2023 British Superbikes Cadwell Park- Qualifying Results

Ryan Vickers timed his run best to beat his rivals and the rain and claim pole in qualifying for round eight of the British Superbike championship at Cadwell Park.

A return to the superpole format was off again at the last second, decided after Q1 due to the risk of rain. 

That meant the first few minutes of the second qualifying session were crucial and all action with fifteen riders on track for fifteen minutes.

The first rider to set a strong banker was Jason O’Halloran, though his time was soon surpassed by Leon Haslam.

The LAMI OMG riders were circulating together which saw Ryan Vickers lead around Kyle Ryde with the latter third.

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Slipping to thirteenth, Vickers next run on the Yamaha saw him find great one lap place - recording a 1m 25.847s - which held on for pole. The #7 was on a better lap as he built into the session, something that would not have been possible if the superpole one lap shootout had happened as planned, but rain saw all the riders have to bail out and head to the pits.

Vickers will start on pole for the first time, with Leon Haslam and Glenn Irwin joining him on the front row.

Haslam had the top time after chasing round Jason O’Halloran when a technical on his Rokit BMW Motorrad saw him run across the grass at the Gooseneck, his best had only slipped to second as the weather played it’s part in deciding the order.

Irwin was back on the front row after an early push on his BeerMonster Ducati saw him climb from seventh to the third best time, also shuffled back a place as Vickers hit the top of the timesheets. It was close between the top ten with just over half a second between all the riders.

Brave performance secures fourth for Ryde.

With eight minutes of the fifteen remaining Josh Brookes had just ran over the grass at the bottom of the mountain and Bradley Perie had fallen on his in-lap, so all the bikes were back in the pits - except Kyle Ryde.

Opting to stay out, a few shaky laps followed on the damp track but a good understanding of the conditions, which dried rapidly, allowed him to gain a place as he eventually ran confidently over the white lines using every inch of the track, on his way to a brave fourth on the second LAMI OMG Yamaha.

O’Halloran out of luck.

Fresh from his dominant triple win at Thruxton, the McAMS Yamaha man was once again leading the way on Saturday, with a lap faster than last season’s record by Bradley Ray in FP1, not bettered in a damp FP2 or FP3.

Back on top in FP4 just before qualifying got underway, The Australian was again looking strong on the track closest to home for the #22.

After that early banker he hit traffic, cutting a frustrated figure as he found Perie on his next fast lap, with pole eluding him. Unable to find a way past on the narrow circuit, the rain arrived to leave O’Halloran fourth, dropping to fifth after Ryde’s wet run.

Also at the track he regards as his home circuit, Lee Jackson was top Kawasaki for Cheshire Mouldings in sixth, while Tommy Bridewell could not match his teammate and title rival for front row success, so will line up seventh.

Christain Iddon saw his best slip to eighth for Oxford Products Ducati, with the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad duo of Peter Hickamn and Brookes completing the top ten.

 Official British Superbike Cadwell Park Records:

Lap Record: Bradley Ray (Yamaha) 1m 25.858s (2022)
BSB Best Lap: Bradley Ray (Yamaha) 1m 25.457s (2022, superpole)

2022 at Cadwell Park (Round Seven)

Pole: Bradley Ray (2nd Rory Skinner, 3rd Lee Jackson)

Race One:
1:Bradley Ray
2:Rory Skinner
3:Danny Buchan

Race Two:
1:Danny Buchan
2:Bradley Ray
3:Tommy Bridewell

Race Three:
1:Danny Buchan
2:Bradley Ray
3:Tommy Bridewell

Last Round (Thruxton)

Pole: Jason O’Halloran (2nd Ryan Vickers, 3rd Kyle Ryde)

Race One:
1:Jason O’Halloran
2:Charlie Nesbitt
3:Ryan Vickers

Race Two:
1: Jason O’Halloran
2:Lee Jackson
3:Charlie Nesbitt

Race Three:
1: Jason O’Halloran
2:Lee Jackson
3:Charlie Nesbitt

Jack Kennedy is racing despite a broken rib for Mar-Train Yamaha, picked up in his crash with Danny Kent at Thruxton. Sitting out some practice sessions to help manage the pain, after moving through Q1, which he again finished sat in his box hoping his time would hold, he went on to place eleventh.

Charlie Nesbitt suffered a huge crash near the end of FP4, which saw his bike clear the tyre wall as if doing the high jump at the bottom of the mountain, causing a red flag to allow the medics to tend to him track side. 

Nesbitt was taken to the track medical centre and was back in the paddock on crutches for qualifying. Not aboard his bike and able to set a time he was already in the second session due to his FP2 lap so was placed last in the session.

What Happened in Q1?

The qualifying format was reverted after the first session so it was still three riders who advanced - Jack Kennedy, Tom Neave (14th) and Bradley Perie (13th).

Both Luke Mossey and Franco Bourne flirted with the top three, Bourne returned to track for a final effort but finished the session fifth for 17th on the grid, one place behind Mossey who did not return go back out and was very animated in his pit box while having to settle for fourth (16th).

Absentees and Injuries

Max Cook began the weekend after a fall in testing at the Lincolnshire track, but after two laps of FP1 was withdrawn by Cheshire Holdings Kawasaki, leaving Lee Jackson as their sole rider.

Similarly, Danny Buchan hit his head in his practice fall in Saturday so was withdrawn from qualifying and race action.

O’Halloran also goes it alone this weekend after McAMS deciding to focus on his late championship charge, ending their time with Tito Rabat on their second entry by mutual consent.

Kent and his privateer Honda are also missing - unable to attend due to budget related  ‘circumstances beyond the team’s control’ after the Thruxton race.

Dean Harrison is absent as he takes part in the Manx Grand Prix. Luke Stapleford (18th) is his replacement at DAO Racing.

Long term injured riders Josh Owens and Andrew Irwin are also still out of action.