October 2, 2021

Iddon Scores Donington Podium But Brookes Crashes Out

Christian Iddon and the VisionTrack Ducati team did their 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship hopes the world of good at Donington Park today with third place in the opening race of the weekend seeing them close to within 26 points of the championship lead.

But the Lake District-based team’s joy was tempered when defending champion Josh Brookes crashed out of second place on the fourth lap to lose ground to the series leaders with just five races remaining.

 

The conditions today were vastly different to yesterday’s dry practice sessions, which kickstarted proceedings when Iddon placed an impressive second and Brookes lapped only a couple of tenths slower in eighth, with both qualifying and the race taking place in wet and cold weather.

Indeed, qualifying was extremely difficult for Paul Bird’s Penrith team with both riders crashing out in the early stages. Brookes slid off the VisionTrack Ducati on the opening lap before Tyneside-based Iddon ended the session in 17th after a high speed off at McLeans. However, Josh managed to get back out on track for one flying lap and did a great job to put the factory-backed Ducati Panigale V4 RR in fourth place and on the second row of the grid.

 

The 16-lap race an hour or so later saw the conditions worsen but both riders started well with Brookes running in fourth place at the completion of the opening lap and Iddon already having moved up to ninth. Josh was soon running in second place but a huge slide at Schwantz Curve fourth time around put him onto the grass and he was unlucky to tip off as he looked to re-join the track.

 

That left Iddon to fly the flag and he did so brilliantly, continually moving forward and soon putting himself into podium contention. The second half of the race saw him compete for second with Kyle Ryde and Lee Jackson and although third was the eventual outcome, he clawed back valuable points on championship leaders.

 

Christian Iddon: “Having crashed in qualifying and lining up in 17th on the grid, I didn’t think I’d end up on the podium so it’s a terrific result in terms of both the race and the championship. I didn’t feel like I did anything wrong in qualifying, but conditions were really tricky, and I even had a moment on the out lap before the race! It was scary following people in the race due to the number of moments they were having but the battle with Lee and Kyle took my mind off things and it’s great to have taken the podium. The team deserve massive credit as the bike took a big hit in the qualifying crash and needed a fair amount of repair work, but it ran perfectly.”

 

Josh Brookes: “It’s been a tough day and to crash out of second place after a good effort in qualifying is a massive downer and I’m gutted for both myself and the team. The only comfort is that I wasn’t alone, and a lot of other riders went down in the treacherous conditions. I’m just frustrated though that I saved the slide and only came off because of being on the wet grass. I can’t dwell on it though and the forecast looks a lot better for tomorrow. I’m P3 on the grid and the bike’s been working well all weekend so let’s see what we can do.”

 

Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “What a day! Having both riders crash in qualifying was far from ideal and gave the team a fair bit of work in a short space of time but they did a great job, and we were ready to go again in the race. Conditions were pretty difficult and with the amount of crashes, I thought the race may have been stopped. Unfortunately, one of those crashes was Josh which was a real shame as he was looking set for a good haul of points in second. It wasn’t to be, but Christian did a great job in staying upright so fair play to him for doing that and scoring a good podium. He took more points off the championship leaders so with both riders well placed on the grid for tomorrow’s first race, let’s hope for decent starts and more podium finishes.”

 

Sunday’s races are scheduled to take place at 13:00 and 16:15.

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship Bike Social race one (16 laps)

1 Gino Rea (Suzuki)

2 Kyle Ryde (BMW)

3 Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati)

4 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)

5 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)

6 Joe Francis (BMW)

DNF Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)

 

Championship Points

1 O’Halloran 1102pts

= Mackenzie 1102

3 Bridewell 1084

4 Iddon 1076

5 Hickman 1050

6 Brookes 1042

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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