July 24, 2022

Sykes Salvages Eighth For MCE Ducati

The Lake District-based MCE Ducati team endured a challenging day at Brands Hatch today with Tom Sykes’ eighth place the only result they had to show for their efforts in the two Bennetts British Superbike Championship races which comprised round five of the series.

Results, and lap times, from the previous day meant that double BSB champion Josh Brookes and former World Superbike Champion Sykes started the opening 20-lap race around the 2.43-mile venue in eighth and 16th place respectively and although Josh dropped back one place on the opening lap, Tom overhauled four of his fellow competitors.

 

With hot conditions once more, several riders fell victim in the early laps and Brookes was unfortunately one of them, coming to grief at Stirling’s on just the sixth lap.

That left Sykes as the sole PBM teamster in the field and, up into the top ten as early as lap three, he found himself locked in battle all race with fellow former World Champion Danny Kent.


The duo both moved forward as the race wore on, but Tom always had the edge and took a solid eighth place for his second-best result of the season so far aboard Paul Bird’s factory-supported and MCE Insurance-backed Ducati Panigale V4R.

 

Unfortunately, that was as good as the day got with Tom unable to take his place on the grid for the final race of the weekend when a technical problem ruled him out before the start. Brookes started from seventh and the third row, but his race was only half a lap old when he felt contact from another rider and crashed out at Westfield.


Josh Brookes:  "Today has clearly been disappointing and whilst I thought yesterday was tough, today has topped that. In the first race, I felt like I was riding well and hanging with the front group so I was waiting to see how the longer race would affect people but, sadly, I never got far as the front went with no warning. I’ve never crashed there before and never even had any moments so I can only assume I was going too quick, carrying too much lean angle or too much front brake.


Something caused it. In the second race, there was a lot of jostling in the first few corners and a bit of desperation by some riders which was a bit strange as it was going to be another long race. It’s been a damaging day so all we can do is dust ourselves down, quite literally, and look ahead to the next round.”


Tom Sykes: “It has been a difficult weekend for us, and it was a frustrating end to the weekend when we couldn’t take our place on the grid for the final race. We had a technical issue in the first race today which we thought was sorted as all the various settings were checked but it reappeared on the sighting lap of the final race, and we couldn’t take part. It’s such a shame as we had made some progress in the opening race, and we couldn’t put into effect the changes we had planned so that was doubly disappointing. But we’ll come back stronger and hopefully have some better fortune next time out.”

 

Johnny Mowatt, Team Manager: “It’s been a tough day at the office and what could go wrong, did go wrong. Tom’s still struggling a bit with the same issues he’s had all year, essentially steering the bike on the throttle, but we need to address them if we’re to move forward and we have a few things in the pipeline for the next round. Tom had a technical issue on the sighting lap of the last race, so we had to pull the bike off the grid on safety grounds whilst Josh had two uncharacteristic crashes, the first when he lost the front and the second when he felt he’d been nudged by another rider. There is only one way we can go from this weekend so roll on Thruxton.”

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (20 laps)

1 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)

2 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)

3 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)

4 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)

5 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)

6 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)

8 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)

DNF Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (20 laps)

1 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)

2 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)

3 Glenn Irwin (Honda)

4 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)

5 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)

6 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)

DNF Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)

DNS Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)

 

Championship Standings (after five rounds)

1 O’Halloran 265pts

2 Ray 255

3 Jackson 187

4 Skinner 174

5 Ryde 170

6 Irwin 156

11 Brookes 87

14 Sykes 58

 

Images 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.
More Posts