BSB: 5 Historic Championship battles

The 2023 British Superbike season will be one which will make its way into the history books after a thrilling season. PBM teammates, Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell are separated by 7.5 points with eight riders mathematically able to win the title. Ahead of the final BSB round, I had a look at other dramatic endings to the season.

2011 – Last lap duel between Hopkins and Hill

The 2011 British Superbike Championship will go down as one of the best BSB seasons and finals ever. Tommy Hill, John Hopkins, and Shane Byrne would trade race wins and battle throughout the season. The three riders were so dominant that 18 out of the 27 races that season were won by the three contenders.

The title went down to the wire with Tommy Hill and Hopkins looking like the main title contenders. Race one at Brands Hatch was won by Michael Laverty, with Hopkins finishing third. In race two Tommy Hill reclaimed the Championship lead with Hopkins finishing in 12^th after his Suzuki cut out on the opening stage of the race.

The final race of the season is regarded as one of the best BSB races ever, with a duel between Hopkins. The Championship went down to the final corner of the season, with Hill finishing ahead of Hopkins. This allowed Tommy Hill to win the 2011 British Superbike Championship by 0.006.

2000 – Tense Rivals

The 2000 season of BSB was box office action with Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker battling for glory. The season produced some remarkable races, including Hodgson’s last-to-first win at Oulton Park after he stalled on the grid.

Chris Walker led the Championship going into the final round of the season, held at Donington Park. However, his 750 Suzuki dropped a valve, ending his race and his Championship hope. This allowed Hodgson to take GSE’s Ducati to glory and win the Championship.

It would be the closest that Walker would come to winning the title before he would ride in 500 Grand Prix and later World Superbikes. Neil Hodgson and the GSE Racing team both stepped up to WorldSBK with James Toseland as his teammate. In 2003 Hodgson won the WorldSBK Championship with the factory Ducati team.

2017 – Six for Byrne

Leon Haslam led the Championship by 32 points after a strong season onboard the JG Speedfit Kawasaki. Josh Brookes was his nearest rival with Shane Byrne a further one point behind Brookes.

Byrne did everything he could in the opening two races at Brands Hatch, taking all 50 points to close the gap to Haslam. In the final race of the season, just two points separated the rivals with everything to play for.

In the final race of the year, Leon Haslam suffered a front brake failure at Hawthorns ending his season. Shane Byrne came home in eighth position which was enough to wrap up his sixth BSB title.

2013 – Highs and Lowes

The 2013 BSB title went down to the wire between Shane Byrne and Alex Lowes – Kawasaki vs Honda. The season had everything, with contact, last-lap battles, and mixed conditions between the two riders.

There was controversy at Assen, after Alex Lowes hit into Byrne in race two, ending his race. Lowes was disqualified from the race results, leading to an intense final two rounds of the season.

At Brands Hatch, tyre choice was a lottery with mixed conditions in the second race of the weekend. Lowes dropped back on slick tyres, handing Byrne the Championship advantage ahead of the final race. However, Byrne would crash out a handful of laps later, which turned out to be crucial with Alex Lowes becoming the 2013 BSB Champion.

1999 – Three-way battle at the front

The 1999 BSB title was between Troy Bayliss, Chris Walker, and John Reynolds with the title being decided at Donington Park. The trio shared race wins across the season with Bayliss claiming seven victories.

Race one at Donington Park was wet with Walker storming to the victory, ahead of Bayliss in second. In race two it was a dramatic final between the three riders, with Bayliss crashing on oil and bringing out the red flag.

On the restart of the race, the three Championship protagonists battled for the win at the front. Reynolds and Walker made contact on the final lap of the race, ending both their Championship hopes. This allowed Neil Hodgson to win and his teammate to take the 1999 Championship.

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Feature Image credit: britishsuperbike.com