Preview: stage set for British Superbike season opener

With 2022 British Superbike Champion Bradley Ray departing for pastures new in the World Superbike Championship, the coveted national crown is defenceless this season, and there is quite the queue of talented riders either looking to add to their existing tally of titles or claim it as their own for the first time.

You’ll be hard pushed to find a series with more bike racing pedigree than the BSB. There truly is a surplus of two-wheeled talent on the grid for 2023, helping to cement its place as one of the most prominent domestic bike series in the world ahead of the Silverstone season opener.

The 2023 contingent

The champions

Two previous champions call the BSB paddock home this year, the most recent and most decorated of which is Josh Brookes. With 54 wins and two championships to his name, the FHO Racing BMW rider is currently the most successful on the grid. Joining him as a fellow returning champ is Leon Haslam who isn’t far behind Brookes on 46 BSB victories, he will be riding for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team. Owing to their vast experience both domestically and on the world stage, both riders are equipped to challenge at the front year in, year out.

The race winners

Then come a swathe of BSB high fliers, not least of which is 2022 runner-up Glen Irwin who will undoubtedly be leading the title charge aboard the Paul Bird Motorsport Ducati – renamed BeerMonster Ducati for 2023. Partnering Irwin is Tommy Bridewell who completed the top three in the standings in 2022. The number 46 rider has been in a rich vein of form in recent years, also finishing as runner-up in 2021, so the BeerMonster bikes are certainly a duo to keep an eye on this season.

Lee Jackson is another competitor who will be champing at the bit for another chance at the title, having finished fourth last year. He’s joined by fellow BSB race winners Luke Mossey, Andrew Irwin, Christian Iddon – who finished third overall in 2020 and fourth in 2021 – Kyle Ryde, Danny Buchan and 2020 runner-up Jason O’Halloran. Each of these riders will have a point to prove and will be hoping to make the all-important jump from race winner to BSB champion this season.

The road racers

As is often the case, road racing royalty will utilise the BSB calendar in 2023 with the intention of keeping themselves sharp for key road events such as the Isle of Man TT. However, their pace on traditional circuits shouldn’t be underestimated. As has been proven in recent years, the road racers can be a consistent threat to the top BSB contenders.

Among them, is none other than Peter Hickman – a nine-time TT winner and outright lap record holder at the IOM with an average speed of 135.452mph. Dean Harrison is another multiple TT winner on the grid this season. Harrison has achieved three victories on the mountain course and holds the Superbike TT record (134.432mph average speed).

The hopefuls

The 2023 field comprises 28 highly skilled riders, some are known to the paddock, others are making their debut at the opening round at Silverstone having cut their teeth in the championship’s feeder series. Ex Moto GP rider Héctor Barberá and 2022 British Supersport Champion Jack Kennedy bolster the talent pool further this season and will both be hoping to be quick out of the blocks. One thing is for certain, each and every rider is highly motivated to claim the crown of BSB Champion for their own.

A taster from testing

Testing times are a contentious issue among the motorsport fandom, but if the stopwatch is to be believed then two-time champion Brookes looks like the man to beat this year. The Australian not only clocked the most laps at the recent Silverstone-based pre-season test, but he was also eight tenths clear of his nearest competitor Kyle Ryde on the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha.

It was the usual suspects that made up the remainder of the front runners, with Buchan third on his SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad, O’Halloran fourth (McAMS Yamaha) and Hickman fifth for FHO Racing BMW Motorrad. The outliers were the BeerMonster Ducati bikes of Bridewell and Irwin in P15 and P18 respectively, but as always, whether these times are indicative of the 2023 order remains to be seen.

Changes for 2023

In 2023, the Bennetts British Superbike Championship prepares for its biggest format shakeup in over a decade. That comes in the shape of an updated Showdown layout, one in which the top eight riders will no longer be elevated above the rest by accumulated podium credits. Instead, the main season events – rounds 1 to 8 – will award the top 15 with points on a scale (18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1) while the final three events will see an updated showdown points system. Rounds 10 and 11 will increase the points on offer to 25-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1, followed by another increase for Round 12 and the season finale (35-30-27-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2).

Join us for Round 1 - tickets available online.