Saturday’s track action of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Finale at Brands Hatch saw McAMS Racing and Danny Kent storm to an exceptional debut victory, taking the lead and controlling the pace from half-race distance, fending off pressure from Yamaha counterpart, Ryan Vickers.

The rider from Tetbury secured his debut victory in his 100^th Bennetts BSB race of his career, marking the significant milestone with what will be one of the most memorable moments of his Bennetts BSB career.

Heading into the weekend, having secured a runner-up position last time out at Donington Park, Kent and the team set their sight on making a return to the front.

After overcoming challenges in Friday’s opening day of action, the #52 rider made the cut into Qualifying 2, setting his best lap time of the weekend in the final 5 minutes of the session, after a crash at Sertees put the McAMS-supported squad on the back foot with 30 minutes remaining.

In Saturday’s Qualifying 2 session, Kent took to a drying track aboard wet tyres, before instantly rolling back down the pit-lane to switch to a dry set-up. The team worked like clockwork, under the pressure of having only a small window to punch in a strong lap time ahead of the opening race of the weekend.

A red flag incident brought play to a halt before the field ventured back on track yet again for the final six minutes of the session. A best lap time of 1:25.705 landed Kent in eighth on the grid, a result that failed to reflect his true potential, as was proven during the entirety of the 20-lap charge that followed.

At lights out, from eighth on the grid, Kent made a blistering start from the line to sit in second place at Turn 2.  Falling back to fifth on the following lap, the former Moto3 World Champion began picking one rider off at a time, making up ground to regain a spot in the leading three on the third lap.

With eyes focused forwards, a lunge at Druids saw him retain his spot in second and begin chasing down the lead rider of Yamaha counterpart, Vickers.

Taking tenths at a time, the R1 rider quickly pulled away from third, inserting himself hot on the heels of the lead. After sniffing around the back wheel of Vickers, an eventual pass would come on the entry to Turn 1 on Lap 9.

From there, Kent pulled the pin to produce a gap of 1.3 seconds by the end of lap 10. Continuing to control the pace, Kent set the best lap time of the race of 1:35.810 on Lap 15, answering back to a late-charging Ryan Vickers who began applying pressure within the final stage.

Kent’s form in the closing laps proved too competitive to match, eventually crossing the line 1.6 seconds ahead to clinch a well-deserved and much-awaited debut win.

Heading into tomorrow’s action Kent and the team have narrowed the gap to third place in the overall championship standings, reducing a 62-point gap down to just 27. The Yamaha rider goes from Pole position for the opening race tomorrow with full-focus on ending the 2024 season in positive style.

Danny Kent
Race 1 – P1

“It’s an amazing feeling to have achieved my first Bennetts British Superbike Championship win. I feel over the moon with my performance today, and I can’t thank the team enough for giving me a package capable of fighting at the front. It’s been a long time coming, not through lack of trying; sometimes you just need everything to align. Today was one of those days. I’m really happy for McAMS Racing, to share our debut win together is a great way to spend the final round of 2024. We’ve also narrowed the points gap to third in the standings, and with two more to go this weekend, we’ll focus ahead and aim to do more of the same tomorrow.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“We’re really pleased to pick up our first win in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. Danny rode a great race and controlled it really well when confronted with pressure from Ryan Vickers. The team gave him a great bike, so a huge credit to them for all of their hard work. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors for helping us get this far. It’s nice to get that first win out of the way and do that during the final weekend of our first year with the backing of McAMS. Hopefully, we can build on today’s effort and achieve more of the same tomorrow.”

Chris Anderson
Crew Chief

“Danny rode the perfect race today, and both myself and the team couldn’t be more proud of him. He made a fantastic start, sitting in second place in the early stages after starting from eighth on the grid. He controlled the race beautifully and answered pressure from Ryan Vickers towards the closing stages. We’re chuffed with that result, and it’s great for him to have achieved his first win in his 100^th Bennetts BSB race. It’s also great for Tim and Sonya to pick up their first superbike win. Let’s look towards tomorrow and aim to end 2024 on a high!”

McAMS Racing and Danny Kent wrapped up the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship in positive style, securing a duo of fourth-place finishes throughout Sunday’s track action to cap off a strong weekend with a further set of good results.

The opening race of Sunday, which was also the final 12-lap Sprint Race of 2024, saw the Tetbury rider start from Pole Position, following Saturday’s sensational performance to clinch a debut victory.

At lights out, Kent slipped down to fifth at just after half race distance. With an ambition to progress, the former Moto3 World Champion made his way back to fourth, holding position until the end to bring home 24 points for his season campaign.

Heading into the final race of the weekend, Kent sat eighth on the grid with focus remaining on moving forwards throughout the 20-lap charge.

A strong start saw the #52 rider enter sixth on the opening lap, progressing onwards to fourth before reaching the line by the end of Lap 20 and equaling his best result of the day.

For the McAMS-backed outfit and Kent, the 2024 season has been a year of strong form and challenges along the way. Having demonstrated sheer speed throughout the year and completing the entirety of the season with no technical-related issues, the family-run squad sit fourth in the overall standings.

Danny Kent
Race 2 – P3
Race 3 -P4

“I’m feeling relatively happy with our season. There’s no denying that it’s been an up-and-down year, but overall, I feel like me and the team have done a great job. To walk away from the year with nine podiums is a great feeling, and to cap the season off with my debut win in Race 1 was a big step forward. From here, I’m fully focused on the 2025 season, where we aim to improve. My self-belief has grown a lot this year. It was a special feeling to get my debut win. The team and I have worked so hard, so if we were to have gone into Winter without a win, I would have been slightly disappointed. Thanks to the team for all of their hard work throughout 2024.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“Danny and the team have done a great job this weekend to round the 2024 season off in a strong way. We feel happy with the progress that we’ve made throughout the year and I can’t thank the team enough for all of their hard work. We overcame challenges and fought back from losses. But overall, I’m extremely happy with the direction that we’ve gone in. Our debut win as a team yesterday was an incredible feeling and one that I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for. The only way is up, and we’re already excited to see what’s possible in 2025.”