Triple podium place see Hayfield's Christian Iddon close gap on leader

It leaves him third in the standings and just fifteen points behind title rival Tarran Mackenzie [Yamaha] with one round to go.

A fall in Qualifying left Iddon with a lot to do, sitting seventeenth on the grid for race one. But unfazed by awful wet conditions, a trademark start from the Visiontrack Ducati rider saw him climb to ninth at the end of the first lap. Iddon made steady progress through the rest of the encounter, dealing brilliantly with the slippery surface to climb to third as the chequered flag fell.

Starting the second clash a little further forward, fourth on the grid, he made an immediate impact on the race climbing to second on the road, and by lap eleven he’d taken the lead. With four laps to go he conceded to Mackenzie and Danny Buchan [BMW], going on to take a third place finish.

The final race looked like it might never get started, as heavy rain caused a delay after two lots of warm-up laps were aborted and the rider headed to the pits. As the storm clouds passed Iddon climbed immediately from his fourth placed grid spot to second, and would hold the place to the flag.

Iddon said: “The Championship standings are so much better. We’ve reduced the gap from thirty-three to fifteen [points], that’s the main thing, it’s all to play for at Brands Hatch now.

“We’ve had a good weekend and managed to stay onboard in treacherous conditions in race one and three.

“I’m also happy that we stayed near the front in the dry as well. In all conditions, it was good to be competitive in every way.

“Race one was good to get that first podium. I got through to about ninth on the opening lap, and that many people fell off that I didn’t have to pass many people following on from there.

“Race two in the dry I struggled, I was surprised that we got a podium in that race, but the pace was slower.

“That final Race was probably the best one of the weekend, I had a much better feeling on the bike, in the wet, than I’ve had in a long time.”

The final round of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike takes place at Brands Hatch on the 15-17 October.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​