Bennets British SuperBikes Round 8 - Cadwell Park 

Report by David Gowshall of :DEEGEE: Motorsports Photography 

Images by Scott Grant, Michael Clark, David Gowshall and RPW Photography.

 24^th – 26^th August 2024

The Bennetts British Superbike “Party in the Park” took place last weekend at Cadwell Park, which was the final round of the championship’s “Main Season”. The Party round always attracts a huge crowd to the testing Lincolnshire Wolds circuit and the fans were rewarded with plenty of great racing.

For the spectator photographer Cadwell is a great location for motorsports photography, so adding to the crowd we had four of the PistonClick team out to capture this round before we head into the Showdown. 

The next three rounds will be the showdown when an enhanced points system comes into play, which gives added incentive to those still in with a chance of championship honours. Looking at the standings realistically rather than mathematically, five riders came to the mini-Nurburgring, as it is affectionately known, with their championship ambitions still intact.

Reigning champion #1 Tommy Bridewell has rejuvenated the Honda UK Racing team since joining them for his 2024 campaign. Bridewell is looking to become the first rider to successfully retain the title riding two different manufacturers motorcycle’s, he won the 2023 championship on a Ducati.

Prior to the weekend he held a 25 point lead over OMG Grilla Racing Yamaha mounted #77 Kyle Ryde, who in turn had a ten point gap back to third placed #21 Christian Iddon, on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati.

All three had built their lead in the championship race with a string of consistent performances over all rounds completed so far, but only four race wins between them.

Conversely, Irishman Glenn Irwin on his Hager PBM Ducati, who pushed Bridewell so hard in the 2023 title race, and Norfolk- based Ryan Vickers fill the fourth and fifth places in the championship table, have recorded thirteen race wins to their names over the same period.

All five were looking to add to their points tally, before the championship enters the “Showdown” section. This will be held over the last three rounds at Oulton Park, Donington Park and the final at Brands Hatch, when even more points will be on offer at the gorgeous Kent track.

First day practice sessions revealed very little of who would be pushing at the head of the field, as the weather, which has been the story of the 2024 summer, complicated matters meaning the sessions were held on a circuit that ranged from damp to soaking wet.

The weather also had a hand in the final qualifying session held on Sunday. The planned Omologato Superpole single lap qualification had to be replaced with the normal fifteen minute session, as light rain began to fall, again.

Unfortunately, also falling were title hopefuls, Tommy Bridewell and Ryan Vickers within a few metres of one another at the infamous Gooseneck. 

With both crashing out early in proceedings they had to sit out the remainder of the session and watch the qualifying unfold. As a result, they would start Race 1 of the weekend towards the back of the grid, which is particularly significant at the narrow Cadwell circuit, where overtaking is particularly difficult.

Enjoying the conditions were the experienced Glenn Irwin and Leon Haslam, who filled the fifth and sixth qualification positions. Joining them on the second row of the grid for Race 1 was local rider Lee Jackson. Jackson’s MasterMac Team-mate Charlie Nesbitt, the ever-consistent Kyle Ryde, and Jason O’Halloran on his Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki.

O’Halloran was suffering throughout the session with an injury to his hand after damaging his fingers badly after taking a tumble at the last round at Thruxton. I think no-one was more surprised than O’Halloran as he claimed pole in the challenging conditions.

Sunday – BSB Race 1 (18 Laps)

Although the morning rain had relented for Sunday’s only Superbike race, there was a very strong wind blowing when the race got underway. It was Kyle Ryde who out-braked O’Halloran on the approach to Park Corner on Lap One who went onto dominate the race.

He led throughout looking comfortable in the process. Lee Jackson pushed hard in the second half of the race overtaking Charlie Nesbitt and a slowing O’Halloran, who was clearly struggling with his finger injury, to claim a well- deserved second spot. Claiming the final podium spot was rising star, Charlie Nesbitt.

Significantly, title leader Tommy Bridewell fought through the field, despite a brief excursion onto the grass following a clash with arch adversary Glenn Irwin at The Chicane. Bridewell who started on the fourth row of the grid went onto to claim fourth place and 12 valuable points.

Irwin, although clearly struggling with his Ducati, came home in fifth spot, with O’Halloran, despite being in pain throughout the race, completing the top six.

Of equal significance to the race result was the forced withdrawal of title contender Ryan Vickers, after suffering a mechanical issue. As his bike slowed as a result of the failure he was struck from behind by another bike on the 150mph Start / Finish straight, resulting in terminal damage to his exhaust.

As a consequence he would face the prospect of once again starting from the back of the grid for Race 2.

Monday – BSB Race 2 (12 Laps)

Race 2 of the weekend, the Sprint Race, would take place in sunny and relatively warm conditions, although the wind was still a factor for the riders to consider. Bridewell’s progress from twelfth on the grid to fourth at the end of Race 1 had earned him a spot on the front row of the grid, with Lee Jackson on pole and Race 1 winner Kyle Ryde, either side of him.

The second row of the grid was filled by Race 1’s fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers Nesbitt, Irwin and O’Halloran. With repairs carried out to his Yamaha Ryan Vickers filled position 20 on the grid. Vickers would need some inspired riding over the short race if there was to be any chance of re-igniting his championship hopes.

