BSB: Three from three at Donington, O’Halloran firmly in title lead

The Donington Park National Circuit produced three different winners from three races. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) triumphed in Race 1 before Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) took the honours in Race 2. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) mastered mixed conditions for victory in Race 3.

Glenn (Honda Racing) and Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad) showed strong pace across the meeting and both bagged podium finishes. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) too had a glance at silverware but faded and missed out over race distance.

Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) lost substantial ground in the title fight with two DNFs. He now trails series leader O’Halloran by 74 points in third. Mackenzie has climbed to runner-up spot and holds a 54 points deficit to his teammate.

RACE 1

O’Halloran stayed ahead from pole but was under pressure from Glenn Irwin who claimed the lead on the opening lap. Mackenzie and Iddon too swept past the Australian while Andrew Irwin, Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) and Hickman lined up behind him.

Iddon launched past Irwin into P1 going into the third Lap but could not shake off the six rider freighttrain. Positions kept changing with at least four riders in contention for the top.

Joey Thompson (NP Motorcycles BMW) went down at Coppice on Lap 5 and while the rider was mercifully okay, the safety car came out while he was being attended too. Irwin marshalled the re-start to perfection to stay in front ahead of Iddon and the McAMS Yamaha riders.

A neat move at halfway distance brought O’Halloran ahead of his main title rival Iddon. The Ducati rider successively also had to surrender to Mackenzie and had his hands full with a feisty Vickers.

O’Halloran swept into the lead on Lap 13 and set the fastest lap of the race straight away. Unwilling to let him escape, Mackenzie punched his way into second and went on the hunt. The Scotsman had decent pace but could not match his teammate ahead. Irwin, however, managed to hang on to Mackenzie with Iddon marginally behind.

Going into the final lap, O’Halloran stormed towards victory unchallenged. Irwin dived down the inside going into the Fogarty Esses and just held Mackenzie behind over the line. Iddon had to settle for a non-podium finish but narrowly beat Vickers.

RACE 2

Mackenzie stole the holeshot while O’Halloran dropped into fifth. Iddon looked determined and was up to second by Lap 4. A quintet broke away with the McAMS Yamahas sandwiching Iddon and the Irwin brothers. Hickman was in close proximity and gradually edged closer.

Going into Lap 7, Iddon committed to a tight line at Redgate and, anticipating the Ducati would run wide, Andrew Irwin dived down the inside. The Irishman clipped the curb and made contact with Iddon which brought the title contender down.

The lead changed hands a couple of times between Mackenzie and the Irwin brothers. Due to the time lost in the scrap, the pack bunched together and brought more riders into contention.

Mackenzie established himself in P1 and his advantage was up to a second by Lap 15. Hickman and O’Halloran were the sole contesters for the remaining podium spots, locked together on track.

O’Halloran moved past at McLean’s on Lap 20 but could not shake off the BMW. The safety car got another outing on Lap 23 due to a crash from Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad) who was mercifully okay.

Mackenzie stayed in the lead at the re-start but was closely shadowed by his teammate. Hickman was under pressure from Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) who punched his way past on the penultimate lap.

O’Halloran made the first move on the final lap through the Old Hairpin. Mackenzie retaliated at McLean’s and reclaimed the position for good. The battle between the teammates invited in Ray who launched his attack through the Fogarty Esses and squeezed into P2.

RACE 3

Hickman stayed in the lead from pole while Glenn Irwin and Vickers. Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) and Iddon shadowed them closely, but the red flag came out after three laps due to rain. The race started anew and was declared wet, but tyre choices varied across the grid.

Vickers on full wets shot into the lead at the lights and pulled away. However, the Kawasaki rider went in too hot and crashed on the opening lap. Mackenzie running an inter rear and wet front tyre inherited P1 and built an advantage. Hickman was in second but swiftly claimed by Glenn Irwin on intermediate tyres.

Irwin was on the hunt and overtook Mackenzie at Redgate going into Lap 4. Bridewell, on an intermediate front and slick rear tyre, found pace and caught up with Irwin by Lap 5. A few turns later, he manoeuvred his Ducati in the lead.

Iddon was the fastest rider on track by Lap 8 on an inter front wet rear combination. Alas, his gamble did not pay off as he crashed out of the race at Craner Curves.

Bridewell was firmly in the lead but his tyres started sliding going into the final third of the race. Glenn Irwin comfortably held on to second while Andrew Irwin had claimed a podium spot in third.

Bridewell pushed on to secure a commanding victory as the Irwin brothers completing the rostrum. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) mastered the conditions to fourth while the McAMS Yamahas struggled with Mackenzie in seventh and O’Halloran in 12^th.