Christian Iddon back on the podium with a second place finish in Race 2 at Brands

Christian Iddon had started from pole on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R for Sunday's opening BSB race, slotting into second behind Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda). But a move into Paddock Hill on the start of the second lap saw him lead the field into Druids.

Iddon and Kent swapped places a few times, with Kent moving into first on lap seven. But the action was soon halted after the safety car came out for a couple of laps.

The race resumed on lap nine, with Iddon able to retake the lead once more as half-race distance was covered. Behind him Tommy Bridewell was moving up through the field on his BeerMonster Ducati and on lap 12 it was the Wiltshire rider who took the lead, ahead of Iddon and Kent.

The riders took the flag in those same positions, with Bridewell taking his first win at the Brands GP circuit, and Iddon going one better than yesterday’s podium position to finish second.

Kent took the last step on the box, with Bridewell’s teammate Glenn Irwin closing his race in fourth.

Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21) – 2nd
“Happy to get on the podium, and happy to get a dry one. The pace that I was setting wasn’t fantastic, but no one was coming flying past, so I thought we’d just keep somewhere about that. It felt fast, but it wasn’t the pace I expected it to be. When Tommy came past, I figured just hang with Tommy, he was riding really well. I thought he might try and pull me away from the group. But I made a couple of mistakes and had a few front-end warnings, and that just dropped me back a bit from Tommy who kept a pretty relentless pace. All I had to do was try and race my lap timer and stay in front of the group which we managed. Hopefully we can try and make a few little changes for the next race because I felt alright, but not brilliant. But it’s good to get two podiums and back to somewhere where I thought we should be, so it’s all good.”

Christian Iddon claims his first podium with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team

A shortened race in miserable conditions at Brands Hatch this afternoon saw Christian Iddon score his first podium with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team after a testing start to the season.

Christian had lined up on the grid in eleventh but was already up to sixth by the end of the opening lap. On a charge, Christian was up to third by the fourth lap, but any further progress was halted on lap eight when Leon Haslam’s BMW dropped fluid on the track bringing out the red flag.

Despite two thirds race distance having not been covered the race was called, with Christian taking his first podium with Oxford Products Racing Ducati to the delight of the team.

Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21) – 3rd
“I was just able to pick my way through. I just felt really good. It was strange as certain parts of the track had loads of grip and then the last corner was just a disaster. About three laps in I couldn’t see a thing through my visor. I tried to rectify the problem by opening some vents but just let more water in and it was getting worse and worse, I literally could not see where I was going. I kind of got used to it and was just trying to stay on the black bit!

Then I started to nibble away a bit at the guys out front, but I saw the rainbow and nearly spat myself. I knew they were going to have to red flag it. It was the right call to not send us back out.

Big thanks to Moto Rapido, it’s been a flipping hard season so far. I thought I’d be up here all the time, I thought it’d be podium juice all the time. Hopefully this is the start of good things to come.”

Ben Currie scores a second at Brands in his first wet race on the Panigale V2

Oxford Products Racing Ducati’s Ben Currie started today’s Supersport Sprint race from the front of the second row in fourth. But as the lights went out, his bike got sideways and he was swamped into Paddock Hill and was dropped way down the field.

Ben had climbed up to eleventh by the end of his opening lap and race leader Tom Booth-Amos retired on the following lasp, with Ben taking another position to start Lap 3 inside the top ten in ninth.

As the ten-lap race progressed Ben continues to climb up the order and with two laps to go Ben was in a battle with Zak Corderoy for second place. Ben got the better of the Gearlink Kawasaki rider to take the flag in second behind winner Richard Cooper, and now sits at the top of the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship with a total of 175 points.

Ben Currie (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #61) – 2nd
“We had those two practice laps rolling out the pit there and I came straight in after the first one and was like, boys, we're in big trouble! I had grabbed the brake and the front didn’t move. I thought this is going to be a long one. Luckily we got that little 10-minute window, so I came in, swapped some springs around, and some little bits and bobs. It's a fickle beast the old Duke. You might have seen on the line I let go of the clutch and the thing just went 90 on me and span up that's what it was like coming out of corners. It was a bit of a handful, but I said to myself, just steady on. We’re in 15th place we're in big trouble, let's just see what we can do. And then the positions just started coming to me and I was really happy with that. So, it feels like a win. It wasn't, but I'll take the championship lead. Thanks to all my sponsors, and roll on tomorrow.”

