With two outstanding races so far, race three was set to be another classic encounter at the Donington Park National circuit layout.
Hector Barbera started on pole, thanks to his fastest lap in race two, with Scott Redding lining up second. His BeWiser Ducati team-mate Josh Brookes would start in third. On the grid Scott Redding admitted to Eurosport television that his main target “is to get a better start, to make it easier for me”.
Sylvan Barrier, on the Brixx Ducati, and Danny Buchan, on the FS-3 Kawaksaki, both failed a tyre pressure check on the grid and had to start the formation lap from pit lane and then the race from the back of the grid.
As the grid set off for the final race of the weekend, Scott Redding made a fantastic start taking the holeshot. Xavi Fores slotted in behind, taking second place which would be his eventual finishing position. Josh Brookes made a hard move, after wobbling under braking, on Hector Barbera to take third place on the opening lap.
When entering the second lap, Xavi Fores took the lead into Redgate and Josh Brookes pushed his team-mate back to third into the final chicane. Tyco BMW rider, Christian Iddon continued to show good form, holding fourth place early on.
On lap six, Fores made a mistake into Coppice which gifted Josh Brookes the lead. Redding was looking to capitalize into the final chicane, but couldn’t get the move done. The leading group, now consisting of eight riders, included Tommy Bridewell, Hector Barbera and the McAMS Yamaha’s pairing of Tarran Mackenzie and Jason O’Halloran.
Scott Redding took the lead from Josh Brookes on lap nine. In the following lap, Hector Barbera lost the front end of his Quattro Plant JG Speedfit into the Old Hairpin. However, after an impressive weekend overall, Hector will be back in action again at Brands Hatch in three weeks time, as he stands in for an injured Ben Currie.
Smiths BMW rider, James Ellison, had made fantastic progress through the weekend, and found himself battling with Friday’s top man Keith Farmer for tenth place. Ellison made a mistake on lap nineteen but, luckily for the experienced Cumbrian, he managed to rejoin in eleventh place. He eventually finished the race fifteenth. Keith Farmer spectacularly crashed out of the top ten with a couple of laps to go. He suffered a horrendous high-side, launching him into the air landing hard on the tarmac with his Tyco BMW machine rolling over him.
At two-thirds race distance, Scott Redding looked as though he had complete control of the race, keeping the gap to second place man Mackenzie around one-second. With five laps to go, the battle for second pleace started to heat up between Taz, Xavi and Tommy Bridewell. This gave Redding a further advantage, and also gave Brookes the chance to catch the group after an earlier mistake into the final chicane put the Australian back to fifth.
Scott Redding came across the line to take a clean sweep of race victories at Donington, making a very bold statement for his championship ambitions. He now leads the championship by six points, ahead of Tommy Bridewell.
“Incredible, Incredible,” He stated to Eurosport. “I didn’t expect the three.”
“I feel like I’ve progressed a lot over these three days, I’ve learnt a lot and I’m just happy. The team’s been absolutely mega – they’ve filled me with a lot of confidence and that’s something that I’ve missed. And now I really feel back to the Scott Redding that I was and I want to continue this form.”
We head to Brand Hatch’s Big Summer Bash with the Championship still wide open. It’s another circuit Scott Redding needs to learn, but with new found confidence on his Ducati what can the 26 year old manage around the classic Kent circuit?
