September 13, 2024

Irwin Hoping for Repeat of Oulton Park Success

The 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship heads into the Showdown stage this weekend when round nine of the series makes a second visit of the year to Oulton Park in Cheshire with Hager PBM Ducati rider Glenn Irwin hoping for a repeat of former fortunes.

Back in May, the Ulsterman won all three races there to move into the lead in the early stages of the year as he chased the elusuve title after finishing runner-up for the past two seasons. However, in recent rounds, Irwin hasn’t had the best of luck and currently finds himself in third place in the standings some 60 points behind leader Tommy Bridewell.
 
But with the revised points scoring system of the Showdown coming into play, and coupled with the fact that Glenn has won five of the last six Bennetts BSB races to be held at Oulton Park, then confidence is at a high as he looks to get back to winning ways this weekend.

Glenn Irwin: “It’s always great to go to Oulton Park having won six races around there in the past three visits so it’s always good to go back to a track where both me, the team and the bike have had a lot of success. It’s the team’s local round also which is always important. I feel good and although this year has presented some challenges for us, we know what works around Oulton and some of the weaker areas we have been struggling with shouldn’t be so much of a problem. I don’t want to set the bar too high but I feel we can be competitive again and I genuinely believe we can be back to where we need to be at the front. Race wins are what I need now and the championship is still up for grabs. Anything can still happen as we saw right to the end last season.”   
Jordan Bird, Joint Team Owner: “We’re heading into the business end of the season now and also, this is our home round for our team which is always a big motivation for us. The plan is to get right back to where we should be fighting at the front consistently. We had three victories last time out at Oulton Park and there’s no reason why we can’t be back there once again. Glenn has had a couple of weeks to refresh and get ready to attack the last part of the season, the championship points also change from now onwards which gives us a good opportunity to get our championship assault back on track. We look forward to seeing our sponsors and fans at the track come race day.”
 
Pictures (courtesy of Double Red)

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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