The Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown gets underway this weekend (September 15/16/17) and with the new points’ format for 2023 and no limit to just the top eight riders as in previous seasons, 16 riders head to Cheshire with a mathematical chance of the title.
With the points’ values increased, the final three rounds are crucial and at Oulton Park and Donington Park, riders will receive 25 points for a race win, 22 for second and 20 for third place. The values increase again further for the finale at Brands Hatch so the stakes are heightened with 35 for a victory, 30 for second and 27 for third place.
However, the target all of the title contenders need to aim for across the next two rounds is to be within 105 points of the standings leader heading into the Brands Hatch finale and currently the top seven riders, down to Josh Brookes are within that range.
Tommy Bridewell leads the standings into the Showdown on the BeerMonster Ducati with 14.5 points separating him from his teammate Glenn Irwin with Kyle Ryde heading the Yamaha bid in third place and 51 points adrift of the championship leader.
Jason O'Halloran trails Ryde by just 3.5 points whilst Leon Haslam is the leading BMW in fifth place overall and 21.5 points adrift of the McAMS Yamaha rider ahead of him as he returns to the circuit where he came close to victory earlier in the year.
Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki’s Lee Jackson and FHO Racing BMW Motorrad’s Josh Brookes completing the top seven riders, with Brookes currently holding a 101-point deficit.
Ryan Vickers is the first rider just outside the target 105 points, with 114 currently separating him from Bridewell ahead of this weekend with Christian Iddon just three points further adrift of the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rider.
Jack Kennedy, Danny Kent, Charlie Nesbitt, Peter Hickman, Storm Stacey, Tom Neave and Max Cook remain within the 255 point range, but need a strong showing at Oulton Park this weekend to bolster their hopes of remaining in contention ahead of the penultimate round at Donington Park on September 29 – October 1).
