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The BSB British Superbike today put on another race full of overtaking and surprises. On the Snetterton track, located in Norfolk, the first of the three scheduled races was staged. In pure BSB style, full of excitement, Ducati is now back on top after an under-par start to the season. Christian Iddon took his first career victory in the domestic championship and his first on the Ducati Panigale V4R, with Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell completing a 1-2-3 for the Borgo Panigale bike.
The new life of Christian Iddon
After making his debut in British Superbike back in 2010, Christian Iddon, before today, had 135 starts and 12 podiums to his name. At the end of a long association with TAS Racing BMW, the 36-year-old from Stockport moved this year to Paul Bird's VisionTrack PBM Ducati line-up taking the place of reigning champion Scott Redding. Despite having a lot to live up to, Iddon has simply tried to adapt his riding style to the V4R. The result of this work was seen today, where he managed to score his first win.
Although his starting position did not help (7th place), Iddon proved to be a tough nut to crack, especially for his teammate. Brookes tried in every way to pass him, but to no avail. Iddon held off his attacks by responding to the attempt at a pass at the entrance to the Wilson corner.
Stubborn and determined enough to get back to the top of the standings, then going on to take the win by more than a second over the rest of the group.
Brookes and Bridewell on the podium, then G.Irwin and Ray
On the eve of the race, many insiders were calling Snetterton the "classic Ducati track". In fact, last season, the Borgo Panigale bike dominated, inflicting heavy gaps on the competition. While things turned out to be more difficult than expected, Ducati produced a 1-2-3 in line with what was demonstrated in 2019.
Following a heated battle for the remaining podium positions, Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell (MotoRapido Oxford Racing) completed the trio.
The 2019 runner-up tried to get the better of his new teammate but, thanks to Iddon's aggression, he was forced to manage the situation by overtaking Bradley Ray on the penultimate lap.
The Synetiq TAS BMW rider, after a first phase of adaptation to the S1000 R, proved to be in good form on the Snetterton track. Third quickest in FP2 and second place in qualifying bode well for the race. Ray remained with the leading group, behind the winner Iddon, for a good part of the race, only to give up in the final stages due to rear tyre wear, finishing in fifth position.
Tommy Bridewell took advantage, recovering after a very complicated qualifying. The 32-year-old from Devizies has not yet adapted to the new SC0 tyre introduced by Pirelli, but his position on the podium was important in terms of the championship.
It was something similar for the current championship leader Glenn Irwin with the leading CBR of Honda Racing UK. Due to a mistake in the early stages, the 30-year-old from Carrickfergus lost several positions. Over the next few laps, he produced a masterful comeback from 11th, coming close to the podium to limit the damage.
Surprises galore, A.Irwin and Buchan on the ground
In today's race there was certainly no shortage of surprises, with Andrew Irwin and Danny Buchan the riders who fared the worst. When the traffic lights went out, the Honda Racing UK rider was the protagonist of a crash out of Agostini.
Andrew Irwin started from the last position on the grid following contact with Josh Brookes in the previous event. In a vain attempt to recover ground, and with the tyres still not warmed up he demolished his CBR 1000RR-R.
At the restart when the Safety Car pulled in, Danny Buchan wasted a golden opportunity. The poleman ruined everything by losing the front entering Palmer while he was leading the way. A big mistake for the Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki rider, added to the crash of Donington Park, which, in fact, opened the door for Christian Iddon.
There was bad luck also at Buildbase Suzuki, where Kyle Ryde, by virtue of a technical setback, was forced to restart from last place to finish tenth. A pity for the reigning British GP2 champion, who started from the front row and found himself third in the first corners.
With tomorrow’s two races still to come (Race 2 at 2.30pm and Race 3 at 5.30pm), the riders’ classification sees Glenn Irwin leading with 73 points, 14 points ahead of Christian Iddon and Tommy Bridewell, and 23 over his brother Andrew.
RACE 1 RESULTS
