September 16, 2023

Irwin Takes Emotional Victory For BeerMonster Ducati At Oulton Park

Glenn Irwin gave the BeerMonster Ducati team an emotional, fairytale victory in round nine of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park this afternoon when he won the first race of the weekend which was the first outing for the PBM team since the passing of team owner Paul Bird.

Irwin was locked in battle with teammate Tommy Bridewell for the entire 12 laps around the Cheshire track, but it was the Ulsterman who came out on top when Bridewell ran on at the chicane on the final lap. It was Glenn’s seventh win of the season and saw him cut the gap in the championship standings to just 7.5 points behind Bridewell who salvaged fourth at the flag.
 
Both riders enjoyed strong practice sessions, particularly Irwin who topped the leaderboard ahead of qualifying, but it was Bridewell who claimed pole position for the afternoon’s BikeSocial Sprint race, just 0.006s ahead of Irwin, which emphasised how closely matched they were around the 2.692-mile circuit.

With cloudy but dry conditions prevailing for the race, the duo duly lined up on the front row with Carrickfergus rider Irwin taking the holeshot as Bridewell, from Devizes, slotted into second. The duo soon opened a one-second gap over the rest of the field although as the race entered its final third, Lee Jackson and Leon Haslam had reeled them back in.


Irwin’s lead over Bridewell was never more than a tenth of a second and the victory was set to be between them and Jackson going into the final lap. Bridewell nosed ahead for the first time at the Avenue only for Irwin to retake the lead immediately and when Tommy got into Hizzy’s too hot, he had to run straight on allowing Irwin to come home for the win. Bridewell’s mistake saw him drop back to fourth at the chequered flag and in doing so, relinquished seven points of his lead to his teammate.

  • Earlier in the day, the BSB paddock community gathered to pay their respects to Paul Bird with an emotional tribute on the grid which included the PBM team, friends, and family members as well as a number of significant machines from the long and successful history of the Lake-District-based team over the past 30 years. The bikes will remain on display during the pit walk at Oulton Park tomorrow morning. The team would like to thank everyone for their support

Glenn Irwin: “It’s so nice to lead the race from start to finish, or at least most of it and the plan worked. The bike is so good this weekend, especially on the brakes, and I made the perfect start, managing the race from there on in. Tommy’s so strong around here at Oulton so to force him into a mistake on the final lap and come out on top shows how strong I rode, but I’m humble about the victory as we get on so well and it’s tough fighting your teammate for the title. At the same time, we’re professional riders who want the same thing so you must take whatever advantage you can get. We still have two more races to go but I’m feeling confident and that one’s for the Birdman.”


Tommy Bridewell: “I didn’t make the best of starts from pole, so rode a patient first lap but, unfortunately, I’ve been struggling to stop the bike for a couple of rounds now and the same problem occurred today. The bike’s not giving the support I need under braking and that, in turn, is reducing stability and causing the rear wheel to lift off the ground. I’m OK when riding on my own as I can roll into the corner but in a group it’s difficult and if I hadn’t picked the bike up, I’d have taken both Glenn and me out. It’s a disappointing start but whilst you can’t win the title this weekend, you can lose it, so we’ll use tomorrow’s warm-up to get to the bottom of the problem and come out fighting in Sunday’s races.” 


Johnny Mowatt, Team Owner: “Right from the get-go on Friday, the boys have been really, really strong and they worked hard on their race pace, which paid dividends. The one lap pace in qualifying was phenomenal too and fair play to them both for lapping so fast. It was fitting to start our first race without the boss 1-2 on the grid and I’m sure he was looking down super proud of what the boys were achieving. Both made great starts and pulled a gap on the rest of the field, and it all came down to a last lap battle which could have had a very different outcome. Tommy just got into Hizzy’s too hot but was wise enough to pick the bike up to avoid Glenn who went on to take a great win and that one’s definitely for the boss.”


Bennetts British Superbike Championship – BikeSocial Sprint race (12 laps)


1 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)


2 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)


3 Leon Haslam (BMW)


4 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)


5 Josh Brookes (BMW)


6 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)


Championship Standings


1 Bridewell 321pts


2 Irwin 313.5


3 Ryde 266


4 O’Halloran 258.5


5 Haslam 247


6 Jackson 238.5


Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) at Oulton Park and the BSB paddock community tribute to Paul Bird.

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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