August 27, 2024

High Fives For Irwin At Cadwell Park

Hager PBM Ducati rider Glenn Irwin kept his title bid firmly on course with three solid rides to move into third place in the race for the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship following this weekend’s races at Cadwell Park.

The eighth round was held over the traditional bank holiday weekend at the popular Lincolnshire track but Irwin’s weekend didn’t get off to the best of starts as he struggled against the inclement conditions in Free Practice on Saturday meaning he had to go through Q1 before setting fifth fastest time in Omologato Superpole to place him on row two of the grid for the opening race.
 
A battling performance saw the rider from Carrickfergus challenging for a podium position throughout the 18-lap race but in the end had to settle for fifth at the chequered flag, with his lap time placing him on row two again for the first of the bank holiday Monday races.

Once again, Glenn was challenging in the leading bunch duing the 12-lap race before crossing the line in fifth place for a second time and hoping for a podium finish in the third and final race of the day. The 20-lapper got underway with Irwin once again up with the leaders and indeed, occupying a podium placing in the early stages before eventually claiming a third P5 finish of the weekend.
 
The end result sees Glenn climb from fourth to third in the standings and is now 41 points behind second placed Kyle Ryde and 60 points behind series leader Tommy Bridewell. However, now the series has reached the Showdown stage, the points on offer for each race are increased meaning Irwin’s bid for a first title and the PBM team’s quest for a tenth crown is still very much a reality going into the next round at Oulton Park in three weeks' time. 
 
Glenn Irwin: “5-5-5 means I’m really happy with the performance of the team and myself this weekend, we worked hard to steady the ship and come away with some fighting results. Right now our package isn’t competitive enough to fight for wins every week due to our struggles on the harder tyre. It’s only in some areas of the track, but we lose so much. There are many positives with the performance in lots of other areas which keeps us optimistic whilst being realistic going forward into the next round at Oulton Park, where we won all three races earlier in the season.”
 
Jordan Bird, Team Co-Owner: “Cadwell has been another tricky round for us but to come away with a trio of fifth place finishes is more than we could’ve asked for at the beginning of the weekend. The team and Glenn worked tirelessly over the weekend and I can’t thank them all enough for their hard work. Now we can have a little time off, regroup and come back stronger at Oulton Park. It’s our home race and at the beginning of the year we took our first triple win. Thank you to our partners and the fans and supporters for all their support and belief in us. It’s certainly not over yet.”
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race one (18 laps)
1 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
2 Lee Jackson (Honda) +0.791s
3 Charlie Nesbitt (Honda) +3.795s
4 Tommy Bridewell (Honda) + 5.214s
5 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +5.320s
6 Jason O’Halloran (Kawaski) +6.269s
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (12 laps)
1 Tommy Bridewell (Honda)
2 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha) +0.219s
3 Lee Jackson (Honda) +0.242s
4 Charlie Nesbitt (Honda) +2.025s
5 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +2.425s
6 Ryan Vickers (Yamaha) +5.330s
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (20 laps)
1 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
2 Tommy Bridewell (Honda) +0.702s
3 Lee Jackson (Honda) +3.436s
4 Charlie Nesbitt (Honda) +4.368s
5 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +10.337s
6 Josh Brookes (BMW) +10.919s
 
Championship Points (after eight rounds)
1  Bridewell       294
2 Ryde              275
3 Irwin              234
4 Iddon            231
5 Vickers          208
6 Kent              184



Pictures (courtesy of Double Red): Glenn Irwin in action at Cadwell Park)

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.

IRWIN AND HAGER PBM DUCATI END SUCCESSFUL SECOND TEST ON TOP

April 19, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati team continued its strong testing form at Donington Park as rider Glenn Irwin once again ended the two days fastest overall. Although the team is still not concentrating on lap times, Irwin picked up where he left off at Circuito de Navarra earlier this month as he led the way on Friday before going even quicker on Day Two with an impressive fastest lap of 1min 27.015s in the final session. After a strong first test where he topped the timesheets at Navarra, the team headed to the second R&G Official test at Donington Park looking to work on a number of different things. Irwin was consistently quick across the opening day, ending Friday fastest overall with a 1:27.022sec lap in the final session to end the day at the top of the timesheets with what was the fastest ever BSB lap of the iconic track. Along with most of the pack, he opted to sit out of Saturday morning’s first session due to track conditions, heading out for the second to work through a few more things. He again shot to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1:27.468, before later going one better in the final session to clock his new fastest ever lap. Glenn Irwin: “It’s been really good, like Navarra, we’ve continued with a plan. Yesterday we had a really, really strong bike here and conditions were a little better. Today conditions were tougher with the wind but everyone still finds a way to go fast. “We probably persevered with a bike which is suited to the final sector, perhaps Turn One as well. As the day went on I realised we were losing a bit in some places but we stuck with it. “It’s pleasing because I would say that isn’t the bike of choice for here, perhaps maybe yesterday's bike was better, but to top today feeling like that, to do a lot of laps in the 27s with improved pace on old tyres is good. The test has definitely been a success.” John Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “I think it’s been a positive test where we’ve confirmed a number of test items over the two days. We had slightly better conditions yesterday than today but I think we’ve ticked a lot of boxes, gone fairly quick so it’s all positive – roll on Oulton Park. “The plan there is more of the same, just keep trying to understand the new tyre, try and work with it. I think longevity is going to be the key now for Oulton Park, we’ll do a couple of race runs, see how the tyre lasts and then get ready for Round One.” The team will now prepare for the final test at Oulton Park next Wednesday and Thursday, April 23 and 24 which will be the last chance to get everything ready ahead of the first round of the 2025 season at Oulton Park over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
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