August 12, 2023

Bridewell And Irwin Salvage Points At Thruxton

Despite a tough day at round seven of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton today, Tommy Bridewell maintained his series lead despite only managing a 14th place finish in the BikeSocial Sprint race whilst BeerMonster Ducati teammate Glenn Irwin consolidated his second position in the title race when placed ninth.

Both riders enjoyed a solid day of practice on Friday in fine conditions at the Hampshire venue and although today saw some morning showers, they’d disappeared in time for the afternoon’s eBay qualifying session. The 2.35-mile circuit was dry all the way round although it was a mixed session for the team with Glenn in eighth and Tommy in an unfamiliar 15th on the grid.


That set the tone for the remainder of the day and the 14-lap race proved to be equally challenging with neither rider able to make a significant impression although it was an extremely close race with less than ten seconds covering the first 15 riders.

With tyre wear a factor around the high-speed circuit, it was Irwin who was able to claim the best result in ninth and with Bridewell in 14th, it means the gap between the two in the championship standings came down to 29.5 points.


However, with the main rivals to Paul Bird’s two riders not scoring heavily, the pair remain in first and second positions in the title race going into tomorrow’s two races.


Tommy Bridewell: “We’re all having to run the harder SCD tyre this weekend and it’s hurting us more than we expected, certainly more than our rivals, and we’ve been unable to get any form of mechanical grip. We’ve made big changes throughout the weekend, but the feeling has remained the same, so it’s understandably been frustrating, and I didn’t think it would be this tough. That’s no excuse for a poor performance though; I should be better, I expect to be better, and I need to be better and that’s the undoubted aim for tomorrow. Track position will be key, and it will be interesting to see how things change for the whole field with six extra laps.”


Glenn Irwin: “I knew it would be tough this weekend, for a number of reasons, but whilst we have good drive, we’ve hardly any edge grip and that’s hurting us as you’re on the edge of the tyre so much here at Thruxton. The positives are that I was in a fight for sixth and I felt as strong, if not stronger, than some of the other riders around me. It’s so difficult to fight though without that edge grip but I fought hard and I'm happy enough. I wouldn’t usually be happy with a ninth, but I was close to the top six and that’s what we’ll take into tomorrow's races where we’ll be looking to finish higher up the leaderboard in both races.”


Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “It wasn’t a round we were overly optimistic about and with every bike having its strengths and disadvantages, this is a circuit that highlights our weaknesses. Having said that, we hoped for more and the results are clearly not what we hoped for although we were fortunate not to lose more points to our rivals. We know we have four strong circuits coming up, but we want to improve tomorrow and get the most out of the two races that we possibly can. We know we can do more and maximising our points haul in the two races on Sunday is the clear aim.”


Bennetts British Superbike Championship – BikeSocial Sprint race (14 laps)


1 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)


2 Charlie Nesbitt (Honda)


3 Ryan Vickers (Yamaha)


4 Max Cook (Kawasaki)


5 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)


6 Leon Haslam (BMW)


9 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)


14 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)


