Ben Currie wins the 2023 British Supersport title in style with pole, fastest lap, and race victory at Donington Park
“I was concentrating so hard on winning that race I’d forgotten that I could have won the championship. Now we’re standing here, I’ve got the trick gold helmet, and dreams have become a reality.”
Ben Currie’s fantastic form on the Moto Rapido Racing Ducati Panigale V2 continued at Donington Park this afternoon after a fifth win of the season saw him take the 2023 British Supersport title.
Ben got a great start from pole to lead the race but onlLap three he ran on at Foggy Esses and re-joined the track in fourth. But a couple of laps later Ben he was up into third after passing Jamie Perrin (Suzuki) into the Melbourne Loop.
Lap eight saw Ben then pass Eugene McManus (Triumph) to start the second half of the 18-lap featre race in second place behind Luke Stapleford (Kawasaki).
On Lap 12 Ben got brilliant drive out of the Esses to pass Stapleford for the lead. Stapleford immediately came back but went into the Loop hot and with Ben getting the better of him once more to start the final third of the race in first.
As the race neared its conclusion Ben was able to create a gap at the front, picking his way through backmarkers to take the chequered flag and the 2023 British Supersport title to the delight of the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team.
Ben Currie (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #61) – 1st
2023 British Supersport Champion
“We worked hard that first part of the season to keep ourselves in the championship fight, to work our way around the V2, the team and myself. We made massive steps from the start of the season. In the last half of the season it seemed a dream, podiums on the bounce, and five wins now. I’m absolutely over the moon. I don’t know what to say really, I can’t believe it.
I was concentrating so hard on winning that race I’d forgotten that I could have won the championship. Now we’re standing here, I’ve got the trick gold helmet, and dreams have become a reality.
Looking back and with this being a long time coming, we’ve been grinding for years and years and years. It hasn’t come easy. We always worked hard and believed we could do this, and we didn’t listen to the critics who said I couldn’t do it. And now we’re here and we can celebrate.
I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who got me here. This is not a one-man band. This is a team effort by everyone, sponsors, supporters, family, team. Thanks so much, this win is for everyone.”
Double podium for Ben Currie at Oulton Park
“I had the pace to win both the races this weekend, we put it on pole, so that’s a real plus. We’ve taken one and half seconds off our time from here earlier in the year so that shows our progress. Huge thanks to he guys, we’re working really good, we’re in a good place.”
Ben Currie leads the pack around Oulton Park
Ben Currie’s strong speed on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati Panigale V2 in Saturday’s Supersport race saw him qualify for Sunday’s 14-lap race on the front row of the gird in second.
Another great start saw Ben get the holeshot to lead the early stages. But by the start of lap 5 title contender Rhys Irwin (Suzuki) had cut through the pack and passed Ben into turn one, with Ben demoted a further position later that same lap when Tom Booth-Amos (Kawasaki) came past.
By half-race distance the leading duo had stared to pull a small gap over Ben with Richard Cooper (Yamaha) closing behind.
On lap nine Irwin’s exhaust came loose with Race Control bringing the rider‘s race to a premature end a couple of laps later. This gifted Booth-Amos the lead, with Cooper and Ben up to second and third respectively, and the three riders went on to take the flag in those same positions.
Irwin’s second DNF of the weekend saw Booth-Amos snatch second in the championship from him, but Ben’s podium saw a further increase his championship lead at the top of the standings by a couple of points to a gap of 68.
Ben Currie (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) – 3rd
“I saw Coops coming past and he was on a good pace there. I just tried to stick on his wheel as I knew he’d take me away from everyone else. Just wasn’t feeling very comfortable, just riding a little bit tense, thinking about the championship, thinking about people running into the back of me. I’ve never been in the position where I’m nursing such a big championship lead, just going to go home now and think about it through.
