September 10, 2022

Solid Points For Sykes And Brookes At Snetterton

After mixed conditions during practice and qualifying, the MCE Ducati pairing of Tom Sykes and Josh Brookes both scored solid points in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race at Snetterton this afternoon with Sykes equalling his best result of the season in seventh.

Having enjoyed a good test at the 2.99-mile circuit in pre-season, Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team had high hopes coming into the event, but the fine weather then was replaced by damp conditions earlier today with both riders suffering albeit in different ways during qualifying.

 

Former World Superbike champion Sykes soon went quickest in the wet session on the factory-backed MCE Insurance Ducati Panigale V4R only to have a nasty crash on his next lap, whilst Brookes struggled with the bike in the tricky conditions. As a result of his crash, Tom ended up eighth overall, for a third row start, with Brookes four places further back and at the end of the fourth row.

Fortunately, conditions had dried up by the time the 12-lap eBay Sprint race came under starters orders and Sykes made a good start to complete the opening lap in sixth place, with 2015 and 2020 BSB Champion Brookes in 14th.

 

The safety car was soon deployed due to an early incident with racing resuming on lap four and Tom had his hands full as he tried to keep Leon Haslam and Andrew Irwin behind him. Slipping back to eighth, a late crash for Irwin promoted Tom back up to seventh and this was where he finished to match the result he’d taken earlier in the season at Donington Park.

 

For Brookes, it proved to be a more challenging race and he dropped back to 15th at one point although the Australian ace regrouped in the second half of the race and took the chequered flag in 13th place for three hard-earned points.

 

Tom Sykes: “Physically, I wasn’t in the best position after the crash in qualifying, but I was a little bit disappointed with the race as I made a really good start to give myself good track position. In some areas, the bike felt really strong, trail braking being an example, but I wasn’t able to carry the corner speed in the way I wanted and I lost momentum coming out of the corners. That made it hard to move forward and stay ahead of the riders behind me, but I was able to bring the bike home for seventh and we’ll look to move forward a bit more tomorrow.”

 

Josh Brookes: “I’m obviously not happy with the result and it wasn’t helped by getting a poor start, something we’ve been quite good at lately. For some reason, changes we’ve made to the bike have affected the acceleration from a standing start although, initially, I felt quite comfortable with the position I was in. The pace was quite slow, so I felt confident of moving forward but as the laps unwound, no-one got any quicker. No one was really able to improve or make passes, so it almost felt like we were riding rather than racing. It was the first real run of fine weather, so it felt a bit like a learning race and, hopefully, we’ll be able to make some changes for tomorrow and get some better results.”

 

Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “It’s been a difficult couple of days with the constantly changing weather and we’ve ended today disappointed with our results, given how well we tested here in pre-season. Josh wasn’t able to get confidence with the bike in the wet and as we’ve seen a number of times this year, if you qualify down in the pack, it’s very difficult to advance forward in the race; you have to be on the first two rows. Tom, on the other hand, was very confident in the wet although the crash obviously set him back a bit. All things considered, he did well to bring the bike home in seventh but, obviously, we’ll be looking for better results tomorrow.”

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship eBay Sprint race (12 laps)

1 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)

2 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)

3 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)

4 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)

5 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)

6 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)

7 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)

13 Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)

 

Championship standings

1 Ray 397pts

2 O’Halloran 363

3 Skinner 241

4 Jackson 235

5 Irwin 221

6 Mackenzie 206

13 Brookes 102

15 Sykes 90


 

Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Tom Sykes (66).

