October 16, 2021

Brands Podium Keeps Iddon’s Title Hopes Alive

A fighting third place in today’s opening race of the final round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch saw VisionTrack Ducati rider Christian Iddon keep his hopes of landing the 2021 title well and truly alive.

A front row start secured in difficult damp conditions during qualifying gave Iddon a great chance in this afternoon’s BikeSocial sprint race over 16 laps by which time conditions had dried up at the Kent track.

 

Aboard the factory-supported VisionTrack Ducati Panigale V4 RR, the Tyneside-based rider made a great start to lead for the opening laps before a safety car intervention closed the field up. 

Upon the green flag to recommence the race, Iddon continued to lead but it wasn’t long before he had to succumb to the advances of title rivals Tarran Mackenzie and Tommy Bridewell. 

 

Circulating in a safe third place, Iddon couldn’t get back on terms with the pair in front and had to settle for third place to record his 14th podium of the season. In doing so, he maintained his third place in the standings and now lies 24 points off leader Mackenzie with tomorrow’s two races of 20 laps each set to determine the outcome of the series.

 

With 50 points up for grabs still, if Iddon can land the crown, it would be a third successive year that Paul Bird’s Lake District-based team has been declared champions making it a record-breaking nine BSB titles in total. 

 

Sadly, for outgoing champion Josh Brookes, he couldn’t take points off Iddon’s main rivals and finished in seventh place. The Bedfordshire-based Aussie qualified the VisionTrack Ducati in 12th place on the grid and although he made good progress in the early part of the race, he had to settle for a top seven placing so couldn’t add to his impressive record at Brands Hatch which has seen him win 19 times in the past.

 

Iddon, who won at Brands Hatch earlier this year, will start tomorrow’s opening race from the front row with Brookes, who celebrated his 300th BSB start in today’s race, again on row four prior to the 33rd and final race of the season later in the afternoon.

 

Christian Iddon: “The race started off perfectly with a great start and I felt more than comfortable setting the pace at the head of the field. Just like a previous race though, when the safety car came out, the tyres cooled down and when racing got underway again, the grip levels had dropped off considerably. The tyres never came back to me after that, and I didn’t have the pace to go with Tarran and Tommy. It’s frustrating as I need to win races this weekend, but the gap is still only 24 points and I’ll come out swinging tomorrow.”

 

Josh Brookes: “It was a difficult race and although the qualifying position wasn’t great, I won’t use that as an excuse as I’ve come through from lowly grid positions before. I made quite a poor start but settled into a nice rhythm only for the safety car to come out and when racing resumed, I got pushed back a few places. I made a couple of places back, but I just didn’t have the strong enough lap times to move forward. I tried to as hard as ever to do what was needed but I couldn’t do that. We get two more bites tomorrow so let’s try and end as positively as we can.”

 

Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “Christian pulled a real good lap out of the bag in qualifying and you could see with all the sliding that he was using his Supermoto experience to the full! He really took the fight to Tarran and Tommy in the race but was just lacking two or three tenths in the final few laps to take it all the way. He’s still in there fighting so hopefully Josh can get involved tomorrow. He was hindered today with his qualifying position and when you’re that far back, whilst you can make up some places, it’s hard to make it to the front. You get stuck with the group you’re with which is what happened, but he’ll be keen to get back at the sharp end tomorrow and help the team to finish as strong as possible.”

 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship BikeSocial race one (16 laps)

1 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)

2 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)

3 Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati)

4 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)

5 Peter Hickman (BMW)

6 Andrew Irwin (BMW)

7 Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)

 

Championship Points

1 T Mackenzie 1152

2 J O’Halloran 1130

3 C Iddon 1128

4 T Bridewell 1126

5 P Hickman 1070

6 D Buchan 1066

7 J Brookes 1056

8 G Irwin 1048

 

 

Images courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Christian Iddon (21) 

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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