I had the pace to win both the races this weekend, we put it on pole, so that’s a real plus. We’ve taken one and half seconds off our time from here earlier in the year so that shows our progress. Huge thanks to he guys, we’re working really good, we’re in a good place.”
A consecutive trio of seventh place finishes for Christian Iddon at Oulton Park
“It’s another semi-frustrating weekend because I want to be at the front fighting for podiums and wins and we’re still a little bit off that. We have made progress, it’s just another one of those ‘what could have been’ weekends.”
Race 1
Christian Iddon lined up for Saturday’s BikeSocial Sprint Race at the front of Row 4 in tenth. By the end of the first lap around the 2.692-mile circuit Christian was up three places, a position he held to the flag.
Race 2
Christian was unfortunate in the opening race on Sunday into the first corner and initially dropped from seventh down to 13th, but he was soon past Luke Stapleford (Yamaha) to move into eleventh before going on pass Storm Stacey (Kawasaki) on the following lap to move inside the top ten.
Lap 3 saw Iddon pass Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) to go ninth with Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha) next in his sights and by lap 6 Iddon was eighth and in the chasing pack behind Josh Brookes (BMW) and Ryan Vickers (Yamaha).
The race was then put on hold as the safety car came out on lap 14 after Stacey crashed out. Christian was able to hold his position after the restart and went on to take another seventh at the flag.
Race 3
Iddon started seventh and momentarily lost the position to O’Halloran before taking the place back later in the opening lap.
Christian was running in the leading group of riders but on Lap 8 he was once again demoted to eighth after Vickers took the position.
As the race neared its conclusion the leading pack of eight riders had split to form four separate battles. Iddon was able to get the better of Vickers by 0.011s across the line to score a consecutive trio of seventh-place finishes.
Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21)
“The weekend started out quite difficult, I couldn’t really get any feeling or sensation with the bike. We worked really hard and found a base that seemed to work reasonably well. It’s pretty much all we had this weekend.
It’s another semi-frustrating weekend because I want to be at the front fighting for podiums and wins and we’re still a little bit off that. We have made progress, it’s just another one of those ‘what could have been’ weekends. I think that I’m extracting plenty from the package.
We just need to keep on trying to regroup, push forward and not lose sight of where we think we can be and what we think we can achieve. We need to continue to keep on pushing on.”
Second for Ben Currie in the Oulton Park Sprint Race as he extends his championship lead
“A solid second place in the championship and we’ve extended our points lead to 66. Couldn't be much better to be honest. Very happy and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team’s working great!”
The Oxford Products Racing Ducati team returned to Oulton Park this weekend, and Ben Currie was immediately on the pace onboard his Panigale V2, finishing the two Free Practice sessions in first and second respectively, before going on to claim pole in qualifying.
Sadly, Ben was unlucky to not extend his run of consecutive race wins to five, and after leading every race lap it was a small mistake in the final one that cost him victory.
During the race there was drama for championship on Lap 7 when Richard Cooper (Yamaha) crashed out taking out title contender Rhys Irwin (Suzuki) from third.
Ben came under pressure Tom Booth-Amos (Kawasaki) as the race neared its conclusion, and when he made a small error at Knickerbrook on the final lap Booth-Amos was able to snatch the lead and race win.
Ben crossed the line in second place but with Irwin out of contention Ben was able to extend his championship advantage at the top of the standings over the Suzuki rider from 44 points to 66.
Ben Currie (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #61) – 2nd
“Really fantastic race. Led from start to finish. But unfortunately, I made one little error into the Knickerbrook chicane. Came round just a teensy little bit wide and got nicked. But solid second place in the championship and extended our points lead to 66. Couldn't be much better to be honest. So very happy and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team’s working great!”
Four wins on the bounce for Ben Currie at Cadwell Park
“You get the win on the previous day, and you’ve got to sleep on that win, and you know you gotta do it again. I was just trying to stay focused and really work on myself, just trying to focus and hit my marks. It's a long championship so you don't want to make mistakes.”