Championship standings


1 Bridewell 260pts


2 Irwin 230.5

3 Ryde 189


4 Haslam 182


5 Brookes 178


6 O’Halloran 176.5


Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) at Thruxton

PODIUMS, POINTS AND PRIZES FOR HAGER PBM DUCATI

May 18, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati team heads home from Donington Park fired up for the rest of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike season after rider Glenn Irwin clinched a second and a third in today’s two races. Irwin narrowly missed out on what could have been two wins at the iconic Derbyshire track – but he and the team leave feeling excited about the rest of the year after a strong performance. It had been a tougher start to the weekend as the team struggled with a few niggling issues, but after topping Friday’s timesheets, Irwin clocked the third quickest time in Qualifying to line up on the front row for Saturday’s race. Moving into second position at Turn One, he settled into a good rhythm and as he found himself in a three-way battle, took the lead on Lap Eight. However, a few issues struck in closing laps which left him unable to hold off his rivals and he slipped back to fourth. Determined to make amends on Sunday, Irwin once again started from third on the grid. Getting a good start, he was up to second by the end of Lap Two and quickly began reeling in leader Bradley Ray. A move for the front at the Fogarty Esses on the fourth lap didn’t pay off but he wasn’t giving up, quickly closing back in on his rival. On Lap Eight, he tried again to dive down the inside at the same spot but wasn’t able to make it, running down the slip road and slipping back to fourth. He fought hard in the remaining four laps to catch the bike ahead, making the move into the chicane on the final lap to secure third place. It was another front row start for the final race and he held third place into Turn One, settling into position for the opening laps. By Lap Eight he was challenging Rory Skinner for third and as the race reached the halfway point on Lap 10, he made the move into Turn One and moved into second position. More than two seconds adrift of leader Ray, Irwin put his head down and pushed hard, quickly reducing the gap and with three laps to go was just 0.296 behind. Once again, he tried a move at the Fogarty Esses but wasn’t able to make it work and despite pushing on, wasn’t able to pass. He crossed the line just 0.396secs behind his rival and picked up another strong haul of points. He also set a new lap record, with a 1min 28.832s on the penultimate lap. Glenn Irwin: “We’ve had a fourth, a third and a second so we’re going in the right direction. Race one was really, really tough. We had a limiting factor with the bike on Friday and Saturday which wasn’t rectified until Sunday morning, and it was a good chunk better today. “I think the Sprint race was one that we could’ve won but we made a mistake. I think in the last race we played the right game, we were patient and again we could perhaps have won. I made a similar mistake at the same corner and it left us a lot of work to do with two laps to go. “Setting a new lap record on Lap 19 was good and we may have lost a couple of points but at this stage of the year, two points here or there is nothing and I’m quite happy either way. “Hats off to the team because they worked very hard this weekend and they gave me something that was missing and it’s so much better now. We now have a bit of a break, I’ll head to the TT for 10 days and chill out but keep training hard, working harder and trust that the wins will come.” Frank Bird Jnr, Team Co-owner: “It’s been a very positive weekend, very consistent, which is obviously a good sign. We got there with the bike setup, I think we’ve found what we were missing at Oulton Park. “It’s still only the second round so everyone is still getting into it, learning the bike, learning the new tyre but thank you to all the boys, they’ve been mega all weekend and have really worked hard. “Glenn rode his heart out in all three races and we are definitely in the mix…now we will just keep going and look forward to the rest of the season.” The championship now takes a break until mid June, when the pack will resume duties at Snetterton.

ROUND TWO BECKONS FOR HAGER PBM DUCATI

May 14, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati squad is heading to Donington Park this weekend as the second round of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship roars into action at the iconic track. The team and rider Glenn Irwin will be looking to build on their success at the opening round, where the Northern Irishman clinched two second place finishes, putting him third in the championship chase but equal on 32 points with his rivals sitting first and second. It’s been a tough fortnight where the racing community has mourned the loss of riders Owen Jenner and Shane Richardson – and the team has been particularly affected by the death of Owen, a close friend of owners Jordan, Frank and other team members. Now, hopes are high that the team and Irwin can deliver a string of podium finishes this weekend, with performances which both boys would be proud of. Glenn Irwin, rider: “Looking ahead to the weekend you almost feel a little bit guilty, because obviously we all want to continue to pay our respects to Owen and Shane’s families, and when we look back at Oulton Park, the whole event is overshadowed by this sadness. “But if I was to look just purely at the riding side of things and the teamwork, I felt we did a good job. We had some difficult moments but we did well to come from 14 th to second in Race One and particularly Race two, after four laps we were 3.3 off and eight laps later to only be 0.1 off the win was very pleasing. “I think as riders, we all know what we achieved in terms of race pace over the two races, we only ever took time out of Bradley (Ray) and Leon (Haslam) and for me that was confidence inspiring. I think we fired our own warning shots without winning races which is important for our own confidence and important to cement ourselves in the thoughts of our rivals as well. “This weekend and the whole championship in general is going to be close. The three of us who were in it at Oulton will be there, I expect Kyle (Ryde) to be there and Danny Kent to also join the party this weekend…it’s going to be a good one.” Jordan Bird, Team Co-owner: “As usual, we are ready for business this weekend - although this one is a little different. We race at Donington Park for Owen and Shane. “Of course, we have a job to do but our thoughts will never be far away from both of them and we continue to send our love and best wishes to their families. “We know it’s going to be a tough weekend in many ways for the team and for the paddock as a whole but we look forward to doing the best job we possibly can in memory of Owen and Shane.”  Round Two of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship gets underway at Donington Park this Friday, May 16 with two free practice sessions ahead of Qualifying and Race One on Saturday, followed by two further races on Sunday, May 18.
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