PODIUMS, POINTS AND PRIZES FOR HAGER PBM DUCATI

May 18, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati team heads home from Donington Park fired up for the rest of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike season after rider Glenn Irwin clinched a second and a third in today’s two races. Irwin narrowly missed out on what could have been two wins at the iconic Derbyshire track – but he and the team leave feeling excited about the rest of the year after a strong performance. It had been a tougher start to the weekend as the team struggled with a few niggling issues, but after topping Friday’s timesheets, Irwin clocked the third quickest time in Qualifying to line up on the front row for Saturday’s race. Moving into second position at Turn One, he settled into a good rhythm and as he found himself in a three-way battle, took the lead on Lap Eight. However, a few issues struck in closing laps which left him unable to hold off his rivals and he slipped back to fourth. Determined to make amends on Sunday, Irwin once again started from third on the grid. Getting a good start, he was up to second by the end of Lap Two and quickly began reeling in leader Bradley Ray. A move for the front at the Fogarty Esses on the fourth lap didn’t pay off but he wasn’t giving up, quickly closing back in on his rival. On Lap Eight, he tried again to dive down the inside at the same spot but wasn’t able to make it, running down the slip road and slipping back to fourth. He fought hard in the remaining four laps to catch the bike ahead, making the move into the chicane on the final lap to secure third place. It was another front row start for the final race and he held third place into Turn One, settling into position for the opening laps. By Lap Eight he was challenging Rory Skinner for third and as the race reached the halfway point on Lap 10, he made the move into Turn One and moved into second position. More than two seconds adrift of leader Ray, Irwin put his head down and pushed hard, quickly reducing the gap and with three laps to go was just 0.296 behind. Once again, he tried a move at the Fogarty Esses but wasn’t able to make it work and despite pushing on, wasn’t able to pass. He crossed the line just 0.396secs behind his rival and picked up another strong haul of points. He also set a new lap record, with a 1min 28.832s on the penultimate lap. Glenn Irwin: “We’ve had a fourth, a third and a second so we’re going in the right direction. Race one was really, really tough. We had a limiting factor with the bike on Friday and Saturday which wasn’t rectified until Sunday morning, and it was a good chunk better today. “I think the Sprint race was one that we could’ve won but we made a mistake. I think in the last race we played the right game, we were patient and again we could perhaps have won. I made a similar mistake at the same corner and it left us a lot of work to do with two laps to go. “Setting a new lap record on Lap 19 was good and we may have lost a couple of points but at this stage of the year, two points here or there is nothing and I’m quite happy either way. “Hats off to the team because they worked very hard this weekend and they gave me something that was missing and it’s so much better now. We now have a bit of a break, I’ll head to the TT for 10 days and chill out but keep training hard, working harder and trust that the wins will come.” Frank Bird Jnr, Team Co-owner: “It’s been a very positive weekend, very consistent, which is obviously a good sign. We got there with the bike setup, I think we’ve found what we were missing at Oulton Park. “It’s still only the second round so everyone is still getting into it, learning the bike, learning the new tyre but thank you to all the boys, they’ve been mega all weekend and have really worked hard. “Glenn rode his heart out in all three races and we are definitely in the mix…now we will just keep going and look forward to the rest of the season.” The championship now takes a break until mid June, when the pack will resume duties at Snetterton.

ROUND TWO BECKONS FOR HAGER PBM DUCATI

May 14, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati squad is heading to Donington Park this weekend as the second round of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship roars into action at the iconic track. The team and rider Glenn Irwin will be looking to build on their success at the opening round, where the Northern Irishman clinched two second place finishes, putting him third in the championship chase but equal on 32 points with his rivals sitting first and second. It’s been a tough fortnight where the racing community has mourned the loss of riders Owen Jenner and Shane Richardson – and the team has been particularly affected by the death of Owen, a close friend of owners Jordan, Frank and other team members. Now, hopes are high that the team and Irwin can deliver a string of podium finishes this weekend, with performances which both boys would be proud of. Glenn Irwin, rider: “Looking ahead to the weekend you almost feel a little bit guilty, because obviously we all want to continue to pay our respects to Owen and Shane’s families, and when we look back at Oulton Park, the whole event is overshadowed by this sadness. “But if I was to look just purely at the riding side of things and the teamwork, I felt we did a good job. We had some difficult moments but we did well to come from 14 th to second in Race One and particularly Race two, after four laps we were 3.3 off and eight laps later to only be 0.1 off the win was very pleasing. “I think as riders, we all know what we achieved in terms of race pace over the two races, we only ever took time out of Bradley (Ray) and Leon (Haslam) and for me that was confidence inspiring. I think we fired our own warning shots without winning races which is important for our own confidence and important to cement ourselves in the thoughts of our rivals as well. “This weekend and the whole championship in general is going to be close. The three of us who were in it at Oulton will be there, I expect Kyle (Ryde) to be there and Danny Kent to also join the party this weekend…it’s going to be a good one.” Jordan Bird, Team Co-owner: “As usual, we are ready for business this weekend - although this one is a little different. We race at Donington Park for Owen and Shane. “Of course, we have a job to do but our thoughts will never be far away from both of them and we continue to send our love and best wishes to their families. “We know it’s going to be a tough weekend in many ways for the team and for the paddock as a whole but we look forward to doing the best job we possibly can in memory of Owen and Shane.”  Round Two of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship gets underway at Donington Park this Friday, May 16 with two free practice sessions ahead of Qualifying and Race One on Saturday, followed by two further races on Sunday, May 18.
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