Iddon’s back in the game
Christian Iddon takes the fight to The Showdown contenders
By Greg Haines
Christian Iddon may have been down but he is certainly not out. That was proved at Donington Park last weekend as the Tyco BMW rider bagged two top six results, even though he was riding with a broken footpeg.
After starting from fifth on the grid, the 34-year-old from Stockport made a welcome return to the front of a BSB race. Race One saw a podium chance go out the window when the aforementioned footpeg gave way, but he still held sixth before backing it up with fifth spot in the later encounter. Iddon may have never made it as far as The Showdown but his Donington performances confirmed it could have been on the cards had he not suffered a badly broken leg earlier in the season.
“I bust my left fibula at Knockhill and still have a lot of bother with it, but not when I’m riding,” Iddon told MCN on Sunday. “I won’t be winning any running races anytime soon! The pain will go away but it’s taking its time.
“As any BMW rider will say, the bike is quick even though we haven’t had any engine upgrades. With no electronic aids in BSB, a lot of teams end up taking power out of their motors. For us, it’s not a power defecit but we’re lacking in that ability to overtake. You can race somebody but not ‘half-wheel them’ which, when everyone brakes as late as they do, makes it very difficult to get alongside. We’ve had next to no time to test outside of race meetings – I think I’ve spent one day on the bike in its current form. “I feel I’ve ridden just as well as any other year. I’m very frustrated with results but content with my riding. For 2020, I’m talking to people. Like it or not, there is a racing hierarchy - it feeds its way down. A few players still need to confirm their seats. Every team is chasing certain riders but I’m reasonably clear on what is happening.”
As dominant as the Ducatis of Redding, Brookes and Bridewell have been, their Showdown rivals have also lacked consistency. Smiths BMW’s Peter Hickman was fourth in Race One but retired from Race Two when his chain came off. Setup changes saw Danny Buchan get a fourth off the back of a tenth, while fellow Showdown man Tarran Mackenzie managed only 12th and ninth spots. It wasn’t a great day either for the other Mackenzie, Taylor, who replaced Glenn Irwin aboard the Tyco BMW. He qualified well pushing his brother out of Q3 for ninth, but the 26-year-old missed both BSB races after he was concussed in a Superstock crash.