It was all change as the chequered flag waved as🐈 Kyle Ryde snapped up a late pole position at the ninth round of the championship, as BSB made it’s return to Oulton Park to get the Showdown p൩ortion of the season underway.

Tommy Bridewell had been sitting at the top of the timesheets and feeling he had done all he could, was off his bike and debriefing in his pit box with two minutes remainin🌳g.

Almost as he sat down, Josh Brookes had popped up at the top of the timesheets, but the late chan🃏ges were not over.

Sitting fourth, Ryde was out fo꧋r a final run𒁏 on his OMG Grilla Yamaha and had Danny Kent in the distance to use as a marker after several slow laps in traffic.

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As the flag came out, Ryde crossed the lin🤪e and took a very lat☂e pole with a lap of 1m 33.715s.

Brookes had looked back to his best on Friday finishing the day second for FHO Racing. The BMW Motor💞rad rider held on to second on the grid, just 0.040s behind after a huge final sector, crediting his team for getting him in the running on the op🎃ening day instead of having to play catch-up with the turnaround.

Championship leader Bridewell, by contrast, got off to a slow start🥂 on Friday, finishing the day twelf🧜th and only just making the cut to go directly into Q2. FP3 gave the chance to show improvements had been found, finishing second, which gave the promise of a strong qualifying.

That looked likely t༒o be pole before the late drama, leaving the Honda UK rider third.

Glenn Irwin was sat in second when he stopped on track late in🐬 the session with an issue on his Hager Ducati🍷.

The PBM ri🐓der attempted to restart, but oil by the tyre saw flames spray out of the side of his bike, leaving the Northern Irish rider out of action as he dropped to fourth.

Arriving on fine form after topping both Friday sessions, Charlie Nesbitt was looking to build on a strong performance at the last round at Cadwell Park, ﷽which saw him pick up a front row start, a podium finish and two fourth ಞplaces.

The MasterMac Honda rider then topped t𓆏he morning FP3 session right before qualifying, but was pushed ba🙈ck in an incredibly close Q2, just 0.298s off the pole lap in fifth.

The🅠 whole team brought the Cadwell run of form to Oulton Park, with teammate Lee Jackson just behi🦋nd in sixth.

Ryan Vickers waജs seventh quickest on the second OMG Gril🍬la Yamaha, with eighth placed Leon Haslam also within half a second of pole for his ROKiT Haslam BMW Motorrad team.

McAMS rider Kent🐈 was ninth quickest, with Christian Iddon completing the top ten in the session for Oxford Products Ducati.

Jason O’Halloran was the 🥃best of the Q1 ꦅgraduates in eleventh for Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki.

Official British Superbike Oulton Park Records:

Lap record: Bradley Ray (Yamaha, 2022) 1m 33.626s

Oulton Park in 2023:

Lap record: Bradley Ray (Yamaha, 2022) 1m 33.620s

Oulton Park in 2023

Round 2
Qualifying:
1: Josh Brookes
2: Leon Haslam
3: Storm Stacey

Race 1:
1: Josh Brookes
2: Leon Haslam
3: Glenn Irwin

Race 2:
1: Tommy Bridewell
2: Glenn Irwin
3: Leon Haslam

Race 3:
1: Glenn Irwin 
2: Leon Haslam
3:Kyle Ryde

Round 9 (Showdown)

Qualifying:
1: Tommy Bridewell
2: Glenn Irwin
3: Kyle Ryde

Race 1: 
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Lee Jackson
3: Leon Haslam

Race 2: 
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Lee Jackson
3: Kyle Ryde

Race 3: 
1: Tommy Bridewell 
2: Glenn Irwin
3: Lee Jackson

Main Season 2024:
Qualifying:
1:  Kyle Ryde
2: Glenn Irwin
3: Ryan Vickers

Race 1: 
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Christian Iddon
3: Kyle Ryde

Race 2: 
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Tommy Bridewell
3: Christian Iddon

Race 3: 
1: Glenn Irwin 
2: Christian Iddon
3: Ryan Vickers

Q1- O’Halloran safely through as Cook and Stacey make late lunge for progression

Jason O’Halloran had sat at the top of the t🧸imesheets in the first sess🥀ion, and was comfortable enough to be sat in the pits, with fellow provisional place fillers Rory Skinner and Fraser Rogers.

Their confidence was mꦉisplaced as a late run from Max Cook (13th) saw him into second, followed on track by Storm Stacey (15th) who moved into third. Stacey tried the same tactic in Q2, but was shut down e🤪ach time by Cook.

That left Skinner as the first rider to miss out, so he will fill 16th♕ on the grid, with Rogers, who is still recovering from his double leg break, 17th🍬.

Andrew Irwin was on the limit, surviving a r♕ough trip over the kerb at Britten’s that almost unseated the Honda rider. Unable to tidy his⛄ lap, Irwin starts 18th.

Franco Bourne took part in FP3 but was due to be assessed after the session, with qualifying straight after. Bourne and the Rapid Honda team made the decision to wit♎hdraw from the weekend, with limited feeling in his 𝕴hand due to his scaphoid injury.

Richard Kerr (20th), after deputising for Rory Skinner at Cheshire Mouldings BMW, makes the switch to Team IWR, on more familiar Honda machinery - the manufacturer he took his Superstock title on - this time filling in for the injured Alex Olsen ಌon the Pathway bike.

Lewis Rollo, who already has the top Pathway entry title secured, is looking to be the top rookie in 2024 overall. His IN Competition/SENCAT Aprilia bike had an issue leav🌠ing him last on the grid.