A day to forget at Donington

Luck was certainly not on the team’s side today, with Ben Currie crashing out from the lead on the last lap of the Supersport race. Christian Iddon had made great progress in his last Free Practice session, and his Superbike got off to a brilliant start before ending prematurely after he was taken out by another rider early on. 

Christian Iddon
“We’ve had an issue that’s been nothing to do with the team at all, that’s plagued us since Round One. I actually masked over it at Oulton Park but it’s reared its head again here and destroyed our Friday, and even this Saturday morning. We’ve basically had no laps on the bike. Up until today I'd done six laps in total where the bike hadn’t stopped. As much as I’ve done a lot of laps around Donington Park I’ve got no reference, as it’s been resurfaced, and I still need to get up to speed.

We got the bike working for Free Practice 4 and that ten-minute session was our first real session and to be fair, felt pretty good you know. Considering how little time we got, the session was really good and I felt good. I just went out with a group of riders in FP4 and I thought, I can hang with these boys, it’s alright!  

Qualifying went reasonably well. I know I made a few mistakes, so it could have been a little bit more. Row Three is nothing to shout about, but considering the weekend we’d had it was all right.

And I got an alright start in the race. Just hung tight on the first corner and had a good first lap. I think I managed to jump two, and then pass three. I made a mistake myself on the hairpin on the first lap. Just been struggling there in the last point. Really strong on the way in and then struggling in the mid-point. I lost the front on the first lap and had to save it with a bit of throttle and lost the rear and nearly went down, but didn’t.

Bridewell and Glenn passed me on the other Ducatis. But I was content with that. I know they have great pace and it’s always quite good to ride with the bikes that you’re on. So, I thought ‘this is good’, because I need to learn, as I’ve not done the laps yet.

But the next lap at the hairpin another rider came up the inside of me. He said he lost the front. It is what it is. But the result for me is that I’ve again got no data and still not done more than five laps in a row. Tomorrow's races are longer, and we've got no idea how we're going to fare because tyre degradation on this new surface has been a big thing.

It becomes hard for a rider when you’re not fully up to speed because you don’t flow, and then you tend to hurt the tyre and bike a bit more as well. With no lap time in, in puts us further back on the grid and into the lion’s den a little bit more. I'm just upset for all the team and everyone's hard work. We just don't seem to be able to get this season going. But big pats on the back to everyone for putting such a good bike underneath me in such a short time.”

Ben Currie and Oxford Products Racing Ducati score their maiden British Supersport podium at Oulton Park

Bank holiday Monday saw a great result for the team after Ben stepped onto the box in the Quattro Group British Supersport feature race.

Starting from fifth on the grid, Ben was down a couple of positions as the opening lap got underway but was soon back into fifth. He passed Luke Jones for fourth on Lap 3, before passing Rhys Irwin for third on the following lap.

Half-way through the 18-lap race Ben was up to second, and by Lap 10 he was leading the race. But a couple of laps later backmarkers came into play, with Ben dropping back to second.

The race was all set for a dramatic conclusion, with Luke Stapleford, Richard Cooper, and Ben in close formation. Ben was unable to make a last-lap lunge into Lodge Corner, but his third-place finish position saw the first Panigale V2 podium for him and the team in British Supersport.

Ben now moves up to third in the championship, just two points from the top of the table.

Ben Currie
Oxford Products Racing Ducati #61 – 3rd
“It’s fantastic to get on the box finally this weekend. We feel like we deserved one this weekend and we got there. It was a huge turnaround from Silverstone. We had the pace all weekend to challenge for the win.

What a race that was. Very, very difficult, hard on the body. Very physical and massive battle with seven guys. Really enjoyable. The Oxford Products Racing Ducati V2 was just awesome out there. We can take this result and use it for confidence for the rest of the season and try and keep this ball rolling. We’re getting closer and closer. Not quite where we want to be exactly, but we are really close, and I am really enjoying the challenge so let’s keep rolling on for Donington Park. 

