2022 British Superbike Brands Hatch- Race Results (3)
As their rivals faded away it was a last lap battle royale which decided the third and final race at Brands Hatch, with Tarran Mackenzie coming out in front to finish round five with a second win.
Mackenzie, who became the sixth different winner of the season courtesy of his victory in race two, was in front, Jason O’Halloran stalking behind hoping to pounce on an error.
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The #1 plate was smooth and faultless out front so the Australian saved up his big final move heading into the final turns, starting the lunge at Stirlings, with the pair side by side coming out of Clearways for a grandstand photo finish.
Mackenzie, who had started on pole once again thanks to his earlier performance, fought back to cross just 0.037s ahead of his team-mate.
O’Halloran kept pushing despite feeling a fall coming twice on the exhilarating final lap to take second, the MCAMS riders in 1-2 formation for all three races this weekend, a first for the Yamaha team.
Glenn Irwin stages podium return
Glenn Irwin had lead for much of the race before being swallowed by the duo, who pulled the pin on him once out in front. The Honda Racing rider fell back into a battle for third with Bradley Ray which he was determined to win, to secure his first podium visit since he dominated the opening weekend with three wins.
Ray found himself fourth again, which limited his access to the podium points for the showdown, despite some bike changes on the Rich Energy OMG Yamaha to try and save his rostrum form, which has deserted him when he needs it most.
- 2022 British Superbike Brands Hatch- Race Results (1)
- 2022 British Superbike Brands Hatch: O’Halloran continues winning ways
- 2022 British Superbike Brands Hatch- Race Results (2)
Oxford Products Ducati’s Tommy Bridewell couldn’t make another podium comeback so this time settled for a solid fifth, pressured all the way by Leon Haslam, who turned his further improved fourth on the grid into sixth in the race for VisionTrack Kawasaki.
Kyle Ryde was a lonely seventh on the second Rich Energy Yamaha bike, not able to catch the duo ahead but clear of Peter Hickman in eighth, a return to the form he was showing before Knockhill for FHO Racing BMW.
An early error saw Rory Skinner drop well outside of the top ten, but the Cheshire Holdings FS-3 Kawasaki rider fought back to claim ninth after passing Lee Jackson (MCE Ducati) late in the race.
Christian Iddon made up the most places from the grid positions, finishing eleventh after a determined run on the Buildbase Suzuki, thirteen places higher than he started. His team-mate Danny Kent was one of several riders to pull into the pits.
Andrew Irwin put his earlier fall behind him, back in the points in twelfth for SYNTEIQ BMW Motorrad, after a close finish with Iddon.
Old BSB Brands Hatch Lap Record: Josh Brookes - Yamaha - 1m 24.873s (2017)
New BSB Brands Hatch Lap Record: Jason O’Halloran - Yamaha - 1m 24.433s (2022)
Race One Result:
1:Jason O’Halloran
2:Tarran Mackenzie
3:Tommy Bridewell
Race Two Result:
1:Tarran Mackenzie
2:Jason O’Halloran
3:Tommy Bridewell
2021 Race Winners:
Round 3
Race 1: Tarran Mackenzie
Race 2: Jason O’Halloran
Race 3: Christian Iddon
Round 11 (The Showdown)
Race 1: Tarran Mackenzie
Race 2: Tommy Bridewell
Race 3: Jason O’Halloran
Takumi Takahashi (Honda Racing UK) was 14th. Chrissy Rouse said on the grid he’d like to score a point at Brands Hatch, which he did, keeping both Josh Owens ans Luke Mossey behind him in the approach to the chequered flag.
Tom Sykes left he grid five minutes before the start of the race, there was an issue with smoke seen at the bottom of his MCE Ducati on the out lap. He was not the only big name to endure an early exit with Josh Brookes also failing to register a lap.
Ryan Vickers was absent for the final race after sustaining a small fracture to his right hand earlier in the day.
Where does that leave the championship and the podium points?
After taking over at the top with his race two result, second again cements Jason O’Halloran’s position as the new title leader after Brands Hatch.
The #22 now has a total of 265 and 37 podium points to his name. That takes him 10 points clear in the title hunt, with Ray also having less podium points with 30 after his two fourth places on Sunday.
Lee Jackson may not have had his strongest weekend but he remains third overall, but Glenn Irewin who is sixth has two more podium points to his credit with 18. Roey Skinner remains fourth and Kyle Ryde fifth.
The final two showdown shots are now occupied by Tommy Bridewell in seventh and Tarran Mackenzie, who displaces Danny Buchan following his Brands Hatch comeback.