May 1, 2023

BeerMonster Ducati Double Up At Oulton Park

The BeerMonster Ducati team enjoyed a superb day’s racing at Oulton Park today with both Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell taking a Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win each to occupy the first two places in the standings.

After Irwin’s podium finish yesterday in the BikeSocial Sprint race, today’s opening race saw Bridewell head home Irwin for the PBM team’s first one-two in three seasons, before Irwin claimed victory in the day’s second outing meaning with three podiums out of a possible four this weekend, they’re now first and second in the championship with Irwin holding a four-point lead over Bridewell.
 
Yesterday’s results meant Bridewell started from pole position for bank holiday Monday’s opening 18-lap race around the Cheshire circuit with Irwin heading up the second row. Bridewell hit the front early on and for the first half of the race, there was little to choose between the front five riders, but Tommy continued to control proceedings from the front on the F23-specification V4R BeerMonster Ducati. 

As the race entered its second half, he was able to up his pace to gradually edge away and take his maiden win for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team. His eventual winning margin was 1.5 seconds over teammate Irwin who took second, having steadily worked his way through the field. 
 
Starting the final race of the weekend with Irwin on pole position and Bridewell in third, the first lap saw them running in second and fifth and it was again Glenn at the forefront. He took the lead on the third lap and despite a fierce challenge from a bunch of riders, he managed to hold on for his second win of the season which saw him take the championship lead.
 
Bridewell, meanwhile, ran in fifth in the early stages and moved up into third at half race distance, aided by the fastest lap of the race. He was unable to climb any higher and ultimately had to settle for fourth meaning he now sits in second place in the table, just four points behind his teammate.
 
Glenn Irwin: “It’s been a brilliant day for both myself and the whole PBM BeerMonster Ducati team and you can see the passion within the garage with everyone working really hard. I really struggled at the beginning of the first race and lost a position when Peter Hickman crashed in front of me, so I had to work hard to get going. I was really happy to come through to second and give PBM a 1-2 and fair play to Tommy, he rode faultlessly. We made some changes for the final race which helped in some areas, but I nearly lost the front at Shell whilst I also made a mistake when Leon came by. I got back in front to take victory so let’s keep this run going.”
 
Tommy Bridewell: “It’s been a slightly mixed day as whilst I’m delighted with the race win, I’m disappointed with fourth in the second race. We made a slight change to the chassis, but it wasn’t enough to have made the difference it did, and the bike felt very different in the two races. In the first race, it felt a lot more stable whilst in the second, there was a lot more stress and I was having to ride on the limit to be where I was. It’s helped me understand the bike more though and I believe we can make big improvements to it so it’s a shame we haven’t got another race to try it. Overall, it’s been a positive weekend and it’s been my best ever start to a championship so with further changes, I think we can be stronger still.”
 
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “With two wins today and our first 1-2 since 2020, it’s been a fantastic day for the team and it’s even sweeter with it being our local circuit and with the success coming in front of many of our sponsors. It would have been nice if we could have had Tommy on the podium in the final race as well but that would have perhaps been a bit greedy! The wins were good for different reasons, Tommy leading from start to finish in the first and then Glenn leading the final race, dropping back to third and then coming through again to win. We’ve been to two different circuits now and the bike’s proven itself at both which is testament to Ducati so let’s hope the run continues.” 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (18 laps)
1 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
2 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
3 Leon Haslam (BMW)
4 Andrew Irwin (Honda)
5 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
6 Josh Brookes (BMW)
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (18 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
2 Leon Haslam (BMW)
3 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
4 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
5 Josh Brookes (BMW)
6 Peter Hickman (BMW)
 
Championship positions (after six races)
1 Glenn Irwin 91
2 Bridewell 87
= Brookes 87
4 Haslam 76
5 Ryde 73
6 Andrew Irwin 44
 
Images courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) in action at Silverstone.

