Iddon’s top-ten brace on return to action
BENNETTS British Superbike rider Christian Iddon claimed a brace of top-ten finishes as he returned to duty for the first time since breaking bones in his hand during a fall at Oulton Park six weeks ago. The TYCO BMW racer claiming ninth and eighth place respectively in the series’ two outings at Snetterton in Norfolk.
It was a steady return to the saddle for Stockport’s Iddon, claiming twelfth, seventeenth and tenth as he put the miles in, in the opening free practice sessions of the weekend. Unlucky in qualifying, Christian missed out on Q3, the third and final qualifying run of the session, losing out by some three-tenths of a second, proving the nature of this ultracompetitive championship, Iddon would start the first of two races from fourteenth place.
Quick thinking from Iddon left him upright and able to continue, when an accident at Snetterton’s Montreal corner on the opening lap saw him caught up in the melee, but right at the back of the pack, the race neutralised temporarily by a brief safety-car period. Then with the bit between his teeth, the former Super Moto champion climbed steadily, claiming no less than nine places and ninth at the flag.
Lining up twelfth in race two, Christian was on the move quickly, grabbing tenth on lap two, by lap six he was eighth, and whilst he dropped briefly back to eleventh on lap eight, he quickly regained ninth, and was to cross the line in eighth spot after gaining one more place on the final lap of sixteen.
“I struggled a little during practice” admitted Iddon, “it’s been a long break since Oulton park especially with missing testing due to injury, however by qualifying I felt good on the bike.
“Race one was a little disappointing as I got caught up in another riders incident, but I managed to stay on and bring her home in ninth.
“Race two was completely different, we’d made some small changes and I felt really good on the bike. An unfortunate mid-race error hindered our chances, but I certainly had the pace for a fourth place. For a good portion of the race we were the fastest on track, it’s nice to know we still have the pace, I’m excited now about the upcoming tests and getting to Knockhilll and back in the game.”