Clean Sweep For BeerMonster Ducati At Oulton Park
Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell served up a masterclass in riding in the two Bennetts British Superbike Championship races at Oulton Park today with the duo taking a win each to strengthen their stranglehold on this year's series.
The victories made it eight each for the teammates for the Penrith-based PBM team as they sit just half a point apart in the championship standings, continuing to honour their late team owner Paul Bird in the best possible manner.
The opening race of the day held over 18 laps saw Tommy again line up in pole position with Glenn starting from fifth and they were quickly running in line astern in first and second place ahead of Kyle Ryde (Yamaha), Leon Haslam (BMW) and Lee Jackson (Kawasaki).
In a similar pattern to yesterday’s BikeSocial Sprint race which Irwin won, it looked like it would come down to a last lap shoot-out between the pair but a safety car period on lap 14 brought the pack together and meant the race would be decided over the final three laps.
Drama followed, however, as Tommy was deemed to have made an incorrect re-start which saw him given a penalty and despite crossing the line first, he was ultimately demoted to sixth which handed Glenn the win from Jackson and Ryde. It also saw Irwin re-take the championship lead by 3.5 points ahead of Bridewell.
The final race saw the pairing again go head-to-head throughout the 18 laps and although Glenn briefly led early on, it was Tommy who hit the front and controlled proceedings. He continually kept his teammate at bay and pulled away in the closing laps to win by 1.1s and make up for the earlier disappointment with the result seeing the team claim their sixth 1-2 of the season.
Glenn Irwin: “I couldn’t have expected any more from the weekend and with two wins and a second, it’s been unbelievable. There was obviously a lot of emotion, but everyone handled it well and put on a show and it pleases me how hard the guys worked and how I rode all weekend. To come back from 34 points adrift a few races ago to be in the lead is really good especially as I’ve had one additional DNF but hats off to Tommy in the final race. He rode perfectly in the final laps and when I saw +0.8 on my board, I settled for second and 22 points so with two wins and a second, it’s a great start to the final three rounds. I never expected to pull 15 points back this weekend and I have a lot to be grateful for.”
Tommy Bridewell: “It’s been a tough weekend, not just for me but for the whole team and everyone involved, and it’s been lovely to see the deserved tributes from the BSB paddock to Paul. I felt like I deserved two wins today and didn’t think I’d done anything to deserve a penalty, but I accept it and although I lost some points to Glenn I’m not overly concerned as I know how strong we’ll be at Donington and Brands Hatch. Having said that, it was nice to respond with the victory in the final race and whenever I wanted to, I could drop into the low 34s and when I did, my lead increased. Glenn was riding well all weekend and it’s very much ‘game on’ in the championship and that win is dedicated to Paul.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “We could quite well have come away with a 1-2 in both races today, but we can understand why the decision was made to give the penalty although it was obviously a bitter pill for Tommy to swallow. His misfortune meant Glenn got the win, but Tommy made up for his disappointment in the final race and the two boys have been dominant in all three races so hats off to them. They rode away from everyone and that’s credit to them and their respective crews and you could see just how evenly matched they were all weekend, as they have been all season. As a team, we couldn’t have done any more this weekend so hopefully we’ve done the Birdman proud and he’s looking down on us with a smile on his face.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (18 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
2 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
3 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
4 Leon Haslam (BMW)
5 Josh Brookes (BMW)
6 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (18 laps)
1 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
2 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
3 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
4 Leon Haslam (BMW)
5 Josh Brookes (BMW)
6 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
Championship Standings
1 Irwin 360.5pts
2 Bridewell 360
3 Ryde 300
4 Haslam 283
5 Jackson 280.5
6 O’Halloran 276.5
Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) at Oulton Park
