September 11, 2021

Iddon Clinches Silverstone Podium With Brookes Fourth

The VisionTrack Ducati pairing of Christian Iddon and Josh Brookes got the eighth round of the 2021 BennettsBritish Superbike Championship underway in fine style at Silverstone today as they took second and fourth place finishes in a dramatic opening race at the Northamptonshire venue.

The duo had a mixed start to their respective weekends during the free practice sessions, a time on Saturday morning seeing defending champion Brookes go second quickest with a time of 53.440s on the factory-supported VisionTrack Ducati Panigale V4 RR but Iddon was down in 16th albeit only half a second further back, an illustration of the close times around the 1.64-mile National circuit.

 

However, when it came to the Superpicks Qualifying session this afternoon, Bedfordshire-based Brookes wasn’t able to go any quicker and had to settle for seventh whilst Iddon improved by four tenths of a second to jump up to tenth for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team.

 

That put them on the third and fourth rows respectively for the 24-lap race later in the day with Iddon moving up to eighth on the opening lap but Brookes dropping back to 11th. By lap seven, the duo had made good strides forward with Tyneside-based Iddon up to sixth and Brookes now eighth, but it was extremely close with less than two seconds covering the leading nine riders.

Positions were changing frequently and going into the penultimate lap, Christian was lying in fourth and Josh seventh but just as it looked like this was where they’d finish, race leaders Tarran Mackenzie and Jason O’Halloran dramatically crashed out and as the following group tried to avoid them, a shuffling of the pack inevitably occurred.

 

Indeed, Christian found himself in second and Josh in fourth and with the red flag coming out shortly afterwards, this was where they finished. It also meant vital Podium Points for Iddon and vital championship points for Brookes who is now just six points off a Showdown position with two races to go before the top eight is finalised after tomorrow’s second race.

 

Christian Iddon: “I’m really happy to be back on the podium as I’ve been off the pace recently and had a few tough rounds so it’s nice to get this feeling again. Even at the start of this weekend, I was only average, but we made some improvements during qualifying, and I kept moving forward the whole race. Gino Rea looked to have that bit more on the Suzuki, but I was confident I could get by Glenn Irwin although the crash changed everything, and we ended up second. I’m really strong in some parts of the track but weak in others so if we can get off the corners better, I think we’ll be in a really good position for tomorrow’s races.”

 

Josh Brookes: “The wheel spin and lack of grip I’ve been encountering continues but I’ve almost learnt to live with itnow although it does make the races hard work. We only have a small window where the bike works and just the slightest movement out of that window leads to big mistakes which is why I’m up and down a bit during the races. I’m not known for making mistakes or for getting bad starts but that’s what’s happening although as the race goes on, the other riders come back to me. I can see them spinning up in the second half of the race but because I’ve had that from the start, I’m able to make up ground in the latter stages. It’s not ideal and it’s still frustrating but I’ll take the positives and the fourth place.”

 

Johnny Mowatt, Team Coordinator: “We’ll take the results however they come at present and although Tarran and Jason were unlucky to not finish, it gave us our best combined results in a long time. Christian was running with the leading bunch, and we felt he had a podium in him anyway and Josh battled hard to be rewarded with yet another fourth place to give himself a real chance of securing a spot in the Showdown tomorrow. We’ll look to make some improvements overnight as both riders felt they were lacking a little so hopefully we can get some more podiums tomorrow.”

 

Sunday’s races are scheduled to get underway at 13:30 and 16:30 respectively.

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship race one (23 laps)

1 Glenn Irwin (Honda)

2 Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati)

3 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)

4 Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)

5 Bradley Ray (BMW)

6 Gino Rea (Suzuki)

 

Championship standings

1 O’Halloran 399pts

2 Mackenzie 293

3 Bridewell 277

4 Iddon 259

5 Hickman 224

6 Irwin 186

9 Brookes 154

 

Images courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Christian Iddon (21)

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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