Australian Ben Currie stormed to a consecutive double win on his Oxford Products Racing Ducati Panigale V2 today to take a commanding lead in the British Supersport championship.
A really good start from the front of row two saw Ben Currie immediately up the third behind championship contenders Luke Stapleford and Tom Booth-Amos as the trio went on to pull a gap.
But there was drama on lap six as Stapleford lost the front of his Kawasaki and crashed out from the lead at Charlies promoting Ben up to second behind Booth-Amos.
Currie kept the pressure on Booth-Amos, only for the Kawasaki rider to crash out on lap 11 at the same spot as Stapleford, promoting Currie to the lead.
With a 5.6s advantage over the rest of the field, Currie was able to manage the gap for the final quarter of the race take a double consecutive win to the delight of his team.
Ben's four wins in a row sees his gap at the top of the Supersport championship table now extend to 44 points ahead of Rhys Irwin (Suzuki) in second place.
Ben Currie (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #61) - 1st
"You get the win on the previous day, and you’ve got to sleep on that win, and you know you gotta do it again. I was just trying to stay focused and really work on myself, just trying to focus and hit my marks. It's a long championship so you don't want to make mistakes.
That race was geeing up to be a big one. I could tell the boys were really up for that one and pushing the pace from lap one. Luke was trying to break us, and we all went away from the rest of the pack. Unfortunately, I saw so Luke goes down just in front of us and then a few laps later Tom did the exact same thing, and I couldn't believe my luck. I was like well I'm just gonna bring it home.
It's unbelievable, four wins on in a row just out of nowhere. No, not out of nowhere, out of hard work. We've got ourselves an absolute weapon now and feeling super confident so I’m really, really happy.”
A trio of seventh place finishes for Christian Iddon at Cadwell Park
“It's just a little bit frustrating the moment because myself and the team are both capable of more than we're currently showing. Something is just not quite clicking but hopefully we can find that and rectify it for the last few rounds of the season starting at Oulton Park next time out.”
Race 1
The opening British Superbike race at Cadwell Park was a fairly uneventful one for Christian Iddon. The Oxford Products Racing Ducat rider had lined up on the grid in eighth position for the BikeSocial sprint race on Sunday but lost a couple of positions on the opening lap. But by lap four Christian passed Storm Stacey (Kawasaki) for seventh behind championship leader Tommy Bridewell (Ducati), a position that he held until the chequered flag.
Race 2
Christian started the first of the two 18-lap races on Bank Holiday Monday from the middle of Row Two in fifth but dropped down to seventh as the race got underway. On lap five Christian ran straight on at the chicane, with Race Control giving him a two second time penalty.
The following lap saw Christian lose a position to Glenn Irwin (Ducati) which temporarily demoted him to eighth until race leader Ryan Vickers (Yamaha) crashed out on the same lap.
Lap nine saw Christian run on at the chicane once more, picking up an additional two second time penalty from Race Control.
Christian went on to take the flag in a consecutive seventh, but his four second penalty did not affect his position as he had built up a gap of 4.833s over Josh Brookes (BMW).
Race 3
The final Superbike race of the weekend mirrored the first with Christian staring from eighth, holding the position as the lights went out. On lap eleven, he passed Stacey to move up into seventh. At this point he was two seconds behind local rider Lee Jackson (Kawasaki), going on to take his third seventh place finish of the weekend.
Christian currently sits ninth in the championship standings, twelve points behind Vickers in ninth but 61 clear of Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) in tenth.
Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #21) "Not a great weekend, and not what we expect to be fair. It’s just frustrating that we’re quite close to the front, but not at the front. We’re just off the back of the lead group in every race. And that's kind of where we're at, just missing out. But we’re pushing really hard to try and find it.
It's just a little bit frustrating the moment because myself and the team are both capable of more than we're currently showing. Something is just not quite clicking but hopefully we can find that and rectify it for the last few rounds of the season starting at Oulton Park next time out.”