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Bennetts BSB Pit Lane Reporter Larry ‘Scoop’ Carter, gives Knockhill a unique and exclusive preview of the 2025 season ahead…
When Tommy Bridewell pipped BeerMonster Ducati teammate Glenn Irwin to win the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship by half a point in a thrilling finale at Brands Hatch, most people said at the time it doesn’t get any better.
Fast forward twelve months to the same Kent venue, this time with OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing’s Kyle Ryde the main stooge to defending champion Bridewell, now aboard a Honda, where a similar, but even more dramatic scenario was played out.
Culminating in a ‘winner-takes-all’ final race of the season, it was as if it had been written in the stars that it came down to an on-track battle between Bridewell and Ryde, with all the supporting cast watching on from behind as the world witnessed what has to be one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, races of all time in British Superbike history.
The lead changed on virtually every lap, on every corner in some cases, as the pair went at it like a pair of bare-knuckle fighters. They even collided at one point, but both stayed aboard to play out the greatest last lap ever seen on a British race track. Try as he might, with the Honda slewing sideways out of the final corner, Bridewell, despite a new outright lap record, couldn’t get the better of Ryde who took the win by 0.296 seconds to clinch his debut title by a single point.
So that’s two BSB titles to have been decided in the last two years by the sum total of one and a half points!
On the way to the grid to acknowledge Ryde after his celebratory cool-down lap, and with over 50,000 trackside fans still screaming themselves hoarse, I bumped into Race Director Stuart Higgs who is a veteran of over 700 BSB races – and many others beside – who was as ashen-faced as me. We exchanged some friendly expletives as simply we couldn’t believe what we had just witnessed – the greatest race ever.
So, with that surreal day as an enduring memory as we headed into the depths of winter, what then does 2025 held in store? More of the same we hope, and with most bums now confirmed on seats, then there’s no reason which this season shouldn’t be another cracker.
From a Scottish perspective, this year is set to be significant for a number of reasons, one of which is for the first time since 2007, there will be three riders from north of the border, all of whom have podium pedigree and are serious contenders.
And what’s more, whereas the likes of the Mackenzie clan are Scottish through-and through and fiercely proud of their heritage, both Tarran and Taylor have lived in England virtually all their lives, and both speak with a distinct Midlands accent. Likewise, the now-retired Danny Buchan, who always reminded us of his Scottish ancestry every time he raced, and indeed won, at Knockhill, but you could have been mistaken when you listened to his dulcet Essex tones.
However, in the shape of Rory Skinner, Lewis Rollo, and John McPhee, you have three Scotsmen who reside in Scotland, speak with broad accents and all are capable of winning.
Take ‘Skindoo’ for starters. A memorable career-first win at Knockhill last June aboard the Cheshire Mouldings BMW should have been the catalyst for a title challenge, but less than a month later, he was laid on the floor at Snetterton with a broken leg which effectively ended his challenge. Skinner is back with the same TAS team this year, only with Ducati power underneath him, so expect the rider from just up the road from Knockhill at Scone, near Perth to come out bouncing this year.
After 15 years in the World Championships which saw him win four Grands Prix, Oban’s John McPhee makes his BSB debut for the MasterMac Honda team. Now 30 years old and no longer the ‘Wee McPhee’, John joins a wealth of knowledge and experience in Steve and Stuart Hicken’s team and although it’s a very long time ago, at least he has some experience of the UK tracks, although this time he’ll be arriving at corners a lot faster than in his 125 days!
And then there’s the reigning BSB Pathway champion Lewis Rollo who will campaign a full Superbike-spec Aprilia RSV4 for Ian Newton’s SENCAT team as he enters his second year in the Championship. The slow-talking rider out of the village of Gifford near Haddington very nearly won the race in the wet at Snetterton outright last year, having to settle for second place behind a flying Storm Stacey, but 2025 should be a breakthrough year for the talented youngster.
In other news, I’ve entered the Border Access Knockhill Stages Rally which takes place on Sunday 16th February, so I’ll be bringing my little Peugeot 206 up for a play. A few of us from my neck of the woods in North Yorkshire decided, when the Jack Frost Rally was cancelled at Croft, we’d have a ride up to Knockhill so I’m looking forward to it. I’ve done two previous rallies at Knockhill and thoroughly enjoyed them, all I need is a co-driver and if I can’t find one, I may be leaning on some staff from Knockhill, although Duncan Vincent and Stuart Gray are playing hard to get at present. Anyone know what Flash is up to these days…?
I’ll do a report on that next month, along with a look at some of the leading runners and riders of what is looking to be an exciting BSB championship once again – if we can stand the drama!
Make sure you get your tickets in good time for the Knockhill BSB round which takes place on July 4/6 and comprises round four of the series once again. And don’t forget to order a programme too as we’ll make sure there’s plenty of coverage of the locals in it once again!
