Podium finishes for Christian Iddon and Tommy Bridewell in the opening 2021 Bennetts British Superbike race at Oulton Park

Christian Iddon and Tommy Bridewell both made excellent starts to the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike championship at Oulton Park today, finishing the season’s maiden race in second and third respectively to score a Ducati double podium finish.

Tommy Bridewell bagged the first pole of the season onboard his Oxford Products Racing Panigale V4 R but it was VisionTrack Ducati’s Christian Iddon who got the holeshot from second on the grid to lead the opening stages of the race. The Ducati duo were out at the front for the entire race, with Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) splitting the pair and eventually taking the win, with Iddon and Bridewell both joining the Australian on the podium in second and third places respectively. 

Defending champion Josh Brookes started his race from 9th and was disappointed with his top ten finish at a circuit at which he has racked up four previous wins with his VisionTrack Ducati team.

Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati #21) - 2nd
“First race back, and to come back with a trophy is lovely. It was a hard race, that was a shock to the system almost. I didn’t particularly want to lead at the beginning, because I felt a little bit agitated this weekend. I’ve not been riding as good as I think I could do, and almost wanted to follow a little bit to relax. But I got the holeshot, so that didn’t happen! I was pleasantly happy to see the lap times were pretty good actually when I was out at front… We have to keep improving and roll on the next couple of races.” 

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46) - 3rd
“First race of BSB 2021. Started from pole and ended up third so I’m happy. It’s what we needed for sure to bounce back from last year into this year and really kick start the season. Being on the podium is no mean feat in British Superbikes at the minute. Really strong start to the year and credit to the team. I feel really comfortable with the bike, but I feel there are a few small areas we can improve it for tomorrow. A really positive start.”