October 16, 2021

Brands Podium Keeps Iddon’s Title Hopes Alive

A fighting third place in today’s opening race of the final round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch saw VisionTrack Ducati rider Christian Iddon keep his hopes of landing the 2021 title well and truly alive.

A front row start secured in difficult damp conditions during qualifying gave Iddon a great chance in this afternoon’s BikeSocial sprint race over 16 laps by which time conditions had dried up at the Kent track.

 

Aboard the factory-supported VisionTrack Ducati Panigale V4 RR, the Tyneside-based rider made a great start to lead for the opening laps before a safety car intervention closed the field up. 

Upon the green flag to recommence the race, Iddon continued to lead but it wasn’t long before he had to succumb to the advances of title rivals Tarran Mackenzie and Tommy Bridewell. 

 

Circulating in a safe third place, Iddon couldn’t get back on terms with the pair in front and had to settle for third place to record his 14th podium of the season. In doing so, he maintained his third place in the standings and now lies 24 points off leader Mackenzie with tomorrow’s two races of 20 laps each set to determine the outcome of the series.

 

With 50 points up for grabs still, if Iddon can land the crown, it would be a third successive year that Paul Bird’s Lake District-based team has been declared champions making it a record-breaking nine BSB titles in total. 

 

Sadly, for outgoing champion Josh Brookes, he couldn’t take points off Iddon’s main rivals and finished in seventh place. The Bedfordshire-based Aussie qualified the VisionTrack Ducati in 12th place on the grid and although he made good progress in the early part of the race, he had to settle for a top seven placing so couldn’t add to his impressive record at Brands Hatch which has seen him win 19 times in the past.

 

Iddon, who won at Brands Hatch earlier this year, will start tomorrow’s opening race from the front row with Brookes, who celebrated his 300th BSB start in today’s race, again on row four prior to the 33rd and final race of the season later in the afternoon.

 

Christian Iddon: “The race started off perfectly with a great start and I felt more than comfortable setting the pace at the head of the field. Just like a previous race though, when the safety car came out, the tyres cooled down and when racing got underway again, the grip levels had dropped off considerably. The tyres never came back to me after that, and I didn’t have the pace to go with Tarran and Tommy. It’s frustrating as I need to win races this weekend, but the gap is still only 24 points and I’ll come out swinging tomorrow.”

 

Josh Brookes: “It was a difficult race and although the qualifying position wasn’t great, I won’t use that as an excuse as I’ve come through from lowly grid positions before. I made quite a poor start but settled into a nice rhythm only for the safety car to come out and when racing resumed, I got pushed back a few places. I made a couple of places back, but I just didn’t have the strong enough lap times to move forward. I tried to as hard as ever to do what was needed but I couldn’t do that. We get two more bites tomorrow so let’s try and end as positively as we can.”

 

Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “Christian pulled a real good lap out of the bag in qualifying and you could see with all the sliding that he was using his Supermoto experience to the full! He really took the fight to Tarran and Tommy in the race but was just lacking two or three tenths in the final few laps to take it all the way. He’s still in there fighting so hopefully Josh can get involved tomorrow. He was hindered today with his qualifying position and when you’re that far back, whilst you can make up some places, it’s hard to make it to the front. You get stuck with the group you’re with which is what happened, but he’ll be keen to get back at the sharp end tomorrow and help the team to finish as strong as possible.”

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship BikeSocial race one (16 laps)

1 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)

2 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)

3 Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati)

4 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)

5 Peter Hickman (BMW)

6 Andrew Irwin (BMW)

7 Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)

 

Championship Points

1 T Mackenzie 1152

2 J O’Halloran 1130

3 C Iddon 1128

4 T Bridewell 1126

5 P Hickman 1070

6 D Buchan 1066

7 J Brookes 1056

8 G Irwin 1048

 

 

Images courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Christian Iddon (21) 

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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