HAGER PBM DUCATI FIRED UP AHEAD OF OULTON PARK SEASON OPENER

May 1, 2025
HAGER PBM Ducati and rider Glenn Irwin are all set and ready for the start of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike season, as the championship roars into action this weekend at Oulton Park. The team will head to its local circuit in Cheshire for the May Bank Holiday weekend, keen to get a strong start to its 2025 campaign and looking to emulate its success from two visits there last year, when Irwin celebrated four victories from six race starts. The opening round follows a solid pre-season testing programme for the team, with Irwin topping the timesheets in two of the three R&G Official tests. Over the three events, the squad worked through a busy schedule, testing a host of new components for its Ducati Panigale V4R and while not specifically chasing lap times, were never far from the top the board. Now, as they prepare for the first round at one of their strongest tracks, the team and Irwin are feeling quietly confident they can hit the ground running and emerge from Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday with a strong haul of points to get their championship off to a flying start. Glenn Irwin: “It’s fantastic to be finally going into the opening round at Oulton Park – it’s almost seven months since the last season ended so it’s been a long wait. But now it’s time to go and put everything we’ve done, everything we’ve learnt over the off-season into practice. “We’ve had a great testing programme, there’s a new addition on my side with my rider spotter which has been a nice refresh and I’ve also made some small adjustments to my own riding style. “The team has brought some new items this year which have been nice, not performance parts but parts which can equate to performance…it’s not as simple as an extra 10 bhp or anything like that, but it’s nice to go racing with something new. “I can’t wait for the weekend and to get going. My motivation is high, so let’s go and kick-off the year with the best possible points haul for the Hager PBM Ducati team.” Frank Bird Jnr, Team Co-owner: “It’s finally time to get going. A lot of hard work has been put in over this winter, the team has had three solid tests so we should be right in the mix from the word go – that’s the plan, anyway. “It’s felt like a long wait so it’s mega that the first round is finally here. I’d like to thank all our sponsors for helping us get here and we’re all hoping we can put on a good show and bring back some trophies. “It’s fantastic to be starting the season at Oulton Park, particularly on a Bank Holiday weekend. A lot of our sponsors are north-based, it’s also our local round as a family too, so it’s obviously an important one for us. Here’s to a strong weekend and kicking-off the season with three great race results.” The 2025 Bennetts British Superbike action opens with free practice on Saturday, May 3 followed by Qualifying and Race One on Sunday, May 4. The weekend will draw to a close following two further races on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5.

IRWIN AND HAGER PBM DUCATI WRAP-UP SUCCESSFUL TESTING PROGRAMME

April 24, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati team and rider Glenn Irwin have completed another successful R&G Official test at Oulton Park, with the opening round of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship now just over a week away. Irwin and the team have spent the last two days at the Cheshire track, grabbing as much track time as possible in the final days on track before the season begins. After ending last weekend’s Donington Park test on top, the team was keen to continue to push in the final two days, working through a busy schedule and trying a host of new components and ideas. Irwin ended the test second quickest overall after clocking the best lap of Thursday afternoon’s final session, banking a 1min 33.313s lap on his last run. He leaves feeling confident about next weekend’s opening round and can’t wait to get back out. Glenn Irwin: “That’s us finished pre-season testing and I’m feeling good. We’ve been working, working, working and the bike felt better today but we still have a bit of work to do. “It’s been really, really enjoyable, we’ve tried a number of different things and I think now we’re finding a bit of a balance. Today we unlocked something in that middle session, I did a good few 33s in that run so I think we’re strong. “It’s definitely been very productive. We haven’t gone for lap times, we’ve been focussed on getting the bike right and when that happens, the lap times come. That’s what we’re starting to see and I think we’re in a good place to come back next week and start the season.” Frank Bird Jnr, Team Co-owner: “It’s a mega way to finish, this puts us in really good stead for the season and we’ve got a lot of boxes ticked off with the bike. All the boys are working well, we’ve got everyone back into the swing of things and Glenn seems to be riding well, so we’re in a good window for the first round. “It’s been a long winter but all the hard work seems to be paying off and we’re right in the mix. It means we can come here for Round One and we’re in a great place to start from.” The opening round of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship roars into action at Oulton Park over the May Bank Holiday weekend, May 3-5.
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