Our words and pics as Christian Iddon claimed a pair of top ten results in the British Superbike Championship as the Tyco BMW rider was left struggling for the last bit of pace required to fight with the lead pack around the 2.4mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Inside the top ten throughout the Championship’s three Free Practice sessions, Iddon, from Stockport, was left back in thirteenth place in Qualifying, despite being just six-tenths of a second off the Pole lap of Luke Mossey [Kawasaki].
Morning Warm-Up on Sunday again demonstrated the closeness of the BSB grid. Iddon sat in fifteenth position, the times telling another story, as he was just nine-tenths of a second off the fastest time of Tommy Bridewell [Suzuki]. Evidence, if it were needed, of how competitive the British Series is.
Race One around the Kent venue was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for Iddon, eventually grabbing ninth place at the flag, and claiming seventh place on the grid for the second and final Race of the weekend.
Christian was up to sixth after lap one, dropping back to seventh a lap later, and looked to have settled as Race Two progressed, but a mistake on lap ten, entering Surtees bend, saw the former Supermoto Champ drop to tenth place and continue there to the flag, despite every effort to claw back a place off James Ellison, the Kawasaki rider beating Iddon to the flag by just a tenth of a second.
Iddon drops to ninth place in the overall standings, but sits just five points off the Showdown standings, and just seventeen points off teammate Michael Laverty in fourth spot – with twenty-five points on offer for a win it’s all to play for.
“Mega frustrating weekend, always just off the pace” explained Iddon, “I’m talking a tenth and a half, and that’s all we needed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever ridden that hard for ninth and tenth place ever in my life. There’s obviously something we’re missing at the moment. Which is hard to take.
“Positives… I know that I couldn’t have given any more and I know the Team couldn’t. It’s mega close [the Championship] I’m confident we’re going to find some solutions. We’ve got some tests coming up between now and Cadwell Park. It’s been a frustrating weekend but nothing we can’t handle”.
The BSB Championship now moves on to Cadwell Park, in Lincolnshire, for Round 8 on the 27-29 August.
Words and pics by Mike Petch