The start of the BSB season: Yamaha sweeps everything in the Navarra / British Superbike Championship

New Year New Luck. The British Superbike Championship (BSB) kicks off its new season this weekend and along with new teams and riders, there are also new tracks in the calendar for the national powerhouse series. And at the beginning of the year: the first race of the 2024 BSB season took place at the Circuito de Navarra on Saturday and Sunday.

The winter test had already taken place at the Spanish race and therefore the players stayed directly on the warm Iberian peninsula. Danny Kent, the former Moto3 world champion, took the lead on the long 3.904km circuit on Saturday. The Brit, who moved to Yamaha this year, narrowly beat brand colleagues Ryan Vickers and Kyle Ryde in qualifying with a time of 1:36.609. Glenn Irwin (Ducati), Rory Skinner and Peter Hickman (both BMW) qualified on row 2.

The first race of the season took place on Sunday afternoon. After the start, a group of five formed the front, led by the Yamaha trio of Vickers, Ryde and Kent. Also in this group were Irwin and Skinner. In the following laps, a three-way battle between Yamaha riders Ryde, Vickers and Kent emerged victorious.

Ryde led the field until lap 18, but in the fast first corner he was overtaken by teammate Vickers, who had not relinquished the lead in the previous two laps. Behind Vickers, who entered the books as the first BSB winner in Navarra, Ryde and Kent crossed the finish line one and two seconds back respectively. Behind the rest of the Yamaha podium, Ducati rider Glenn Irwin was “the best of the rest”. Skinner, Christian Iddon and reigning BSB champion Tommy Bridewell (Honda) followed in 5th to 7th.

The second race in the afternoon at the Circuito de Navarra was also dominated by the Japanese brand Yamaha. Once again Ryan Vickers, Kyle Ryde and former GP driver Danny Kent were able to pull away from the rest of the field. After 20 laps, Ryan Vickers crossed the finish line again as the first driver out of the 27 drivers who started. Kent and Ryde took 2nd and 3rd place.

Former Superbike world vice-champion Leon Haslam (BMW), who was 11th in race one, came fourth in race 2. Ducati rider Irwin and Jason O’Halloran (Kawasaki) completed the top six. Bridewell, who moved from Ducati to Honda as champion, set the fastest lap of the race, but retired early.

After the first of eleven 2024 BSB events, Vickers leads the Yamaha championship with 36 points. Kyle Ryde and Danny Kent are in second and third place with 30 points each, Ducati riders Christian Iddon and Glenn Irwin they complete the top five in the points table.

BSB status after event 1 of 11:

1. Ryan Vickers, Yamaha, 38 points
2. Danny Kent, Yamaha, 30
3. Kyle Ryde, Yamaha, 30
4. Christian Iddon, Ducati, 21
5. Glenn Irwin, Ducati, 20
6. Leon Haslam, BMW, 17
7. Max Cook, Kawasaki, 17
8. Jason O’Halloran, Kawasaki, 16
9. Charlie Nesbitt, Honda, 14
10. Rory Skinner, BMW, 11