It couldn’t really happen could it? A 100% dry racing season for British Superbike?
Well in short, no it couldn’t!
Although we came pretty close to it, but true to form the good old British weather delivered plenty of rain over the course of the racing weekend.
However the one thing that the weather did not spoil was the racing action and the tensions that went with it as spectators saw Alex Lowes claim the BSB title in some closely fought battles.
In what was quite a refreshing change from the past few races neither Lowes nor Byrne took the top spot on the podium as Josh Brookes took all three wins over the course of the weekend with a string of dominant performances and an inspired tyre choice in race two.
Tyre choice was crucial this weekend and in race one, the whole field took to the grid in fully wet tyres, with Brookes quickly taking the lead and speeding off into the distance. Lowes sat behind Byrne right through to lap 14, and then a slick move put him in prime position to hunt down Brookes who eventually held him off by just under a second. This saw Alex move 3 points clear at the top of the table.
Race two saw both Shane Byrne and Alex Lowes come off their bikes at Druids, and Josh Brookes, this time on intermediate tyres took his chance as the track dried out mid race to pass Costello and Ellison to take a comfortable win. With Lowes falling in lap one, Shakey must have been kicking himself for falling in lap six, as he had a gifted opportunity to all but take the title there and then.
The tension was rising for the third and final race with just three points between the top two riders. With Brookes taking an early lead and Lowes and Byrne starting way down the grid and having to work their way through the field they finally came together in a situation which seemed to mirror race one.
On lap 16 at Graham Hill bend Alex Lowes made his move, and Shane Byrne tried in vain to pass the youngster during the remainder of the race, finishing in third just over a second behind his rival and the new BSB champion.
It’s been a truly amazing season of blow for blow racing action, and we can’t wait for next year to do it all over again!