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager
“We progressed over the weekend. We had a little trip into the gravel on Sunday, but Ben made up very good ground on Monday’s race. Thought we were going to inch a win but ended up third. But extremely happy with him, and both riders, for the weekend. Lots to improve on, lots to learn, and lots of data to chew through for the tech guys. We’re looking forward to Donington Park which is another really good circuit for both Ben and Christian to get their teeth into and they both have very good history there.”

Christian Iddon continues to make progress with two seventh-place finishes at Oulton Park

Christian Iddon continued his huge improvement on his opening British Superbike round at Oulton Park this weekend. After finishing Sunday’s Sprint Race in eighth, he went one better today on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati to finish both races in seventh place, looking much more comfortable on the Panigale V4 R.

Christian Iddon
Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21 – Race 2, 7th – Race 3, 7th
“I think we have made massive steps forward this weekend, especially today. Made big strides with the bike, and we’re much more racy. Definitely making progress, and I’m feeling much comfier on the bike, even between the races today.

Step by step we’re getting there but need to hurry up and get there a bit quicker! Because as still as much can now start to see the front, we need to be at the front and stay there. We keep working, keep moving forward. 

The whole weekend in general has been pretty good. We were fast in tricky conditions which is good. It’s definitely a huge improvement on the first round, like night and day! I think if all the stars had aligned today, we would have had a chance to fight for a podium. But we’re just missing that last little bit, so we’ll be searching for it between now and next round.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager
“After the recent test at Mallory we came to Oulton with a bit of a base setting for Christian, mainly engine brake control and throttle translation stuff, which I think helped us initially. I don’t think we found him the perfect setting for the weekend in the end, but it wasn’t bad. We had a very positive weekend I think, and we hope to improve the next time we come back to Oulton.

Christian has shown some very good pace, we’ve done some very good laps times on Monday. And he’s obviously extremely good in the wet, and tricky conditions too. It’s always hard to set up a bike for that, but he seems to ride in those conditions very well.

Very happy with Christian and we have lots to improve on and learn and head to Donington Park which should be a great circuit to continue with that progress, and it’s one that Christian has good history with.”

Eighth for Christian Iddon in the Sprint Race at Oulton as he continues to make progress with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team

Christian Iddon qualified in eleventh for today’s BikeSocial Sprint race at Oulton Park, which didn’t really do justice to his pace on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati. But a good start in the afternoon’s race saw him in the mix with several other riders, and he climbed up as high as seventh by Lap 7.

However, the race was red-flagged in the dying laps as the leaders put their hands up due to slippery track conditions, with Christian finishing eighth, his best result to date this season. He will start the first of tomorrow’s races from third row in ninth.

Christian Iddon
Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21 – 8th

“Free Practice 1 was a funny one, we had a few little things going on and we made some progress in Free Practice 2, then made a big run out in the damp / wet this morning, which was pretty good actually. We were quite competitive.

In qualifying we took a bit of a gamble. Although I don't believe it really was a gamble. I took what I believe was the right tyre choice and I made a mistake on the one lap that mattered, which sort of hindered us a little bit for the grid slot.

In the race, I'm just not clicking with the bike yet. We're not missing loads, but it's enough to just make life hard work for me. Once we get there, we’ll be mint. We’re super strong in certain places. Now we just need to try and improve those weak points, and if we're going to retain the places that we’re strong, then that's great, and even become on par with some of the others in the other places. And there's no reason why we can't be fighting up the front, that’s where we should be, I think.

The race itself I got reasonable start. We've been struggling with starts lately, but we've changed some of the settings in the bike and now it's getting off the line like a bike normally would, because there were some little things weren’t right with it, how the power comes in, but they've been rectified which is really good. But actually, I think it's not scared me, but I've learnt to set off in a bad way. Now I need to remember it works. So yeah, hopefully we got some good starts tomorrow because that's normally one of my strong points.

