V for Vickers victory as title chase takes a dramatic turn at Donington Park

Ryan Vickers claimed a dominant Bennetts British Superbike Championship victory in the BikeSocial Sprint Race at Donington Park as the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha team’s tyre choice paid off in the wet conditions whilst the leading title rivals had a disastrous opening race.

Rain before the start of the race meant that it would be a crucial call on tyre choice on the grid and a last minute switch to wet tyres on both the front and rear gave Vickers the confidence to push to a lights-to-flag victory.

Vickers launched from the start into the front with the chasing pack led by Peter Hickman, Lee Jackson and Jack Kennedy, and the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rider was then controlling the race from the front.

The race proved to be one to forget for standings leaders BeerMonster Ducati as their choice of intermediates on both the front and rear for Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell meant they would both fail to score a point, meaning they remain separated by just half a point at the top of the standings. Irwin ended the race in 23rd position with Bridewell in 24th.

Kyle Ryde was unable to capitalise on the BeerMonster Ducati Team’s misfortune though, with the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha also making the same choice as his title rivals, he was able to salvage four points in 12th place but he has dropped to fourth in the overall standings by a single point.

As Vickers delivered a perfect performance for the win, Leon Haslam was determined to close the advantage despite the conditions. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider fought throughout to take an impressive second place finish despite the combination of a wet tyre in the front and an intermediate in the rear. The result means he has edged ahead of Ryde in the title chase, with 55.5 points the deficit to Irwin at the top of the standings.

The fight for the final podium position went down to the finish, with Luke Mossey taking his first podium finish in six years for the Tactix by Lloyd & Jones BMW team after making a move on Jack Kennedy on the final run to the chequered flag.

Lee Jackson claimed a top five finish for the Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki team with Franco Bourne debuting the BSB Pathway specification Marvel HCL Motorsport Honda taking his best finish in the Championship in sixth place.

Josh Brookes ended seventh for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team with Storm Stacey splitting him from teammate Peter Hickman. Rookie Louis Valleley claimed an impressive top ten finish for the Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki team.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, BikeSocial Sprint Race:

Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha)Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) +3.742sLuke Mossey (Tactix by Lloyd & Jones BMW) +5.332sJack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) +5.493sLee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +8.763sFranco Bourne (Marvel HCL Motorsport Honda) +29.700sJosh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +33.342sStorm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki) +33.995sPeter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +37.127sLouis Valleley (Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki) +39.895s

Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:

Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 360.5Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 360Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 305Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 304Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 296.5Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 276.5Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 262Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 232Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 222Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 134

Ryan Vickers
LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha
“It was really difficult to make the choice on tyre – I couldn’t make my decision, it wasn’t raining at the time but also the track was drying in front of us. I said to the team to put wets in and luckily it was the right decision.

“I got into the front and knew I had a bit of an advantage and I was just monitoring the pit board really. I was riding it as safe as I could to keep the advantage to bring home the win.

“I’m so, so happy, the team did an amazing job and made no mistakes and that’s the hard thing so I’m pleased to give them the win.”

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