Brands Hatch Weekend Delivers First Top-10 Finish of the Season

Fresh from another encouraging points finish at Snetterton, Kam Dixon arrived at Brands Hatch looking to continue the progress that had steadily developed over recent rounds in the 2026 Pirelli National Superstock Championship.

The annual visit to the Grand Prix circuit is one of the highlights of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship calendar. Combining the famous Indy layout with the fast, flowing woodland section through Hawthorn, Westfield and Dingle Dell, the 2.43-mile circuit rewards commitment and precision, with little margin for error.

While the opening session didn’t go to plan, Kam and the team responded well to produce their strongest weekend of the season so far.

Friday’s opening practice session was compromised almost immediately when a clutch problem prevented Kam from completing the programme the team had planned.

Although he completed 11 laps and set a best time of 1:29.061, the issue restricted both his running and outright pace, leaving him 18th fastest at the end of Free Practice 1.

With the fault rectified before the afternoon session, attention turned to making up the lost track time.

Back on circuit for FP2, Kam looked far more comfortable from the moment he left pit lane, quickly lowering his benchmark to 1:28.442 within his opening seven laps.

The session was interrupted when Richard White crashed at Surtees, bringing out the red flags. Once running resumed, Kam returned to the pits before heading back out for one final run on fresh tyres. His first flying lap wasn’t enough to improve as he searched for clear track, but another red flag with less than a minute remaining brought the session to an early conclusion while he was on what looked set to be his quickest lap of the day.

Despite the frustration, Friday ended on a much more positive note than it had begun. Kam finished 13th in FP2 and 13th overall in the combined practice classification, giving the team plenty to build on heading into qualifying.  

Reflecting on Friday’s running, Kam said:

"FP2 was definitely a step forward. I’m happy with my riding again, and we know there’s more to come."

 

Saturday morning’s qualifying session offered the first real indication of where Kam’s pace stood after Friday’s interrupted running.

After an opening run produced a best time of 1:28.562, Kam returned to the circuit with 12 minutes remaining and immediately began to find more time.

A lap of 1:27.815 was quickly followed by an even faster 1:27.678, securing 14th on the grid for Race One. The margin to Blaze Baker in 13th was just 0.049 seconds, underlining how closely matched the field remained.

It was another encouraging step forward and confirmation that the setback in Friday morning’s opening session had not affected the progress being made.

 

Following a delay to the start procedure, Race Control reduced the scheduled race distance from 14 laps to 12 before the lights finally went out.

Starting from 14th, Kam briefly slipped behind Daniel Brooks on the opening lap to drop to 15th, but remained firmly in touch with the group ahead.

The race was neutralised on lap three following Ramone Hunte’s crash at Westfield. Racing resumed at the end of lap five, with Kam continuing to apply pressure to Blaze Baker and Brooks in the battle for the final points-paying positions.

After several laps studying Baker’s lines, Kam moved back ahead towards the end of lap ten.

Moments later, Declan Connell suffered a heavy crash exiting Druids, bringing out the red flags. With the race unable to restart, the result was declared after ten laps.

Kam was classified 13th, just 1.335 seconds behind Brooks after another measured ride, while his fastest lap of 1:27.922 demonstrated the pace he had carried throughout the race. 

The result represented another step forward and left Kam well placed heading into Sunday’s final race.

 

Cooler conditions greeted the riders for Sunday morning’s Warm Up, but Kam continued where he had left off the previous afternoon.

A best lap of 1:28.055 placed him 13th fastest after six laps, providing another confidence boost ahead of Race Two.

Sunday afternoon’s final race took place in warm, dry conditions, with air temperatures reaching 20 degrees and the track warming to 32 degrees.

Before the race had even begun, Callum Bey was forced to pull into the pit lane at the end of the warm-up lap, reducing the number of starters.

Kam made another strong getaway and climbed to 12th before the opening lap was complete after Declan Connell crashed at Paddock Hill Bend.

Matt Truelove, recovering from the same first-corner incident, worked his way back through on lap three before another interruption followed almost immediately. Josh Owens suffered a huge highside exiting Clearways, bringing out the BMW Safety Car at the start of lap four.

Once racing resumed at the end of lap seven, Kam settled back into a consistent rhythm.

Ash Beech’s retirement with a technical problem at the end of lap nine promoted Kam back into 11th, before he gradually reduced the gap to Daniel Brooks over the closing laps.

Scott Swann’s retirement due to a technical problem then elevated Kam into the top ten, but there was still work to do. Brooks remained less than a second ahead, while Ricardo Brink continued to apply pressure from behind.

Kam held his nerve to bring the Honda home in 10th place, finishing just 0.550 seconds behind Brooks while recording a fastest lap of 1:27.863. 

It completed Kam’s strongest weekend of the season, with consecutive points finishes and his first top-10 result of the 2026 campaign.

Reflecting on the weekend, Kam said:

“Race One was another small step forward. I struggled for feeling at the start of the race and again after the Safety Car, but towards the end everything started to come together. I found some pace, started making moves and then the red flag came out, which was frustrating because I felt like there was more to come.

“We made a few small changes to the bike before Race Two and that gave me more confidence early in the race, although it did make overtaking a little more difficult and I found myself stuck behind the riders ahead. P10 is a positive result, even if it was helped by a couple of retirements in front of me. More importantly, I feel like I’m riding well again and we’re heading in the right direction.

“We’ve still got work to do before Oulton Park if we’re going to close the gap to the front runners, but I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made this weekend. A big thank you to the team for all their hard work.”

Brands Hatch represented another significant step forward for Kam and the team.

After losing valuable track time to a clutch problem in Friday’s opening session, they recovered well to improve the bike throughout the weekend, resulting in 13th place on Saturday before breaking into the top ten in Sunday’s final race.

Those results move Kam onto 23 championship points, leaving him 15th in the standings and just a single point away from 14th place as the championship heads to Oulton Park for Round 6 at the start of August.