Christian Iddon is ready to bounce back at Donington Park this weekend as he bids to reclaim the ground that was lost in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings last time out at Thruxton.
The VisionTrack Ducati rider had been trading positions at the top of the standings with current leader Jason O'Halloran, but after a strong start to the weekend at Thruxton with a seventh podium, Sunday’s races were a completely different story.
In race two, Iddon’s run of 33 consecutive finishes ended when Lee Jackson crashed, taking him down too, and subsequently scoring no points and in the final race he mustered a ninth place.
Looking back on the previous round, Iddon said: “Saturday at Thruxton was really, really good. It was a shame that we didn’t have the final laps because of the red flag, but second place felt really good and I was happy with that. I knew Sunday would be difficult because of the tyre situation, which was the same for everyone.
“The second race of the weekend was going to plan, I was managing my own race and not trying to get caught up in any battles to try and save the tyre. I was in third, when unfortunately I was collected by Lee when he crashed and we both ended up out. It was my first DNF in 33 races, so that was really disappointing.
“The last race of the weekend was definitely more disappointing than the previous one; it was frustrating to lose the championship lead in that manner the race before, but my performance in the final race wasn’t what I had hoped for. I get more disappointment from that than anything else. It was strange as I was happy with my tyre choice, but my grid position made it harder to start with in those conditions. I couldn’t see where was damp or dry and so I was riding around and then got going after lap five or six and reduced the gap to the leaders, but then it all went wrong.
“We went for a really dry set-up with the bike and I had a really big moment into the Complex where I had crashed earlier. I ran off track and that was really the warning that slowed me up. From then on, I wasn’t pushing it as hard as it needed to be pushed with the harder set-up.
“I had been struggling as I had so little feel at the front of the bike so it was frustrating. When I reviewed the race back there was absolutely no reason why we couldn’t have been on the podium with our pace, so it was even more disappointing to have lost a load of points in both the standings and in the Showdown. I left Thruxton disappointed, which is funny because if the podium had been in the last race, it probably wouldn’t have felt so bad.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s action at Donington Park, the VisionTrack Ducati rider is determined to bridge the deficit and is feeling confident that he can once again be back and challenging for the podium.
“I think our bike works quite well at Donington, although I think it does tend to be stronger on the longer GP layout,” added Iddon. “My side of the garage has definitely made a step forward again since we were here last year, and I believe we are in a better position compared to 2020.
“We just want to get the ball rolling again this weekend; we have been keeping the momentum flowing nicely up until the second race at Thruxton. We need to regain the momentum, especially as the rounds are so close together now. It certainly doesn’t take much for it to swing back the other way again, I will just do what I always do – the best job I possibly can.”
Christian Iddon is ready to bounce back at Donington Park this weekend as he bids to reclaim the ground that was lost in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings last time out at Thruxton.
The VisionTrack Ducati rider had been trading positions at the top of the standings with current leader Jason O'Halloran, but after a strong start to the weekend at Thruxton with a seventh podium, Sunday’s races were a completely different story.
In race two, Iddon’s run of 33 consecutive finishes ended when Lee Jackson crashed, taking him down too, and subsequently scoring no points and in the final race he mustered a ninth place.
Looking back on the previous round, Iddon said: “Saturday at Thruxton was really, really good. It was a shame that we didn’t have the final laps because of the red flag, but second place felt really good and I was happy with that. I knew Sunday would be difficult because of the tyre situation, which was the same for everyone.
“The second race of the weekend was going to plan, I was managing my own race and not trying to get caught up in any battles to try and save the tyre. I was in third, when unfortunately I was collected by Lee when he crashed and we both ended up out. It was my first DNF in 33 races, so that was really disappointing.
“The last race of the weekend was definitely more disappointing than the previous one; it was frustrating to lose the championship lead in that manner the race before, but my performance in the final race wasn’t what I had hoped for. I get more disappointment from that than anything else. It was strange as I was happy with my tyre choice, but my grid position made it harder to start with in those conditions. I couldn’t see where was damp or dry and so I was riding around and then got going after lap five or six and reduced the gap to the leaders, but then it all went wrong.
“We went for a really dry set-up with the bike and I had a really big moment into the Complex where I had crashed earlier. I ran off track and that was really the warning that slowed me up. From then on, I wasn’t pushing it as hard as it needed to be pushed with the harder set-up.
“I had been struggling as I had so little feel at the front of the bike so it was frustrating. When I reviewed the race back there was absolutely no reason why we couldn’t have been on the podium with our pace, so it was even more disappointing to have lost a load of points in both the standings and in the Showdown. I left Thruxton disappointed, which is funny because if the podium had been in the last race, it probably wouldn’t have felt so bad.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s action at Donington Park, the VisionTrack Ducati rider is determined to bridge the deficit and is feeling confident that he can once again be back and challenging for the podium.
“I think our bike works quite well at Donington, although I think it does tend to be stronger on the longer GP layout,” added Iddon. “My side of the garage has definitely made a step forward again since we were here last year, and I believe we are in a better position compared to 2020.
“We just want to get the ball rolling again this weekend; we have been keeping the momentum flowing nicely up until the second race at Thruxton. We need to regain the momentum, especially as the rounds are so close together now. It certainly doesn’t take much for it to swing back the other way again, I will just do what I always do – the best job I possibly can.”