Josh Brookes took the win in race one at Oulton Park, making it a perfect weekend thus far. He led all qualifying sessions and expertly converted his pole position to a win. This is Brookes’ first win on-board to Be Wiser Ducati machine.
Brookes eventually held off Tommy Bridewell to win by just +0.2 even though Brookes wasn’t reading his pit board properly! After the race, he commented that he was thinking he had a “three second gap not three tenths”
However, there was some drama on the warm-up lap. Joe Francis’ BMW leaked oil on the circuit during the warm-up lap and subsequently caused a delayed to the start of the race. Therefore, the new race distance was set to 17 laps.
As we finally got underway, Brookes got an excellent start, leading into turn one. He was followed by Oxford Products Moto Rapido Ducati rider, Tommy Bridewell but he was unable to snatch away Brooke’s lead.
In the early stages, Jason O’Halloran would be behind the two Ducati men, in third place. Scott Redding was able to gain places into turn one completing the first lap in fifth, after starting in seventh.
As the race unfolded, Danny Buchan was trying to find a way around Redding. He managed to get around the Gloucestershire rider and quickly made progress on third-placed man Jason O’Halloran who he would eventually pass to take the final podium spot. This result is Buchan’s second third-place finish of the year, showing his championship aspirations. Speaking to Eurosport, post-race Buchan stated that “It feels weird to be disappointed with third“. He will clearly be hoping to make even further progress in race two.
Christian Iddon pulled in to retire on his Tyco BMW with suspected fuel system issues as his teams continue to develop their new S1000RR machine.
At the front Brookes and Bridewell both displayed their strong points on this 2.2 mile circuit. Brookes was clearly better in the first half of the circuit, whilst Bridewell looked to be stronger through the chicanes.
We look forward to race two where it looks as though it could be another excellent Bennetts British Superbike race. But will there be more than just Ducati’s up front? Tommy Bridewell will start race two after from pole taking the fastest lap from Brookes.
