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).

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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