Editorial Notes:
American Brandon Paasch, riding a VisionTrack Suzuki GSX-R1000R, finished 10th in the British Superstock race at Brands Hatch. Billy McConnell won the race on a Honda, and Davey Todd, who also rode a Honda, clinched the title before the finale.
Anthony Mazziotto, riding a Luxestar VIP/Affinity Kawasaki ZX-6R, finished 22nd in British Junior Superstock Race Two. Franco Bourne won Race Two on a Kawasaki, and Yamaha rider Max Cook clinched the title before coming to Brands Hatch.
Canadian and former MotoAmerica Junior Cup competitor Jack Roach, riding his Completely Motorbikes/Affinity Kawasaki Ninja 400, turned the fastest race lap and finished second in British Junior Supersport Race Two. Roach’s teammate Mikey Hardie won Race Two. Roach’s other teammate James McManus claimed the British Junior Supersport Championship.
MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship runner-up Gus Rodio finished seventh in British Junior Supersport Race Two on his Luxestar VIP/Symcirrus Kawasaki Ninja 400.
Race 2
Race 3
Points after Race 3
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Ray crowned Bennetts BSB champion as Hickman becomes tenth different winner in 2022
Bradley Ray celebrated his Bennetts British Superbike Championship title on home soil at Brands Hatch this afternoon (Sunday). The 25-year-old was officially crowned today after sealing top honours in yesterday’s opening race, ending the season with nine race wins plus a further 14 podiums for the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha team.
Ray finished fifth in Saturday’s eBay Sprint Race which was enough to secure a first title for both rider and team. Today, the new champion crashed out unhurt in the second race of the weekend before ending the season with a sixth place finish.
In the first of two races on the final day of the season, around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, Peter Hickman became the tenth different race winner of the season. The FHO Racing BMW rider held off Danny Buchan and Saturday winner Glenn Irwin to secure a visit to the top step of the podium.
In the final race of 2022, Glenn Irwin was able to grab the lead when Buchan made a small mistake at Surtees. This meant that the Honda Racing UK rider started and ended the season with victories on his way to claiming the runner-up spot in the standings, his best championship finish.
Andrew Irwin was back on the podium with a strong second place in the final race, just ahead of Buchan. Fifth place for Hickman was enough for him end the season as the Bennetts BSB Riders Cup champion, finishing just ahead of his BMW rivals.
Tommy Bridewell’s season finished with a fourth place, which secured the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team third in the final standings. This means that three different teams and manufacturers completed the final championship top three.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Race 2 result:
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW)
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.622s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +2.702s
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +13.381s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +13.494s
- Danny Kent (Buildbase Suzuki) +13.902s
- Christian Iddon (Buildbase Suzuki) +15.181s
- Charlie Nesbitt (Buildbase Suzuki) +16.426s
- Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati) +18.912s
- Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati) +20.511s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Race 3 result:
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK)
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.672s
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +1.956s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +5.474s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +5.679s
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +11.000s
- Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati) 11.334s
- Danny Kent (Buildbase Suzuki) +11.485s
- Christian Iddon (Buildbase Suzuki) +17.652s
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +17.744s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 1192
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 1171
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 1141
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 1095
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 1087
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 1077
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 1031
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 1017
Bradley Ray
Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha
“It’s been unbelievable. If you’d said the results we would’ve got this season at the start of the year. And said, ‘you’re going to be British champion’, I would have bitten your hand off and took it. The whole team have grafted all year. It hasn’t been easy from the start, but we put a lot of work in.
“Pre-season was good and I knew that this would be my best chance to fight for the championship with Yamaha, with Rich Energy OMG. We just got our head down the whole season, took everything in our stride, maximised everything race by race and that allowed us to come to Brands Hatch and have a difficult round like we have.
“Obviously it would have been nicer to be fighting for victory and fighting for podiums [this weekend] but we’ve done enough work throughout the season to prove that we’re worthy champions. Just a big shout out to the team, family, friends and everyone who came out to Brands to support me this weekend.”