Iddon back on top of the box!

Christian Iddon and his Oxford Products Racing Moto Rapido Ducati made their first trip to the top step of the podium together as the British Superbike Championship headed north of the border to Knockhill for round 4 of the series.

Following on from a battling round 3 at Donington, Christian Iddon and his Oxford Products Moto Rapido Ducati squad were keen to come back fighting at Knockhill for round 4 of the Championship. A circuit that has previously been kind to both Iddon and Ducati machinery.

However, from the first practice sessions it seemed things would not be so easy as Christian struggled to find the pace required in the varying conditions and for the first time this year he he would have to progress through the first part of qualifying.

This proved no easy feat as he narrowly snuck through but in the second part of qualifying it seemed Christian and the team were able to find a little more pace and qualified on the 3rd row of the grid.

For the first race, the rain clouds cleared and the race was held in near dry conditions. Iddon was quick at the beginning and was able to move up to 5th. As the race progressed it seemed he would hold position but with a handful of laps to go he was taken down by another rider and forced out of the race.

Sunday was to be wet all day and in the first encounter Iddon made good progress up to second position where he hounded Rory Skinner all the way through the race. It seemed they were set for a final few laps showdown but Christians bike suffered a small electrical fault due and Christian had to relinquish his chance to battle and instead, brought the bike home in a strong 2nd position for his and the teams fourth podium of the year.

In the final race it was clear Christian and his bike were working as one as he made his way into the lead. He held that lead with a slender advantage all race until the red flag flew and the result was declared giving Iddon and Oxford Products Moto Rapido Ducati their first win together.

Christian now sits 4th overall in the Championship standings.

After the weekend Iddon commented;

“What a weekend. I honestly don’t know where to start but in the end we have achieved something great together and it’s a great reward for everyone’s hard work.”

“The weekend actually started off as one of the hardest we have ever had as I just could not find a feeling with the bike in any of the conditions and it wasn’t until the second part of qualifying that I actually found any kind of connection with my bike”

“The first race was going quite well. Nothing spectacular but it would have been a good haul of points over most of my main championship rivals but I ended up getting taken down. Not only did this lose us valuable points but it aggravated my shoulder injury from the previous round.”

“Sunday was wet all day and that helped my injury a lot so that was really fortunate but we will take that bit of fortune for once. I felt good in the first Sunday race and managed to sit behind Skinner and understand where he was fast and where I could improve and towards the end I was ready to mount a challenge but we suffered a slight technical which meant I just couldn’t attack but to take the podium in 2nd was still great”

“At the start of the final race my bike felt fantastic and I was keen to get to the front. My bike allowed me to set strong and consistent pace and I was just racing my pit board out front. The track started to dry up though and the grip went away completely. It seems everyone was in the same predicament though as my gap maintained.”

“The race was cut short due to a crash but the result was declared and I was able to take my first win with the team and what a fantastic feeling. I’m so grateful for this and for all the hard work everyone puts in. We had a tough round previously and a very difficult start here in Scotland but we dug deep and pulled out the result!”

The next round of the championship is at Snetterton on the 5th-7th July