curtailed race

BSB Donington Park - Race Results (2)

Scott Redding notched up a second Bennetts British Superbike Championship win of the weekend at Donington Park in somewhat controversial circumstances after planting a decisive pass just moments before race two was red flagged due to worsening weather conditions.

A day after clinching his maiden BSB win, Redding was again made to work hard for his success having run as low as 11th but was making impressive headway when he caught leaders Xavi Fores and Tommy Bridewell in the closing stages.

However, with spots of rain beginning to fall and the prospect of a red flag being deployed at a looming two-thirds distance – enough for the result to be called – Redding launched his Ducati up the inside of Fores at the Roberts chicane.

Doing so just as the race clicked over 18 laps of 26, the red flags duly came out and Redding was classified as the winner for his second win on the bounce, as well as a fourth consecutive success for his Be Wiser Ducati team.

Despite the unorthodox circumstances, there was certainly nothing to take away from Redding’s efforts, the former MotoGP man easily the quickest rider on track once he’d found his rhythm having slipped from eighth on the grid down to as low as 11th. Moreover, his experience ultimately told when he anticipated the potential stoppage to perfection, knowing he’d only have one chance to pass Fores to win.

To Fores’ credit, the Spaniard produced a masterful performance on the Honda CBR1000RR. Starting second, he led early on before Bridewell moved through on lap seven, the pair working together to pull a gap on the pack before Fores overtook on lap 16 having been given the hurry up in the wake of the charging Be Wiser Ducatis behind.

Nevertheless, second marks the first time Honda has managed two podiums in a single BSB race meeting since 2016 and goes a long way to showing Fores as a Showdown threat this year.

A despondent Bridewell had to make do with third place, the Oxford Racing man twice putting his hand up to signify a wet track which lost him ground to Redding. Nonetheless, with Tarran Mackenzie in fifth place, behind Josh Brookes, the gap between the pair is down to two points overall, though Redding is now just five points off the top spot too.

Christian Iddon rallied hard early on, briefly running second before being bullied back to sixth position and never quite recovering momentum, ahead of Jason O’Halloran.

Hector Barbera impressed at various stages of the race with his lap times in clear air but fared less well in the more atypical BSB bar-to-bar racing on his way to eighth. Indeed, he was seen remonstrating with Peter Hickman – who finished ninth – on the warm-down lap, though his fastest lap of the race means he starts from pole position for race three. Redding and Brookes complete the front row.

Keith Farmer completed the top ten, ahead of Danny Buchan and Andrew Irwin, with the Suzuki trio of Bradley Ray, Luke Mossey and Luke Stapleford completing the points’.