Bennetts BSB Pit Lane Reporter Larry ‘Scoop’ Carter, gives Knockhill a unique and exclusive preview of the 2025 season ahead…
When Tommy Bridewell pipped BeerMonster Ducati teammate Glenn Irwin to win the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship by half a point in a thrilling finale at Brands Hatch, most people said at the time it doesn’t get any better.
Fast forward twelve months to the same Kent venue, this time with OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing’s Kyle Ryde the main stooge to defending champion Bridewell, now aboard a Honda, where a similar, but even more dramatic scenario was played out.
Culminating in a ‘winner-takes-all’ final race of the season, it was as if it had been written in the stars that it came down to an on-track battle between Bridewell and Ryde, with all the supporting cast watching on from behind as the world witnessed what has to be one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, races of all time in British Superbike history.
The lead changed on virtually every lap, on every corner in some cases, as the pair went at it like a pair of bare-knuckle fighters. They even collided at one point, but both stayed aboard to play out the greatest last lap ever seen on a British race track. Try as he might, with the Honda slewing sideways out of the final corner, Bridewell, despite a new outright lap record, couldn’t get the better of Ryde who took the win by 0.296 seconds to clinch his debut title by a single point.
So that’s two BSB titles to have been decided in the last two years by the sum total of one and a half points!
On the way to the grid to acknowledge Ryde after his celebratory cool-down lap, and with over 50,000 trackside fans still screaming themselves hoarse, I bumped into Race Director Stuart Higgs who is a veteran of over 700 BSB races – and many others beside – who was as ashen-faced as me. We exchanged some friendly expletives as simply we couldn’t believe what we had just witnessed – the greatest race ever.
So, with that surreal day as an enduring memory as we headed into the depths of winter, what then does 2025 held in store? More of the same we hope, and with most bums now confirmed on seats, then there’s no reason which this season shouldn’t be another cracker.
From a Scottish perspective, this year is set to be significant for a number of reasons, one of which is for the first time since 2007, there will be three riders from north of the border, all of whom have podium pedigree and are serious contenders.
And what’s more, whereas the likes of the Mackenzie clan are Scottish through-and through and fiercely proud of their heritage, both Tarran and Taylor have lived in England virtually all their lives, and both speak with a distinct Midlands accent. Likewise, the now-retired Danny Buchan, who always reminded us of his Scottish ancestry every time he raced, and indeed won, at Knockhill, but you could have been mistaken when you listened to his dulcet Essex tones.
However, in the shape of Rory Skinner, Lewis Rollo, and John McPhee, you have three Scotsmen who reside in Scotland, speak with broad accents and all are capable of winning.
Take ‘Skindoo’ for starters. A memorable career-first win at Knockhill last June aboard the Cheshire Mouldings BMW should have been the catalyst for a title challenge, but less than a month later, he was laid on the floor at Snetterton with a broken leg which effectively ended his challenge. Skinner is back with the same TAS team this year, only with Ducati power underneath him, so expect the rider from just up the road from Knockhill at Scone, near Perth to come out bouncing this year.
After 15 years in the World Championships which saw him win four Grands Prix, Oban’s John McPhee makes his BSB debut for the MasterMac Honda team. Now 30 years old and no longer the ‘Wee McPhee’, John joins a wealth of knowledge and experience in Steve and Stuart Hicken’s team and although it’s a very long time ago, at least he has some experience of the UK tracks, although this time he’ll be arriving at corners a lot faster than in his 125 days!
And then there’s the reigning BSB Pathway champion Lewis Rollo who will campaign a full Superbike-spec Aprilia RSV4 for Ian Newton’s SENCAT team as he enters his second year in the Championship. The slow-talking rider out of the village of Gifford near Haddington very nearly won the race in the wet at Snetterton outright last year, having to settle for second place behind a flying Storm Stacey, but 2025 should be a breakthrough year for the talented youngster.
In other news, I’ve entered the Border Access Knockhill Stages Rally which takes place on Sunday 16th February, so I’ll be bringing my little Peugeot 206 up for a play. A few of us from my neck of the woods in North Yorkshire decided, when the Jack Frost Rally was cancelled at Croft, we’d have a ride up to Knockhill so I’m looking forward to it. I’ve done two previous rallies at Knockhill and thoroughly enjoyed them, all I need is a co-driver and if I can’t find one, I may be leaning on some staff from Knockhill, although Duncan Vincent and Stuart Gray are playing hard to get at present. Anyone know what Flash is up to these days…?
I’ll do a report on that next month, along with a look at some of the leading runners and riders of what is looking to be an exciting BSB championship once again – if we can stand the drama!
Make sure you get your tickets in good time for the Knockhill BSB round which takes place on July 4/6 and comprises round four of the series once again. And don’t forget to order a programme too as we’ll make sure there’s plenty of coverage of the locals in it once again!
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