May 3, 2022

Brookes And Sykes Rack Up Points At Oulton Park

MCE Ducati’s Josh Brookes took two hard-fought top ten finishes in the second round of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship races at Oulton Park today with eighth and tenth seeing him maintain his 12th position in the early season championship table. 

Teammate Tom Sykes took a best finish of 11th in the final race where he also posted his quickest lap time of the weekend for Paul Bird’s Lake District-based team.

 

With good conditions all day at the Cheshire venue, the opening 18-lap race saw Josh start from the third row of the grid with Tom four rows further back with the duo completing the opening lap in sixth and 16th respectively.

The pairing soon found themselves locked in their own respective battles but when the safety car was deployed on lap seven after a crash, Australian double BSB champion Brookes found himself shuffled back to tenth with ex-WSBK champion Sykes fighting his way up to 14th.

 

When racing resumed three laps later, Josh was unable to do anything about the riders ahead of him and crossed the line in tenth whilst Yorkshire-born Sykes moved up another spot to take 13th at the chequered flag.

 

The results meant they started from the fifth row of the grid for the final race of the weekend, where both riders made early progress and by lap six, they were both running inside the top ten.

 

Brookes elevated himself to a battling eighth place at the chequered flag with Sykes putting in his strongest ride of the weekend in terms of both lap times and position to claim 11th.

 

Josh Brookes: “The first race today was disappointing as we made the wrong changes to the bike, and it just didn’t work out. I went backwards and faded pretty much from the start, so it was disappointing for all concerned. We put the bike closer to how it had been yesterday and had the information to make only a small change and the bike worked better albeit not with the lap times to compete for the podium. It was obviously difficult starting a long way back on the grid too, but I was happy to recover some form at the end. We definitely need to make improvements with the bike as we’re running a similar pace to 2019 and 2020 but things have obviously moved on since then.”

 

Tom Sykes: “It’s been a little bit challenging this weekend but at least we now understand some of the parameters much clearer, so we have a good idea of what changes we need to make to the MCE Ducati. The laps in qualifying were the very first ones I’ve done on the bike in the wet and we had a great feeling, but with the information we’ve gained at both the test and in the three races, we have a positive direction in which to go. I’m expecting we can find a big improvement for the next round at Donington Park.” 

 

John Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “After fourth in Sunday’s race, we were looking to make a further challenge for the podium positions with Josh today but, unfortunately, it didn’t pan out that way. The lap times stayed the same and we again paid for starting on the fourth and fifth rows. I’ve said it before but if you’re not on the front three rows, you’re up against it. He fought hard until the end of each race though and picked up points and we all know how valuable they are, however big or small. For Tom, today was a lot better day and he continually improved so much so that his best time of the three days came in the final race of the weekend. It’s testament to him that he kept going like he did, and it will certainly help him when we return to Oulton Park later in the year. The next round is at Donington Park, a circuit he knows well and what’s required from a bike to go quick round there so I’m sure we’ll see him a lot closer to the front there.”

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (18 laps)

1 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)

2 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)

3 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)

4 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)

5 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)

6 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)

10 Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)
13 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (18 laps)

1 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)

2 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)

3 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)

4 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)

5 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)

6 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)

8 Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)
11 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)

 

Championship standings

1 Ray 102pts

2 Glenn Irwin 96

3 Skinner 86

4 Ryde 81

5 Jackson 80

6 O’Halloran 60

12 Brookes 35
14 Sykes 13

 


Images courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Tom Sykes (66).

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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