2022 Thruxton - Round 6

Didn't have a lot of time to watch bike racing last weekend, but BSB was running at Thruxton. It was a scorching hot weekend by British standards, but the racing action was great as always.

Race 1 Results
Unfortunately, the story line for Race 1 was Andy Irwin starting the race from 3rd place on the grid, one spot ahead of his brother Glenn. Unfortunately, Andy's bike died during the warm up lap and he missed the start His brother, on the other hand, nearly got the holeshot and battled for the lead in the opening laps before the Yamaha's superior tire management and grip allowed O'Halloran, Mackenzie and Ray to pull away, and finish the race in that order. Irwin held on for 4th place, while Peter Hickman, who started third, managed to keep the tires in good enough condition to finish in 5th place. The Kawasakis had a surprisingly bad Race 1. Jackson, Skinner, and Haslam finished 6th, 7th, and 8th and slowed each other up along the way. Not a great open to the weekend for Kawasaki. Sykes finished in 9th ahead of Tommy Bridewell, which is a moral victory for Tom, who has been beaten regularly (and badly) by Bridewell.

Race 2 Results
Race 2 was more of the same, regarding the outright domination by Yamaha. Unlike Race 1, O'Halloran, Ray and Mackenzie got the holeshot and controlled the pace early. Hickman was the only rider who was able to breakaway with them. Sykes had an awesome start and managed to complete Lap 1 in 5th place, but he was dropped by the lead quartet and overtaken by Kyle Ryde who was trying to bridge the gap to the leaders. Ryde would eventually fail, and be demoted by Haslam who was on a tear at mid-distance. Despite claiming that he finished Race 1 with too much tire in reserve, Glenn Irwin had a poor start, and got mugged by a handful or riders, which demoted him to 8th on Lap 3. He clawed his way back to 6th, but it wasn't a great result for him as he's trying to make the showdown. On Lap 14, the race hotted up when Mackenzie overtook O'Halloran for the lead, and the Yamahas started to drop the hammer, which left Hickman struggling to stay in their slipstream. On Lap 15, Ray roughed up Jason O'Halloran at club chicane to take second place, and Ray took the lead on Lap 16. The remaining four laps were total bedlam. In the end, O'Halloran somehow managed to pip Mackenzie at the line, with Ray in 3rd place. Race 2 was a barnburner!

Race 3 Results
Race 3 was more of the same regarding the frontrunners. BSB has limited electronics, and the Yamaha is almost perfectly suited to Thruxton so it was no surprise to see O'Halloran, Ray, and Mackenzie clear off again. After getting roughed up at the start, Peter Hickman clawed his way back into the top 5 and inherited 4th place when Kyle Ryde crashed out on Lap 8. Hicky bridged the gap to the frontrunner, but, unfortunately, he suffered a mechanical DNF on Lap 14. Haslam was flying in 5th, and had no problem outpacing the FS-3 Kawasaki riders at mid distance, but he suffered an issue and finished 6th. Still, it was Leon's best finish of the weekend. Glenn Irwin had an incredible second half of Race 3, and somehow blitzed the midpack to get from 9th to 4th place, where he finished. On Lap 19, Brad ray got a double slipstream and made the pass from 3rd into the lead. He and Mackenzie diced the entire last lap, and Mackenzie managed to just hold on. Another incredible race!

Overall, British Superbike was the big winner. They continue to put on the best circuit racing show on earth. Some people might argue that WSBK is slightly better since the full-electronic package allows more manufacturers to run at the front, but BSB lets the riders rule, and it always seems to workout in the end.

O'Halloran was the top scorer with 66pts, ahead of Mackenzie with 65 points and Ray with 52 pts. O'Halloran stretched his lead over Ray. Taz is almost a lock for the showdown at this point. Glenn Irwin had his best points haul since Silverstone, as the Honda rider notched 36 points, and virtually guaranteed himself a spot in the Showdown. The important performances were on the fringes of the top 8, where riders needed to attack or defend to make the showdown. Hickman was just a handful of laps away from a 30+ point weekend, which would have been huge considering Bridewell's lackluster 21 point haul, but Pete's bike blew up, and he scored just 24 points at Thruxton. Haslam also had a frustrating weekend. He was basically the top Kawsaki rider for 3/4 of all race laps, but he faded late, and managed just 25 points. Lee Jackson, for comparison, scored 32 points, and did virtually nothing noteworthy. With just 2 rounds remaining before the Showdown, Haslam and Hickman have little chance to make the 40+ points to Tommy Bridewell.

Biggest flop of the weekend was Kyle Ryde who only managed 3 points, on a bike that was averaging about 61 points this weekend He'll be in the Showdown, but it was a weekend to forget! Josh Brookes also had a nightmare weekend and managed to score just 1 point. He has no chance of participating in the Showdown at this point.