In a similar move carried out in Race 1 by Ryde, Tommy Bridewell out-braked Jackson into Park Corner on the opening lap. The move proved vital, and enabled Bridewell to dictate the terms of the race. Behind him Ryde and Jackson swopped places several times, slowing their chase and help Bridewell to open a small gap.

As the race entered its second half, Ryde dealt with the determined Jackson and begun a late surge to overhaul the race leader. A mistake from Ryde as he pushed for victory at the bottom of the Mountain on the penultimate lap allowed Bridewell to open a tiny gap, eventually finishing the race just over 0.2 seconds to the good.

A further 0.2 seconds back from Ryde was Lee Jackson, who was enjoying his best weekend of the season. Nesbitt and Irwin finished fourth and fifth respectively, but arguably the ride of the day netted Ryan Vickers sixth spot and ten points towards his championship challenge. 

Monday – BSB Race 3 (20 Laps)

Race 3 took place in what were probably the best conditions of the weekend, with bright, warm sunshine and the wind finally relenting. Pole-sitter for the final race of the meeting was Charlie Nesbitt who had posted the fastest lap in race 2.

The ever-consistent Kyle Ryde was alongside him and Ryan Vickers, as a reward for his Race 2 ride, filling the final front row spot. Jackson, Bridewell and Irwin completed the second row.

The race carried the additional prize of the Monster Energy Cadwell 90 Trophy for the winner, the circuit enjoying its 90^th Anniversary this season. Ryde claimed the hole-shot as the pack headed into the first corner at Coppice, with Nesbitt and Vickers in close attendance.

Vickers muscled his way past Nesbitt as they rounded Coppice for the second time and then swept past his OMG Grilla Yamaha team-mate Ryde on Park Straight to lead into lap three.  

However, the third time round Coppice brought with it disaster as he slid off onto the grass and with it any hope of any points. Ryde took up the mantle of leading the race, and to be honest never looked like being bested even though Bridewell made good progress, passing Irwin, Jackson and Nesbitt to a hard earned second spot and his 100th BSB podium.

Nesbitt seemed to tire over the closing stages to allow his MasterMac Honda team-mate Lee Jackson to claim his third podium of the weekend. Nesbitt remained well clear of Irwin who recorded a creditable fifth, having been noticeably “off the pace” over the weekend.

Recording his best finish of the season and claiming the highest finishing BMW in all three races was Josh Brookes, who has always entertained the crowd with his high-flying antics over The Mountain.

Looking back over the weekend the championship, because of the additional points available for the “Showdown”, is still very open. Ryde, with two victories and a second place was the biggest mover and can now go forward with some momentum.

Tommy Bridewell showed he will not give up his bid to reclaim the title with 46 points collected at Cadwell he still leads the championship by 19 points from Ryde.

The biggest losers in the title race were Christian Iddon, who had a very disappointing two days, with two top ten finishes to his name, and Ryan Vickers, who, with a combination of bad luck and a couple of bad mistakes came away with just ten points. Glenn Irwin will probably look back on the meeting as “damage limitation” recording three top six finishes.

Iddon, Vickers and Irwin will all have to string a run of race wins over the final three meetings of the season to have any chance of capturing the title. After the solid performances at Cadwell, Bridewell and Ryde are increasingly looking like the favourites to clinch the 2024 title.

Away from the title race the MasterMac Honda team had by far the best meeting of their season, with Lee Jackson and Charlie Nesbitt netting four podium places. The FHO BMW Racing team of Josh Brookes and Peter Hickman had a number of top ten finishes to look back on.

So, as the 2024 “Party in the Park” has been and gone and the Bennetts British Superbike circus heads to Oulton Park for the first “showdown” round, time to reflect on the weekend’s events. 

Only eleven races over a three day meeting? As the cost to watch racing increases surely some more room could have been made for at least another Superstock and Sportbike Race on the programme, in the process giving those competitors taking part some more racing time.

There were quite a few extended gaps between races when nothing was happening, some being given over to corporate activities and interviews during the three days, reducing the time for what the fans came to see, and for what they had pay for. 

In a total of twenty eight hours, spread over three days, there were only three and half hours of actual racing action. Just a thought ………….Why was the race programme so heavily weighted towards the ABK Beer 0% BMW Motorrad F900 Cup?

The competitors in this class appeared eight times on track, with a Free Practice session, qualifying, two warm ups and four races over the three days. Why was there no Sidecar races? These machines are incredible to watch and provide much needed variety for the spectators. I know they feature at some BSB meetings, why not all of them?

But I must end on a positive note, most notably regarding the Superbikes, who continue to entertain, mostly because so many teams and riders are in with a chance of winning or at least a podium spot. This is best summed up by the MasterMac Honda’s of Lee Jackson and Charlie Nesbitt’s fantastic performance and results over the whole weekend.

The huge crowds that turn up for Cadwells party in the park are testament to how well this event is enjoyed by the two wheel motorsport fans. Add in the fact that for the spectator and photographer it has great views from its many gently sloping hills and the unique mountain experience its not hard to understand why so many turn up.

With not much in the way of safety fencing to ruin the sight of high performance motorcycles flying past just a few feet away and you have, a great combination for a weekend of racing.

And finally, a huge thank you to everyone who gave up their time to ensure the meeting ran smoothly both on and off the circuit, including the Orange Army of marshals and especially the car park attendants, who have the thankless job of trying to get everyone out of the meeting when it closes.

You can find all of our previous PistonClick British SuperBike reports below.