Mackenzie Clinches British Superbike Title At Brands Hatch
Grid Talk Reporter 15:06 17/10/2021
Tarran Mackenzie has secured the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike title after taking a fantastic victory in race two at Brands Hatch.
The McAMS Yamaha rider went bar-to-bar with Tommy Bridewell and was determined to clinch the championship with a victory, and with one race to spare. The duo swapped positions on more than one occasion, and could not be separated. In the end, Mackenzie made his move down the inside at the final corner on the final lap of the race to clinch a maiden crown - much to the delight of the crowd. The McAMS Yamaha garage erupted with joy, including dad, and three-time BSB champion, Niall Mackenzie.
Bridewell initially made a slow start to the race but made his way through into the lead at Surtees on lap 1. He then began to pull away from the field, as he did at Oulton Park, and opened up a lead of around 1.2 seconds. However, Mackenzie regrouped and began to close his title rival down. By the start of lap 11, Mackenzie was right on the back of Bridewell. Mackenzie then made his move into Paddock Hill Bend at the start of lap 12, with Bridewell attempting to return the favour on the following lap, only to run in too deep.
The duo almost collided coming out of Stirling's on lap 14, when Mackenzie had a huge moment on the exit and Bridewell had to react. Bridewell took the lead back at that very corner on the following lap. Not one to give up, Mackenzie kept on pushing his R1 to the very limit and made his move down the inside of Bridewell at the final corner on the final lap to become champion.
Mackenzie's McAMS Yamaha teammate Jason O'Halloran was pipped to second place in the standings by Bridewell, as he and Mackenzie finished second and first respectively in the third race, with Australia's O'Halloran completing the podium. Christian Iddon ends the season fourth on the VisionTrack Ducati, ahead of FHO Racing BMW's Peter Hickman and Josh Brookes on the other VisionTrack Ducati. SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad's Danny Buchan and Glenn Irwin on the Honda Racing bike rounded out the riders in the showdown. Lee Jackson on the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki won the BSB riders cup by 3 points over Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW's Bradley Ray.
