IN
THE
WIND
P50
Brookes Retakes BSB Title Lead
J
osh Brookes claimed the
Monster Energy King of the
Mountain title at Cadwell Park
by finishing second in race one
and first in race two of the British
Superbike Championship to put
himself back at the top of the
standings ahead of Oulton Park.
In the opening race of the day
Brookes launched off the pole
position into the lead on the
opening lap from Danny Buchan
(Kawasaki), Jason O'Halloran
(Yamaha) and Tommy Bridewell
(Ducati). However, Bridewell was
eager to make a move and dove
ahead of O'Halloran on lap three.
Buchan was all over Brookes,
but it wasn't until the eleventh
lap that he could make a move,
which he did at Mansfield to
snatch the lead. The FS-3 Rac-
ing Kawasaki rider continued
to try to break away from the
chasing Ducatis of Brookes and
Bridewell, and at the checkered
flag he managed to edge a gap
of 1.047s.
In race two Bridewell got off
to a flying start, firing the Ducati
to the front of the pack ahead of
Brookes and Buchan, with the
BMWs of Hickman and Iddon in
close pursuit.
The drama started early in the
race with Andrew Irwin (Honda)
colliding with erstwhile title leader
Scott Redding (Ducati) on the
second lap, sending them both
crashing out of the race. The
Honda Racing rider was penal-
ized by two points for contact
causing a crash, which means,
having reached a cumulative five
penalty points, he will start from
the back of the grid for the next
race at Oulton Park.
At the front, Bridewell was
holding the lead until Brookes
made a decisive move at Park
corner on lap 12 and then he
kept his rival at bay until the
checkered flag with Buchan
claiming another podium finish.
The results mean that Brookes,
Bridewell and Redding are now
confirmed title fighters in the
three-round British Superbike
Championship Showdown, which
starts at round 10 at Assen on
September 22. CN
Cadwell Park BSB Race One
Cadwell Park BSB Race Two
