Honda Racing UK rounds out a rollercoaster year just one point away from a BSB title

Race Report Sunday 13th October 2024

Following the culmination of the Bennetts British Superbike season finale, Tommy Bridewell and the Honda Racing UK finish second in the championship standings, just one point adrift of the top spot.

Brands Hatch, Kent played host to the 2024 season finale and it was another rollercoaster of a Sunday for Honda Racing UK. Having secured the British Supersport championship the day prior it was the turn of the BSB riders to decide the outcome of the series.

Tommy Bridewell, just one point adrift of his championship rival Kyle Ryde heading into the day, raced his heart out in a titanic scrap in race one to victory number three of the year and with it stole the championship lead by four points. With pole position also secured for race three, and with Kyle second on the grid, it was all to play for. in the feature race later in the day.

What followed was nothing short of heroic and surely a race that will go down in the history books as one of the best. Tommy and Kyle both displayed their class with sensational overtakes lap after lap, and the championship changing hands with every pass. Such was the pace of the race that a seven-year-old lap record was broken by Tommy too.

The fairy tale though just wasn't meant to be as Tommy would ultimately cross the line in second place having left absolutely nothing on the table and played his part in a race of the ages. His podium finish took his season tally to three wins, thirteen seconds and three third-place finishes in a remarkable first year with the Honda Racing UK team.

Andrew Irwin delivered another two solid top tens with a solid sixth place finish in race two and a ninth in race three after playing wingman to teammate Tommy for most of the early stages of the race.

In Supersport, Jack Kennedy made it back to back wins to secure his third double victory of the season and his twenty-fifth career double. He also secured a new lap record for good measure. His championship-winning season has been sensational, with ten victories, four seconds and two third-place finishes. Dean Harrison raced hard from pole position in the Supersport race to secure yet another top-six finish.

Team Manager Havier Beltran

When Tommy joined us at the end of last season both he and Honda took some stick and people questioned how competitive we would be. So to witness the season that he has put together, riding with that all of the grit and determination that he is renowned for has been fantastic. Yes there have been challenges, twists and turns, but with a new Fireblade and a new team to finish second in the championship by a single point is a testament to him and the team. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved as a team this year and I want to thank each and every member of our team once more.

I also want to extend a thank you to our partners & sponsors; Motul; Close Brothers Vehicle Hire; Performance Parts & Akrapovic; Datatool; RK Chains; STM; Marke Creative; Hummingbird Logistics; Impact design; Evotech; Spraybay; MWR; MRA; Clean Energy Living; Carbonin; Hexagon; Goodridge; SBS; GB Racing & Eazigrip for all of their support this year.

It has been a year to remember.

#1 Tommy Bridewell

Of course I am disappointed, I am a bike racer and I come to win. I believed in this project from the outset and knew from the outset that there was no doubt in my mind that I would be stood here as a either a two-times British champion or in the position that I am in now. I couldn't have done any more, and as a racer you can only give your all, and that's exactly what I have done. My nearest competitors were a mile behind, to be honest it was just me and Kyle all year, and hand on heart, I couldn't have lost to a better kid, I am genuinely so happy for him and his team. I know what it's like in that position, he was under immense pressure and he handled it. I am gutted for Honda, I gave it my all and tried my hardest all year. We just need to work on a few areas, try to improve the wheelie so I can get off the rear brake, but hey, what a last race at the end of the year. I want to sign off by saying thank you to the team, I've given them a hard time in moments but I know just how much work goes on behind the scenes and I know just how much potential there is to still be realised. I am honestly, really happy with the work that we have done and for what we have achieved.

Race 2 - 1st, Race 3 - 2nd

#18 Andrew Irwin

I think all in all today has been a decent day of racing, yes the results were not perhaps the maximum of what we could've achieved when and I certainly don't get too excited with top sixes, but once again we have shown the speed that we are capable of this weekend and delivered two decent point scoring finishes. The bike has kept on feeling better and better all weekend and we have continued to make progress which is all you can ask for. In the last race, I got such a good start and did everything I could to play the team game for as long as possible, then when Vickers came past I struggled to keep my rhythm and lost touch with the front guys. I want to say a big thank you to my team, and to congratulate everyone for all of their hard work this year, Tommy has shown what the package is capable of and shown that the Honda is a title-fighting package.

Race 2 - 6th, Race 3 - 9th

#4 Jack Kennedy

I am on top of the world! That race sort of felt like a dream, to have a gap go up that much in this class is unreal. I honestly thought that Luke wasn't in the race, that was how much I was in disbelief at how much we were gapping everyone. I broke the lap record which meant so much because I think it was Luke's too which will surely annoy him more taking it off him! I felt really good so just pushed the pace even though I didn't need to with the gap we had but I felt super comfortable and just kept it going and never let up. I was so keen to put on a performance for myself and the team. To ride the CBR600RR that hard is only possible thanks to the team, it's them that put the bike beneath me. This weekend could not have gone any better, you could say there has been some luck on our side this weekend but you have to put in the hard work to sometimes get the luck to come your way. I am over the moon, it's probably the best weekend of the year because it meant the most and it was the most important one. This weekend couldn't have been any more satisfying, I've stamped my authority on this class and let everyone know who's boss.

Race 2 - 1st

#5 Dean Harrison

I've gone faster around Brands Hatch on a 600 than I have ever gone, I've got my first pole position and finished the season with another top six, so there are loads of positives to take away from this weekend. I think today we were just lacking the dry time needed to keep running with the front guys as in the race I began to realise where with the setting I needed things to be a little different. But look, the front guys are running at lap record pace almost every round and you have got to be absolutely perfect to be up there with them. Congratulations to Jack on his championship and to everyone in the team for all of their hard work all year, they have not stopped for a moment and have grafted from the off.

Race 2 - 6th