Tommy Bridewell celebrated his first ever Bennetts British Superbike Championship treble win at Snetterton ahead of Glenn Irwin following an intense final encounter as the BeerMonster Ducati teammates ended the race separated by just 0.032s at the chequered flag.
At the start of the race home contender Ryan Vickers launched into the lead from Bridewell, Josh Brookes and Irwin with Leon Haslam and Danny Kent in close contention.
Brookes was instantly on the attack and grabbed second at Brundle, before fighting for the lead. Initially he made a move into Riches on the second lap before Vickers reclaimed the position.
It was another disappointing race for Peter Hickman as he crashed out with Franco Bourne at Wilson on the second lap, but at the front, his FHO Racing BMW Motorrad teammate grabbed the lead at Nelson on the same lap.
Tommy Bridewell was carving his way up the order and he moved into second on lap three, but his BeerMonster Ducati teammate was soon behind him as he dived into third at Brundle ahead of Vickers.
Brookes continued to lead the pack as Irwin moved into second on lap at Agostini on lap four, easing his teammate back into third. However, the pair had Haslam for company and the ‘Pocket Rocket’ moved into third a lap later, launching ahead of Bridewell at Riches.
Irwin and Haslam were then dicing for second but after swapping places on the seventh lap, the BeerMonster Ducati rider remained ahead.
There was heartbreak for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team when Brookes was forced to retire on lap ten from the lead with a technical problem and that handed the position to Irwin, who was holding position ahead of Haslam, Bridewell and Vickers who completed the first pack on track but Christian Iddon was also pushing to close in.
As Irwin led, Bridewell was pushing Haslam for second and he made a pass on the brakes into Murrays on lap 12, but the ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider regained second into Riches. The BeerMonster Ducati rider wasn’t giving up though and as they approached Wilson, Bridewell was back ahead.
The BeerMonster Ducati teammates then duelled at the front with the battle for the podium finishes going all the way down to the wire, but Irwin had made a mistake at Wilson and after running wide he dropped to fourth and then had to regain the ground.
Irwin was hassling Bridewell all the way to the chequered flag with the narrowest of margins separating the pair at the chequered flag and Bridewell claiming the Quattro Race of Aces Trophy. Haslam and Vickers were also in close formation, but the ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider denied the Thetford contender a home round podium at the finish.
Iddon held onto fifth ahead of Jason O'Halloran who worked his way back up the order to finish sixth ahead of Lee Jackson and Kyle Ryde. Danny Kent held ninth ahead of Tito Rabat who claimed another Bennetts BSB top ten finish.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, Race 3 result:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) +0.032s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) +0.410s
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.763s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +2.504s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +3.230s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +3.616s
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +7.089s
- Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) +9.214s
- Tito Rabat (McAMS Yamaha) +10.183s
For the full race result please click here
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 217
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 192
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 171
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 168
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) 164
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 133
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 124
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 108
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 101
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 79
For the full standings please click here