And then there was one
Honda Racing UK heads to Brands Hatch, Kent, for the Bennetts British Superbike season finale targeting titles with riders Tommy Bridewell and Jack Kennedy in Supersport.
Following ten rounds of racing, just three races remain in BSB, and with another increase to the points available for the top fifteen finishers, it is now mathematically just a three-horse race for the BSB title. When the chequered flag is waved for the final time following race three on Sunday, the 2024 season will have reached its conclusion and the British champion will be crowned.
Tommy Bridewell, who in his first year aboard the Honda Racing UK Fireblade has raced to two wins and a further fourteen podium finishes so far, sits second in the standings, four points behind the series leader Kyle Ryde. Whilst sitting a further forty-two points in arrears is rival Glenn Irwin. Should Tommy secure championship glory he will go down in history as the first rider in the series to win back-to-back championships with different manufacturers.
Alongside him in the superbike garage, teammate Andrew Irwin heads back to Brands determined to replicate his podium finishing pace at the 2.48-mile Kent circuit shown earlier in the year. Three top-six finishes last time out at Donington provide strong evidence that front-running pace is certainly possible as Andrew looks to end the season on a high.
Meanwhile, it is also all to play for in Supersport with Jack Kennedy standing on the brink of history. Already the most decorated British Supersport rider of all time with four titles to his name, Jack is vying for championship victory number five. His return to Supersport this year on the new 2024 Honda CBR600RR has proved to be a match made in heaven. Eight wins and six further podium finishes see him enter the finale with a twenty-one-point lead at the top of the standings.
Dean Harrison heads to Brands Hatch having secured a brace of top-ten finishes last time out and targets a strong end to his season. This will mark his first outing at the Brands Hatch GP circuit on his CBR600RR this year, as such he will have work to do early in the weekend to get himself up to speed quickly.
For a full weekend schedule click here.
#1 Tommy Bridewell
Heading to Brands I feel like we’ve done everything correctly all year, we’ve managed to put the season together from round one and having only ridden the bike for two days before the first round. It was always going to be a big ask with a new bike and not much time but we are right there. I think for me, generally, we have put together an amazing season that no one really expected, and now we have put ourselves in a position where we are more than capable of fighting to win the championship. Ultimately we are just four points behind but in some degree with the points system as it is we may as well be level. The target is to just work in the same way that we have all year and do what we know we are capable of. We have learnt a lot this year about the bike and the project has kept moving forward all year, even recently we found something new which has unlocked more potential. I know what is at stake and I have experience of how to handle this scenario and how best to maximise each situation that may come.
#18 Andrew Irwin
We have made a significant amount of progress as a team since we were last at Brands and I am confident that we will be able to showcase all of that hard work once more. Last time out at Donington we had a really solid weekend and put ourselves in a position to be fighting back towards the front of the BSB field, which is ultimately exactly where I want to be. We had a good weekend last time we were at Brands and this weekend will be the last time I get to race a bike this year, so I want to go out and deliver the best result that I can before we head into the winter.
#4 Jack Kennedy
This year has flown by and I don’t want it to be over, but we’re already off to the last round of the season! I'm really excited to be going back to Brands Hatch, I’m feeling confident going back there with the recent run of form that we have shown and with how strong we were in the middle of the year when we did the double, beating Ben and the Ducati which wasn’t easy at all. I am going to approach the weekend like I do any other weekend, be as quick as I can and go full attack. We want to finish the season strong, l know the job that I have got to do to get the championship, but I will be going out there and racing the same as I do every weekend. I am anticipating a stronger showing from Luke and the Triumph compared to the middle of the year as they have turned the power back up. I think there might be a few more in the mix too like at Donington but I am ready for whoever chooses to come to the party, and let’s hope that there is a party at the end of it!
#5 Dean Harrison
Donington wasn’t too bad to be fair but I think we tried too many different things so struggled to get going with a direction from the off. I quite like Brands so I think we can have a good weekend for sure, we’ve been inside the top ten a lot but I genuinely feel that we have top-six potential, it’s where I need to be and it’s where I know we can be. It’ll be my first time at Brands on the bike so we have some work to do and at this time of the year you never know what the weather will be doing, so I think that’ll play a factor, but I am confident because the bike is good in all conditions.