Honda Racing tastes double success at Snetterton

Race Report Saturday 21st June 2025

Honda Racing scored the two best results of its 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) season so far as the series returns to action for Round 3 at Snetterton. In the first of three Superbike races this weekend, Tommy Bridewell rode his Honda Fireblade strongly to third place, claiming his and the team’s first podium of the season. Then in Supersport, defending champion Jack Kennedy delivered victory on his Honda CBR600RR.

Kennedy had set the early benchmark in the Supersport class by going fastest in the opening Free Practice session on Friday, following up with second place in the second session. Team-mate Dean Harrison, returning to the Quattro British Supersport Championship after his two TT wins a fortnight earlier, was ninth fastest in both sessions.

In Qualifying, Kennedy was second once again with Harrison setting ninth fastest time for the third consecutive session. At the start of the race, Kennedy got away cleanly and slotted into second place, chivvying the leader until the halfway point when he made his move.

In a battle of handling versus horsepower, the Irishman used every inch of the circuit and kept his cool despite intense pressure to deliver a crucial victory in his title defence - the 12th at Snetterton in his illustrious career. Harrison meanwhile was embroiled in some fast and furious pack racing, taking the chequered flag in eighth place.

The senior Superbike class had seen both Bridewell and team-mate Andrew Irwin setting competitive times in all three of their Free Practice sessions. Irwin’s times weren’t quite fast enough to keep him out of the first Qualifying session shootout for a shot at the front of the grid, in which he was comfortably the fastest, and he would ultimately line up in 14th place.

Bridewell meanwhile put his Fireblade in fourth position on the grid and made a strong start, making his way up to third and using his racecraft to deliver his and Honda’s best result of the 2025 BSB season. Irwin also began strongly and was challenging for 11th when a collision forced him out.

Tommy Bridewell

“It’s a very, very positive weekend for sure. I think the Honda team is doing a good job and I’m really happy with the way I’m riding. Frustratingly, I’ve always been riding like I am. I’m not riding any differently, it’s just that the bike is allowing me to do what I am capable of doing. We had a good Qualifying, I was happy with that, and then I knew we could fight in the top four. I knew there was the possibility of a podium on offer, so I was quite confident that it was just about getting away cleanly off the line - which I did. I didn’t anticipate having such good race pace. Honestly, I thought it might be a bit of a ding-dong, and to be able to put 10 seconds over the guys in fourth and behind was really good for us. It looks like we are in a strong position. I was just riding as hard as I could to break the rest and I caught Kyle Ryde in second but I was riding over the limit of the bike to get there so it’s clear where the few areas are that we need to improve. We’ve just got to keep building on today’s result. We’re on the front row for the race tomorrow and I made a good start today so we’ll see what we can do.”

Andrew Irwin

“I don’t feel too bad today. I think in the race it actually felt quite good. I made a mistake so I apologise to DAO Racing and to Lee Jackson for that. We didn’t make the most of what we had in the Honda Fireblade today. I think we should have been in the battle for fourth, really, but we weren’t. I start tomorrow from 15th so we’ll try and get a good lap time in during the race in the morning to give us a good grid spot for Race 3 in the afternoon.”

Jack Kennedy

“Absolutely delighted after the last round at Donington, not finishing on the podium, I had sort of the bit between my teeth to perform better. I wanted me to do a better job, the team to do a better job, and we couldn’t have done any better than we did in that race. The weekend’s gone really smoothly, a good job in Qualifying and a great race. I rode the absolute wheels off the Honda CBR600RR and it took it as well - a credit to the team because how well they set it up allowed me to ride it that hard. Basically, I just rode the absolute wheels off it to keep what are essentially quicker bikes behind me. I was very close to pushing over the limit but I’m really happy with my performance and it does me really great in the championship as well. A great day’s work in really hot conditions so credit to my team and we look forward to tomorrow when we’re second on the grid. Front row is good for me and we’ll get stuck in again tomorrow.”

Dean Harrison

“I had quite an entertaining race. I went wide at the hairpin and dropped back and then almost out-braked myself but the guy I was racing braked later than me and he sailed on so that wasn’t too bad at all. I saw a bit of action out there to be fair. There was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with people. It was a good start to this weekend for me at Snetterton, I knew it was going to be difficult because this is probably my worst track, so I’m glad to be starting on row 3 again tomorrow. Stu, my crew chief, and me have got a few ideas for what to do tomorrow that we’ll try in the warm-up and then we’ll see what we can do. Just got to keep chipping those points in!”

Team Manager Havier Beltran

“I am delighted for the whole team to have really got our 2025 British Superbike and British Supersport championship seasons moving in the right direction after the long break since Round 2. The results that we have seen today are the result of a lot of work, and there will be more work to come, but I think that it gives everyone in the team a lift when they taste what we are working towards. Congratulations to Jack on a quality performance, and Tommy, I think, is getting closer and closer to that sweet spot with the bike. Obviously we want to build from here to fight for both titles.”