Oulton Park - BSB 2025 Round 10
The Track
Circuit length: 2.6920M / 4.332KM
Corners: 17
Lefthand: 6
Righthand: 11
BSB Lap Record : Bradley Ray - Yamaha 1:33.620 (2022) 103.51mph
Honda in the thick of the action at stormy Oulton Park
Saturday 4th October 2025
The arrival of Storm Amy in the north west of England has presented schedule challenges and produced wild weather at Oulton Park for the penultimate round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) and its supporting classes.
With factory entries for Tommy Bridewell and Dean Harrison in BSB, defending champion Jack Kennedy in the Quattro British Supersport Championship and John McGuinness MBE in the British Superstock Championship, the team has maintained a strong performance in all conditions.
For Harrison, the five-time Isle of Man TT winner, it was a baptism of fire for his return to BSB action, having competed alongside Kennedy in Supersport so far this season.
Standing in for injured Andrew Irwin, the Yorkshireman and his regular Supersport crew had to work hard in Friday’s two Free Practice sessions, and did so commendably - only just missing out on the final Pre-Qualifying session for the top 12 fastest riders.
There would be drama to follow, however, as Harrison crashed in Saturday morning’s weather-delayed warm-up. While he received a precautionary check-up at the Medical Centre, his team hastened to repair the Fireblade with just 15 minutes available before the start of qualifying.
In the end, Harrison returned from his check-up just in time to complete one lap, and qualified in 23rd place on the grid for Race 1.
On the other side of the garage it was business as usual for Bridewell, however, who maintained a top-five presence in every session through Friday and Saturday, and would qualify in fifth place.
In Supersport, Kennedy was not unduly hampered by the absence of Harrison alongside him in the garage, working through a methodical programme in Friday’s sessions despite heavy wind and rain. On Saturday morning, after another weather delay, he qualified in fourth place, and duly took his place in the lead group through the early laps of the race.
Soon, Kennedy had picked his way through and in a daring move slid through into the lead on the brakes with his rear wheel hovering fractionally above the track surface. After building a tiny cushion to the pursuing pack, he was eventually hunted down on the CBR600RR and would finish on the podium in a fine third place.
Meanwhile in Superstock, McGuinness did not set a flying lap time in Friday’s opening Free Practice session and was classified 40th. He then pressed on in the second Free Practice to set the 12th fastest time in the capacity field, qualifying in 13th position on aggregate.
A promising start to the race was then truncated by engine problems, with the team working hard to find a solution that will see the 23-time TT winner back on the grid for Sunday.
Honda Racing delivers on Knockhill promise
Sunday 5h October 2025
Continued wild weather in the wake of Storm Amy played a major role at Oulton Park as the penultimate round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) and its supporting classes drew to a close.
Honda Racing BSB stars Tommy Bridewell and Dean Harrison lined up alongside one another on the third row of the grid for Race 2 amid strong winds that were persistently threatening to bring more rain - making setup choices critical.
The pair got away cleanly, but Harrison slid off the circuit and rejoined in last place before the red flags came out due to contamination of the track surface after a major oil spill.
The heavy duty clean-up operation, which covered a 120-metre stretch of the track, meant that there was a two-hour delay in the day’s schedule. When the race was restarted, the conditions were gusty but dry, the distance being shortened to eight laps and the original grid positions being retained.
Again, the two Fireblades got away well, and this time there was no slip-up from Harrison although he was forced to acclimatise while completing his first dry laps on a BSB Superbike since early in the 2024 season. Bridewell began to make progress through the lead group and would eventually take the chequered flag in sixth place, with Harrison reaching the finish line in 15th.
In the third and final BSB race of the weekend, Bridewell started fourth and Harrison 16th based on their fastest laps from Race 2. In a furious slipstreaming battle among the top 10 riders, Bridewell got shuffled down the order to cross the line in ninth place, while Harrison was able to hold station and eventually finished in 15th place once again.
The schedule for the day was shuffled as a result of the earlier hiatus, but the Quattro British Supersport Championship contenders were able to complete the full Feature after a pared-back starting procedure. Honda’s Jack Kennedy was poised and ready to maximise his score in order to remain in the hunt for this year’s title.