Sunday at Snetterton sees Christian Iddon score an eighth and a fifth

Race 2

Christian had a great start and got away with the leading three riders from his fourth place grid slot for Sunday's opening Bennetts British Superbike race at Snetterton.

The Oxford Products Ducati pilot had a few encounters with other riders dropping him back to seventh place before the red flag came out on lap seven, due to Danny Buchan and Franco Bourne colliding.

At the restart of the reduced lap race, Christian slotted in to eighth and began threatening the positions ahead. But he just couldn't quite overhaul any further riders and remained in eighth at the chequered flag.

Race 3

The final Superbike race of the weekend saw Christian starting from ninth on the grid, and with work to do. He got his head down and was soon picking riders off, getting himself up to seventh place.

By lap eight, he'd moved up to sixth place and chasing down the leading group of five.

Josh Brookes pulled over with a technical issue on lap ten, handing Christian fifth place. Once again, he found himself in no man's land, which seems to have been a regular occurrence this weekend.

He crossed the line in fifth to add another eleven points to his tally, taking him up to 108 points and eighth place in the championship.

Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21)
"Today turned out really difficult at the start, the race wasn't that great. We changed the bike from yesterday and I just didn't get the feeling I wanted from the bike at all. It was a really frustrating race after yesterday, especially being fourth on the grid.

For the last race, we changed the bike, not back but something different and I felt so much better. I just couldn't quite bridge that gap to the front group. The gap never really changed. I made a move on Vickers but didn't make it stick, which may have changed the result.

We're looking for podiums but we're not quite there yet. We are massively better to where we were at the start of the year. It's starting to feel like a bike I can use to its potential now. The team's working hard, I'm working hard, we just need to get in to the bigger chunk of points. It's so frustrating because it's so close, in all three races I had pace to win. The championship is so close, you've got to get out front and make your own luck. Now, we regroup and go again. Onwards to Brands."

Ben Currie finishes the second Supersport race at Snetterton inside the top ten after a technical issue whilst leading

Ben Currie made an amazing start from second on the grid on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati in the second and final Supersport race at Snetterotn this afternoon. The Australian managed to stay out in front only for disaster to strike when he ran straight on at the end of the Bentley Straight due to a technical error.

Ben was able to rejoin the circuit but had dropped down the order to last position. But he fought his way back up through the pack, finishing in ninth place and showing the Panigale V2's speed by setting the fastest lap on the tenth of the 14-lap race.

Ben Currie (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #61)
"I'm pretty disappointed really, we definitely had the pace to win that race. From morning warm up really, the bike was superb, we've made such a big step with the bike. I ran in to a little problem with the bike, not sure what it is but I couldn't back shift my gears and went straight on at the back straight which was a bit unfortunate. I went all the way back to last but managed to bring it back to ninth. I'm over the moon with how the bike felt so we'll take some positives away from that and go to Brands Hatch with a good feeling."

Christian Iddon continues his run of solid points finishes in the Snetterton Sprint Race

Christian Iddon qualified for today's Snetterton Sprint Race in eleventh. Getting a good start off the grid, the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider found himself having to work his way back up the order, eventually moving all the way up into fourth place and ticking the laps off.

An unexpected move from Josh Brookes unsettled Christian's rhythm, which lost him a few seconds, before regrouping and getting his head down again. By this time he was in a lonely race for fifth place, taking the flag in that position.

The positive is that it's a solid eleven points again, four fifth places from the last five races, which is going to boost his championship position.

Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21)
"I didn't have a good qualifying but I felt really good on the bike on the first lap. I then worked my way backwards which wasn't part of the plan. But I managed to get myself in to a bit of a rhythm and got myself back towards the front.

Brooksey came past me a bit late and upset my rhythm a bit, not a real problem, it just knocked me off line and cost me a couple of seconds. That left me in no man's land til the end of the race. But we've managed to gather some more data for tomorrow's race so that's all good."