BSB Brands Hatch Race 2 Results | Hickman escapes for first win of season

Peter Hickman has secured his first victory of the 2022 British Superbike Championship (BSB) season after breaking free of the chasing pack in the penultimate race of the year to prevail at Brands Hatch.

Going one better than his second place finish in Saturday’s first race, Hickman picked his way to the front of a closely-matched four-strong lead pack to snatch the lead on the fourth lap and remain clear of an increasingly fraught battle for position directly behind him.

There was disappointment, however, for newly crowned 2022 BSB Champion Bradley Ray after a rare error led to him crashing out spectacularly at Paddock Hill Bend on the second lap.

Indeed, Ray came into the race looking to christen his newfound status as champion by returning to the form that had seen him complete a famous run to the 2022 BSB title with nine wins and 24 podiums to his name.

However, after settling into fifth place early on, Ray would lose the RICH Energy OMG Yamaha mid-way around the first turn, sending his R1 barrelling through the gravel trap and out of the race for only his second DNF of the entire season.

His exit swelled a large gap that had formed behind a lead group quartet comprising the Irwin brothers - Glenn ahead of Andrew - Hickman and Danny Buchan.

With Hickman and Buchan engaged in a battle for the BSB Riders’ Cup - the de facto ‘best of the rest’ trophy going to the highest-placed non-Title Showdown contender - the FHO BMW rider pushed on quickly to first dispatch of Andrew Irwin before slipping past Glenn Irwin at Paddock Hill Bend.

From here, though the Louth rider couldn’t shake his rivals entirely, their squabbling behind him would allow him the breathing room to complete the first win of the season to go with his four headline-grabbing victories on the 2022 Isle of Man TT.

Buchan came through to second to keep Hickman honest in their BSB Riders’ Cup duel, the pair now separated by 16 points coming into the very final race of the season.

Race one winner Irwin completed the podium but not before he was very nearly caught up in a controversial final lap collision involving his brother Andrew Irwin and Jason O’Halloran.

Andrew Irwin had picked his way up to third for a provisional Synetiq BMW double podium before Glenn Irwin would get back through on Lap 16. A fast-charging O’Halloran - having pulled back several seconds in bridging the gap to the lead group - duly followed suit on Lap 18.

However, with his attempts to grab the final podium spot from Glenn Irwin inviting Andrew Irwin back into the fray on the last lap, the latter’s robust lunge to the inside of O’Halloran at Surtees would result in contact that shoved the McAMS Yamaha down and out of the race.

It marks yet another bruising DNF for the Australian following his two dramatic crashes at Oulton Park and again at Donington Park, compounding a dismal end to the season for one of the pre-Showdown title favourites.

With Andrew Irwin dropping to eighth at the flag, into fourth came Kyle Ryde, followed by Tommy Bridewell, who put in a storming performance to fifth having started from the pit-lane due to glitches before the warm-up lap.

Danny Kent landed another season’s best result with his run to sixth, ahead of Buildbase Suzuki team-mate Christian Iddon, while Charlie Nesbitt on the third of the GSX-R1000R’s was an excellent ninth behind Irwin.

Josh Brookes completed the top ten, leading home MCE Ducati team-mate Tom Sykes, Josh Owens, Dean Harrison, Takumi Takahashi and Storm Stacey.

Meanwhile, FS-3 Kawasaki have been forced to end their season early following an injury for Lee Jackson that ruled him out of the final two races. He joins Rory Skinner on the sidelines after he was forced out due to his crash at Oulton Park.

2022 British Superbike Championship | Brands Hatch | Race 2 RESULTS