The defending champion lined up in fourth place, and at the start all three of the main men in this year’s title battle pulled away from the rest of the field. The trio circulated in close company until points leader Rhys Irwin crashed out, forcing Ben Currie to ride through the gravel trap and leaving Kennedy out in front on his own to claim a vital win.
The Irishman received a rapturous reception from his team and family as he claimed the spoils, closing the gap to Irwin to just 23 points with 70 points on the table at Brands Hatch for the final round in two weeks’ time.
Unfortunately for his many fans in attendance, John McGuinness MBE was unable to re-enter the fray in the Superstock class, as the team was unable to repair the fault on his Fireblade overnight.
Having suffered the only mechanical issue from all of the practice, qualifying and race sessions undertaken by Honda Racing UK in 2025, across both BSB and road racing, McGuinness will return to action at the final round.
#1 Jack Kennedy
It couldn’t have gone any better. I managed to get one of my best starts of the year, I wanted to try a new technique and it really paid off thanks to some wise words from John McGuinness, so thanks to him for that! I really didn’t want to get swallowed by the pack in the top six when visibility was going to be a problem from the spray being thrown up so I felt comfortable in second. But then I didn’t want to get picked off by the pack behind me if I was just sitting there so I made my move and it worked, so I was delighted with that. In a wet race there’s nowhere better to be than out in front, and then I knew we would have a lot of people we’d have to pass when we started lapping people so I wanted to be in the best position to get through cleanly. It was a tough race but I’m delighted with my performance and the CBR600RR, the team has been fantastic, I couldn’t have asked for more.
#1 Tommy Bridewell
“The third race was a slow race, in fact a really slow race, which was certainly a massive benefit for me, because that enabled me to stay within sight of the leading pack. It’s a difficult position we’re in at the moment, because I feel like I’m just riding around and not able to really fight for victories, which is really difficult. And yet we are making progress and I’m really happy with the team’s effort. All of the guys in the crew are doing a great job, but at the minute we’ve just extracted all that we can from the package. That’s just basically where it’s at for us right now.”
#5 Dean Harrison
“The first race yesterday was just like the wild west, really! The second race we were able to settle in a bit and I actually learnt a lot. Honestly, apart from that little crash we had yesterday I think it’s been a good weekend on the bike. We scored points in all three races and we’re there or thereabouts. We’ll just look forward to Brands now because I think that the characteristics of the track are broadly similar to Oulton Park and what we’ve learned this week we’ll try and implement there. I’ve got my head back into it a little bit so I’m looking forward to it. The lads in the garage never stop working, they’re flat out all the time, and it’s nice that they listen to some of my input and hopefully it will help move both Tommy and me forward.”
The action resumes on October 17th-19th at Brands Hatch.
| 1 | Kyle Ryde (Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha) | 445pts |
| 2 | Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha) | 415pts |
| 3 | Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing ) | 344pts |
| 4 | Christian Iddon (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) | 272pts |
| 5 | Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) | 272pts |
| 6 | Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Ducati) | 268pts |
| 7 | Scott Redding (Hager PBM Ducati) | 237.5pts |
| 8 | Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) | 217pts |
| 9 | Max Cook (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) | 212pts |
| 10 | Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN Racing BMW) | 204pts |
| 13 | Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) | 41pts |
| 22 | Dean Harrison (Honda Racing UK) | 41pts |
| 1 | Rhys Irwin (Gearlink Bike Performance 15) | 353pts |
| 2 | Ben Currie (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing) | 349pts |
| 3 | Jack Kennedy (Honda Racing UK) | 330pts |
| 4 | Luke Stapleford (Macadam Triumph Racing) | 308pts |
| 5 | Joe Talbot (Binch Pro Ducati) | 280pts |
| 6 | Eugene Mcmanus (MMB Racing Ducati) | 215pts |
| 7 | Lee Johnston (Sencat by Swan Racing Triumph) | 165pts |
| 8 | Dean Harrison (Honda Racing UK) | 145pts |
| 9 | TJ Toms (G&S Racing Kawasaki) | 138pts |
| 10 | Oliver Barr (Binch Pro Ducati) | 128pts |
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