October 1, 2023

Donington Disappointment For BeerMonster Ducati

The BeerMonster Ducati duo of Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell had a race to forget at Donington Park this afternoon with the duo both finishing outside the points in the BikeSocial Sprint Race of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

With rain arriving as the bikes assembled on the grid, their choice of intermediate tyres worked against them, but with the majority of their main championship rivals not faring any better, they remain separated by half a point at the top of the championship standings and more than fifty points ahead of new third placed rider Leon Haslam.


After solid performances in the three practice sessions where both riders were placed inside the top ten, this afternoon’s eBay qualifying session saw Bridewell best of the two teammates as he posted the second quickest time for a front row start in the race with Irwin a further row back in sixth place.

However, the dry weather in qualifying gave way to a damp track in the actual race, which was cut from 12 laps to ten and meant tyre choice was something of a lottery especially as the threat of rain was never too far away.


The two BeerMonster Ducati riders both opted for intermediate tyres front and rear but by the time the race got underway, light rain had begun to fall so they, like many others, found themselves on the wrong Pirelli rubber. Both pitted to change tyres but rejoining a lap down, 23rd and 24th was the best they could manage at the finish.


The race was won by Yamaha’s Ryan Vickers, but nearest championship rival to the PBM riders, Kyle Ryde, could only manage 12th and it was second placed Haslam who benefitted the most in the conditions. He moved up to third in the championship standings but still lies 55.5 points adrift of leader Irwin going into tomorrow’s two races.


Glenn Irwin: “We had an idea of what the weather forecast was going to do but the slight delay in the schedule meant things changed and that led to a variety of opinions on what tyres to go with. There wasn’t much time to decide, and I perhaps could have been more assertive in saying what I wanted rather than asking the question of the team, but it is what it is. It was a chaotic race which led to a strange result, but the championship position has barely changed at all. There’s still only half a point between Tommy and myself and we’ve a good gap to Leon and Kyle so no harm done.”
 
Tommy Bridewell: “As strange as it seems, there’s nothing to be disappointed about today. These are the days you can’t win the championship, but you can certainly lose it especially if you were to fall off and get injured. After the sighting lap I felt sure the intermediates were the right tyre choice, but conditions were getting worse and by then it was too late to change. The rain caught us out but whilst I knew we weren’t going to score any points; I also knew lots of other riders would be in the same position and so it proved. We’re all in one piece and we’ve lost minimal points in the table, so we’ll go again tomorrow.”


John Mowatt, Team Co-Ordinator: “On paper, the results don’t look good at all, but these are the days when you need to consider the overall picture and the bottom line is that we’re still first and second in the championship with a healthy lead. That’s what matters most and if we can take the positives out of today, then that’s a good thing. Many of our rivals went for the same choice of intermediate tyres and it was just a chaotic race for a lot of people, so we’ll just write this one off. Our pace in the dry was strong, as seen in qualifying, so we’ll go again tomorrow and look to bag a big haul of points and hopefully extend our championship lead.”


Bennetts British Superbike Championship – BikeSocial Sprint race (10 laps)


1 Ryan Vickers (Yamaha)


2 Leon Haslam (BMW)


3 Luke Mossey (BMW)


4 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha)


5 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)


6 Franco Bourne (Honda)


23 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)


24 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)


Championship Standings


1 Irwin 360.5


2 Bridewell 360pts


3 Haslam 305


4 Ryde 304


5 Jackson 296.5

6 O’Halloran 276.5


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

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.
More Posts