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).

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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