But I got off the line alright. Turn 1 was always going to be a little bit difficult. It was a little bit damp so I think everyone went in a little bit gingerly, but thankfully everyone got through. And then I just wasn’t positive enough in my passes on the group that was in front. I think I probably could have gone with Andrew Irwin who was the next rider ahead. I just wasn’t positive enough early on and didn’t use the strengths of the bike early on enough, so if we can make a bit better on that tomorrow we should be good.”

A third consecutive sixth place finish sees Ben Currie third in the British Supersport championship

Ben Currie’s afternoon got off to a brilliant start after he stuck his Oxford Products Racing Ducati Panigale V2 on the front row of the grid for the opening race at Oulton Park after qualifying earlier in the day in second place.

Ben got the holeshot to lead the race and opening laps and was looking strong on the Panigale V2. But he ran on at Lodge Corner whilst leading and was lucky to keep the bike upright, although by the time he re-joined the track he was down to eighth. He fought back to regain a couple of positions in the short eight lap race to pass the chequered flag in sixth.

Ben now sits third in the championship and will start tomorrow’s race from fifth on the grid.

Ben Currie
Oxford Products Racing Ducati #61 – 6th

“It's been a hell of a weekend so far to be honest. Starting off in the first free practice we topped the time sheets. Everyone was in great spirits. Rain affected the second session and it was neither here or there with the wet and dry so no one really went out on that one. We qualified with a sort of a guess setting because we didn't do the test, and have had minimal laps here with the Panigale V2. Went into qualifying, felt brilliant in the wet, and put it on the front row. Exactly what we went out there to do, second in the middle of front row, very happy, and ready to fight for that Sprint race. 

Race came around, we got the holeshot into the first turn. Just thought right, head down now, and try and get this win. Managed to check out with two other riders, we had a massive gap to the rest of the field. Started dicing a little bit and I dropped back to second, sat in there for a couple of corners and thought I needed to get back into the lead and try and pull the pin, as I felt like I had a little bit more to go at the front.

But made a mistake, it was nearly curtains for me. Ran onto the gravel, had to save it, come back through onto the grass. I managed to salvage a sixth in the end, which is not. Ideal, but considering it could have been a quite easily zero points, I'll take the I'll take the sixth position. We move to third in the championship and it's a long way to go, so we’re happy with how we're doing so far.”

Unlucky start to the 2023 British Superbike season for Christian Iddon

The Bennetts British Superbike Championship’s opening round took place at Silverstone this weekend, but unfortunately it was one to forget for Oxford Products Racing Ducati and Christian Iddon.

The opening race on Saturday saw Iddon hit with technical issues, bringing his Panigale V4 R home at the back of the field, while the second race the following day ending in a DNF after Iddon was taken out unhurt on Lap 5 by Charlie Nesbitt at Luffield.

A lack of race laps resulted in a poor grid position for Sunday’s final race, with Iddon having his work cut out. But he was at least able to finish his race in a points-scoring position in 11th.

Iddon and the team now look ahead to Round Two at Oulton Park later this month, where we will have time to regroup and start our 2023 BSB campaign afresh.

Christian Iddon
Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21

“100% not the not the weekend we'd all hoped for. Expected actually, not necessarily hoped for, but what we expect. And it was a million miles from that. Free practice everything was actually going quite well.

Qualified so-so, but I just got really bad start for the first race and was involved in a little bit of a difficult first lap. That that made things difficult and then we suffered the technical issue, so I finished, but finished last in the first race which was annoying, and that gave me a really bad grid slot for the second race.

And then I got took out really early in the second race, which gave me a horrendous grid slot for Race 3. It's just a snowball effect.

The last race I did the best I could. I'll always do that, but it was only good enough for 11th at the flag which is really not acceptable. But we lost a lot of information from the full-length race, the race before, and then the bike started to do things and the last four-five laps that I sort of wasn't really ready for. We look to regroup, move onward and upward to the next round.”