The British Superbike Championship came back with a bang in 2021! After a disrupted and very condensed 2020 racing schedule (cheers COVID), we were stoked to see the championship return to its full glory and more importantly, excited to see Muc-Off’s stellar line up back on the track.
This year, we supported McAms Yamaha riders Tarran Mackenzie and Jason O’Halloran, alongside Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider and BSB legend in his own right, Tommy Bridewell. With three of BSB’s biggest names on the roster, we knew it was going to be a big season, so let’s take a look at what they’ve achieved…
Tarran Mackenzie
Taking a 5th place in the 2020 championship, Taz came out fighting in 2021 and looked hungry for the championship. With six race wins, three 2nd and five 3rd places coming into the final round at Brands Hatch – it was pretty clear that this year, the pocket rocket was a man on a mission.
This season started quietly for number 95 but then in Round three, he stepped it up a gear, being crowned “The King Of Brands” after placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd on the podium across the three races. From there, it’s been full gas. The highs of Snetterton and two 1st place finishes were contrasted by the lows of race one at Silverstone, where a nasty accident in the wet conditions saw the two McAms riders collide. But Mackenzie strapped up, got back on the bike and ate a slice of podium pie, lifting the cup in the consecutive races of the day.
Coming into the final weekend at Brands Hatch and sat at the top of the table, Mackenzie sealed the championship deal in emphatic style by taking three wins from three to lift the 2021 BSB Championship trophy. A rollercoaster of a season for both him, and the team, and we can’t wait to see what he does next.
Jason O’Halloran
2020 championship runner up and the BSB’s favourite Aussie set the bar high and opened the season with a triple win at Oulton Park in round one, and another triple at Thruxton in round four. Not here to mess around, ‘The O Show’ has been a regular face to step onto the podium – with 10 wins, four 2nd and four 3rd places, he more than earned the nickname ‘Mr Consistent’!
O’Halloran had a solid lead, but a rough weekend at Oulton Park saw O’Halloran relinquish his lead for the first time in the year. As the end of the season drew closer, competition with his teammate heated up and it was down to the last round at Brands Hatch to decide who would be lifting the 2021 silverware…
Brands proved competitive, and as O’Halloran narrowly missed out on the podium in Race one, he came back with a bang to grab two 3rd places in races two and three – securing a third in the championship and just four points behind second place.
Tommy Bridewell
Muc-Off newbie but BSB veteran Tommy Bridewell has had another cracking season in 2021 after returning to the track with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team. Things were looking leggy at the start of the season as Bridewell struggled to find rhythm with the new bike, but at Donnington – things turned around significantly. Bridewell secured his first win of the season which ignited a series of podium finishes taking two 1st’s, four 2nd and six 3rd place finishes before heading into the Brands Hatch finale.
After working hard to reach the top three in the championship stakes, one unfortunate error left him down in fourth – only six points behind Christian Iddon. It was all or nothing in the final round and his performance was faultless – battling hard with rivals Mackenzie and O’Halloran to secure three 2nd places across the three races. A nail-biting penultimate lap in race two allowed Bridewell to edge ahead of O’Halloran, and an epic ride in race three secured the deal, landing him a solid second in the championship.
