April 9, 2023

Victory For Irwin As Bridewell On Silverstone Podium Again

The BeerMonster Ducati team’s superb start to the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship continued at Silverstone today with Glenn Irwin giving Paul Bird’s team their first win of the campaign in the final race, which followed on from his third place earlier in the day.

Teammate Tommy Bridewell added to the celebrations with second and third place finishes in the two races to add to his podium of yesterday meaning the duo now sit in second and third overall in the early season standings.
 
Lap times from the previous day’s race meant the duo started the first 30-lap race from second and seventh respectively but whilst Tommy consolidated second on the opening lap, Glenn dropped back to 12th which gave him plenty of work to do. At the head of the field, it soon developed into a similar situation to yesterday’s race and for much of the race, Tommy ran in second place whilst Glenn continued to work his way forward and by half race distance, he was up to fifth.

With five laps to go, Tommy was still running in second but right in the wheel tracks of race leader Josh Brookes and Glenn had moved into third. However, everyone was denied a grandstand finish when the red flag came out due to an incident with three laps to go but, nevertheless, it gave the Penrith-based team their first double podium of the season, and first since 2021.
 
Temperatures were a bit cooler later in the day and Bridewell had more work to do this time as he started from ninth on the grid which was where he remained for the early laps. Glenn, however, slotted into sixth and by one third race distance, he was beginning to look threatening. The Ulsterman continually moved forward and after taking second place on lap 15, he hit the front for the first time three laps later. From there, he was never headed and although it remained close, he duly took his first win of the season.
 
Bridewell, meanwhile, found it hard to gain places initially and was still in eighth place at half race distance but from there on in, he was able to make passes stick although it wasn’t until there were three laps remaining that he moved into the top three. He didn’t quite have enough to overhaul Brookes but finished in a strong third to make it three podiums from the first three races of the season.
 
Tommy Bridewell: “First and foremost, it’s been a great start to the season and to get three podiums for the team first time out, and at one of my bogey circuits, is full credit to them. I got caught up with Kyle Ryde in the first race and the Yamahas have always been good in the last sector which enabled him to continually make a move at turn one. I had to keep coming back on him as I could see Josh had opened a slight gap. With four to five laps to go, I knew it was time to go but whilst it would have been tough to get by him, the red flag brought the race to an early end. The final race was tough due to starting from ninth and I perhaps underestimated how hard it was going to be, but I got up to third, so it’s been a great start to my time at BeerMonster Ducati.”
 
Glenn Irwin: “Things didn’t go to plan at the start of either race today with distinctly average starts, especially in the first race, and I gave myself a lot of work to do but the boys worked hard to give me a great package and I was able to come through. We were able to look at Tommy’s settings from yesterday and translated some of that onto our bike but both races were tough as it was hard to manage the tyre whilst trying to make as many passes as what I did. It was a bit cooler in the final race and there wasn’t much tyre left at the end, but we were all in the same boat, so I got the job done. We know there are still areas where we can improve and there’s plenty for us to learn with the F23 BeerMonster Ducati, but it’s been a great start so full credit to the team and also to Tommy.”
 
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “There’s a massive sense of relief to get round one under our belts and out the way! We were looking a bit thin on the ground three to four weeks ago, but both riders stayed positive and rode way above our expectations so to come away with a win and four podiums with the F23 Ducati V4R for our new sponsors BeerMonster is simply superb. It’s been a fantastic effort by every single member of the team and whilst we know there’ll be challenges ahead, this gives us a tremendous platform to build on.”
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (27 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (BMW)
2 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
3 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
4 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
5 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
6 Leon Haslam (BMW)
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (30 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
2 Josh Brookes (BMW)
3 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
4 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
5 Danny Kent (Honda)
6 Leon Haslam (BMW)
 
Championship points (after three races)
1 Brookes 48
2 Bridewell 46
3 Irwin 43
4 Ryde 39
5 O’Halloran 35
6 Haslam 30
 
Images courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) in action at Silverstone.

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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