July 7, 2023

Sensational Snetterton Victory For Bridewell

BeerMonster Ducati’s Tommy Bridewell extended his lead in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship today with a thrilling victory in the opening BikeSocial Sprint at Snetterton.

The weekend started well for both Bridewell and teammate Glenn Irwin as they placed second and sixth respectively after yesterday’s two free practice sessions, and that trend continued into today. Indeed, after topping the third free practice session, Irwin took second in qualifying on the F23-specification V4R BeerMonster Ducati with Bridewell two places further back.
 
That put them in second and fourth on the grid respectively for the afternoon’s 12-lap encounter around the 2.96-mile circuit and it was Irwin who made a better start as he slotted into second behind Jason O’Halloran as Bridewell dropped back to eighth after running wide at the first corner.

A lap later and Irwin took the lead for the first time with Bridewell up to sixth and by half race distance, the duo were running in first and second as Bridewell tore his way through the field. Indeed, he led the race from laps seven to ten as he and Irwin battled for the lead.
 
All the time O’Halloran and Josh Brookes were closing in but on the final lap, Tommy grabbed the lead at the end of the back straight with a great move and although it looked like a BeerMonster Ducati 1-2 was on the cards, Brookes pushed Glenn back to third at the final chicane before O’Halloran relegated him to fourth on the dash to the line.
 
The result sees Bridewell extend his lead in the series to 17 points over Irwin going into tomorrow’s two races over 16 laps each.
 
Tommy Bridewell: “That was a mega race! Glenn was riding well but I’ve been keeping my head down, working with my team and doing all the hard work so it was a pleasing race. I felt like I had better pace than the others, but I knew Glenn would be determined enough to come back at me and so it proved. He was better in a couple of places but, overall, I felt stronger, and the bike was working well so felt confident of getting back ahead. I was so determined to win the race and it’s great to see my boss Paul Bird smiling. I’m here to win the Championship and I’ve got the team and infrastructure to do it so wins like today are what I need.”
 
Glenn Irwin: “We had some issues yesterday so today’s FP3 was like my FP1, but I felt comfortable on the bike when we got to qualifying. In the race, I felt strong and was surprised when the gap went up to 0.6 seconds as I wasn’t deliberately trying to put the hammer down. When Tommy came by me, I could see he was strong, and I learnt a lot from him. I was struggling with the rear through the Bomb Hole and Coram and whilst I was defensive at the end of the straight on the penultimate lap, I wasn’t on the final lap which allowed Tommy through. He beat me fair and square so hats off to him and although it’s very frustrating not to even finish on the podium after leading for so long, it was a good, fun race.”
 
Johnny Mowatt, Team Coordinator: “It’s been another good day and fair play to Tommy, he’s been strong all weekend. He came with a plan and focused on long runs in practice, so his bike was set up for the race as opposed to qualifying and it paid dividends. Glenn has been behind after suffering a bike issue yesterday and is essentially a couple of sessions behind everyone else, but you could see he was strong in the race and only a bit of bad luck prevented him finishing on the podium. We weren’t anticipating a four-way scrap so we'll have to be on our guard tomorrow but there’s no reason why we won’t be fighting it out for the wins again in tomorrow’s races.”
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship – BikeSocial Sprint race (12 laps)
1 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
2 Josh Brookes (BMW)
3 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
4 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
5 Christian Iddon (Ducati)
6 Danny Kent (Honda)
 
Championship Positions
1 Bridewell 181pts
2 Irwin 164
3 Ryde 158
4 Brookes 152
5 Haslam 136
6 O’Halloran 112
 
Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) at Snetterton

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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