May 17, 2023

Destination Donington for BSB Series Leaders BeerMonster Ducati

Round three of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Donington Park this forthcoming weekend with the BeerMonster Ducati team looking to consolidate their place at the head of the title race.

Leading the series for Paul Bird’s Lake District based eight-times BSB champions is Glenn Irwin following a victory at both Silverstone and Oulton Park. As a result, he enjoys a slender four-point advantage over teammate Tommy Bridewell, who is tied in second place with Josh Brookes, ahead of the three races on the GP circuit configuration.

Irwin, from Ballyclare in County Antrim, is fresh from a pair of wins in the Superbike races at the International North West 200 last week aboard the factory supported BeerMonster Ducati F23 so will be looking to continue that form at the track he’s scored three podiums at in recent years, including last season.

Meanwhile, Bridewell, from Devizes in Wiltshire, was in awesome form at the previous round at Oulton Park where he got his first victory of the season and added that to his four other podiums in 2023, so he will be aiming to close the gap to Irwin as he has four podiums at Donington GP to his name. 

Glenn Irwin: “We arrive at Donington Park with the plan to continue the good early season form and my confidence is sky high after the two wins at the NW200. That’s that box ticked and now I aim to take this good feeling and maintain my challenge at the front for the rest of the season. The track has been resurfaced over winter so it’s difficult to make any predictions, but I’m confident that we have a great set up and the atmosphere in the team is brilliant so I can’t wait to get cracking.”  

Tommy Bridewell: “I’m looking forward to going racing again this weekend and to try to build on the early season momentum. I’ve enjoyed some really strong results at Donington Park over the years so it will be interesting to see how we get on but I’m confident as we have a great package all round and the team and me are working very well. The target is to get another set of solid results again this weekend and as long as I’m fighting for the race wins in all three races, I’ll be happy.” 

John Mowatt, Team Co-Ordinator: “We’ve had a dream start to the season what with the three wins in the opening two BSB rounds and then the double at the NW200, so the plan is simple and that’s to keep the momentum flowing. Both Glenn and Tommy are in a good place and the general atmosphere in the garage is one of positivity, which perhaps has been missing in the recent past. As long as we are challenging for race wins and podiums, that’s all we can ask so hopefully we can keep this run of success going at Donington Park.”

Images courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) hope for more good results at Donington Park this weekend.

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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