Peter Hickman took his fifth career Bennetts British Superbike Championship victory on Saturday afternoon when he took the opening race of the weekend at Cadwell Park by more than two seconds.
It was also the first ever BSB class win for the new FHO Racing BMW team as Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) extended his championship lead with a good second. Tommy Bridewell claimed the final podium position on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati.
Pole man Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) grabbed the holeshot into Coppice only for O’Halloran to squeeze by at Charlies but by the end of the lap Irwin was back in the lead from the Yamaha man with Hickman, Andrew Irwin (Synetiq BMW), Lee Jackson (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) and Bridewell completing the top six.
Irwin had opened up a near second lead second time around and the leading six had opened up a gap over the rest of the field, sixth placed Bridewell 1.2s clear of seventh place Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati)
Lap four saw Hickman, aided by a new lap record of 1’36.350, find a way by O’Halloran at Mansfield but tenth placed Gino Rea was out, the Buildbase Suzuki rider sliding out of the action at the Mountain.
A lap later, 2.5s covered the top seven with a 1.3s gap to eighth placed Ryan Vickers but at the front, Hickman was nibbling away at Irwin’s lead and the gap was down to 0.245s at the end of the lap. Meanwhile, Tarran Mackenzie had fought his way up to tenth with reigning champion Josh Brookes one place further back.
Lap seven saw a change in the lead as a mistake by Irwin at the hairpin saw the Ulsterman run wide and Hickman seize control, the BMW rider immediately opening up a gap of almost a second over his rivals.
Further back, Mackenzie then suffered a huge crash on the approach to Barn after touching the grass, the McAMS Yamaha cartwheeling into the scenery. The 25-year old fortunately escaped injury.
O’Halloran moved ahead of Irwin on lap nine to claim second and open up a gap of more than a second over the five rider battle for third but by then Hickman was 1.2s ahead.
Bridewell slipped up the inside of Jackson at Park on lap 11 to take over fifth and he wasn’t done there, taking over fourth from Andrew Irwin a lap later at Charlie’s. Iddon was also trying to climb up the order too and gained one spot after overhauling Jackson with two laps to go.
The front two of Hickman and O’Halloran were comfortable in their respective positions and duly finished first and second but Bridewell took third at the beginning of the penultimate lap to take third and the final podium position, and credit.
Irwin held on for fourth despite Iddon’s best efforts and Jackson got by Andrew Irwin to take sixth with a battered and bruised Vickers finishing eighth ahead of Rory Skinner and Brookes.
