Round five of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship heads for Donington Park this weekend with the VisionTrack Ducati duo of Christian Iddon and Josh Brookes hoping to get their title hopes back on course.
Last time out at Thruxton and following a race one podium on the Saturday, Tyneside-based Iddon relinquished the championship lead following a tough two races on Sunday, which saw him taken out by another rider in race two, and then battered and bruised, slithered to a ninth place finish in the damp conditions of the final race.
As a result, Iddon is now 42 points adrift of series leader Jason O’Halloran but more importantly, in the podium credits score which will determine the winner via the Showdown later in the season, the deficit is just 16 points. Either way, Iddon will be looking to close the gap on Paul Bird’s factory-backed VisionTrack Ducati Panigale V4 RR.
For teammate Josh Brookes, the weekend offers another opportunity to kick-start his season after a disappointing start for the twice and defending champion. So far, the Bedfordshire-based Aussie has a best result of fifth place to his name and occupies 12th in the table so having tested various settings at Knockhill last week, is hopeful he can finally turn the corner.
Brookes scored a podium finish on the National circuit layout last season, so he’d be delighted to repeat that whereas this corresponding meeting last year heralded Iddon’s debut for the Lake District-based eight times Bennetts BSB champions. Back then behind closed doors, he scored a pair of fourth place finishes so will be looking to improve in front of a normal crowd this year.
Christian Iddon: “We’re off to Donington Park and it’s a track I always enjoy and is where I made my debut for the VisionTrack Ducati team last year. I’m really looking to this meeting in particular as I need to get the ball rolling again after a difficult day on Sunday at Thruxton. I want to regain the form and the momentum we have already shown and maintain it for the rest of the season. I’m convinced we have a better setting than when we raced there last year so can’t wait to get going.”
Josh Brookes: “I don’t know whether it’s a good thing or not, but I don’t really have a lot to say! The opening rounds have been troubling me, my team keep reassuring me that the bike is fine, so I have to find a way of dealing with things better. Christian has dealt with the changes fine and I need to find a way. I’m not setting any goals for Donington, I’ll just take each session as it comes and see what that allows me to do.”
Further details can be found at the PBM website: www.pbmuk.net. For details of television broadcast times and channels, please visit www.britishsuperbike.com. BSB Radio will also be broadcasting live via a link on the official website or via live timing at www.tsl-timing.com.
Images courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (1) and Christian Iddon (21)
ENDS
