May 17, 2023

Destination Donington for BSB Series Leaders BeerMonster Ducati

Round three of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Donington Park this forthcoming weekend with the BeerMonster Ducati team looking to consolidate their place at the head of the title race.

Leading the series for Paul Bird’s Lake District based eight-times BSB champions is Glenn Irwin following a victory at both Silverstone and Oulton Park. As a result, he enjoys a slender four-point advantage over teammate Tommy Bridewell, who is tied in second place with Josh Brookes, ahead of the three races on the GP circuit configuration.

Irwin, from Ballyclare in County Antrim, is fresh from a pair of wins in the Superbike races at the International North West 200 last week aboard the factory supported BeerMonster Ducati F23 so will be looking to continue that form at the track he’s scored three podiums at in recent years, including last season.

Meanwhile, Bridewell, from Devizes in Wiltshire, was in awesome form at the previous round at Oulton Park where he got his first victory of the season and added that to his four other podiums in 2023, so he will be aiming to close the gap to Irwin as he has four podiums at Donington GP to his name. 

Glenn Irwin: “We arrive at Donington Park with the plan to continue the good early season form and my confidence is sky high after the two wins at the NW200. That’s that box ticked and now I aim to take this good feeling and maintain my challenge at the front for the rest of the season. The track has been resurfaced over winter so it’s difficult to make any predictions, but I’m confident that we have a great set up and the atmosphere in the team is brilliant so I can’t wait to get cracking.”  

Tommy Bridewell: “I’m looking forward to going racing again this weekend and to try to build on the early season momentum. I’ve enjoyed some really strong results at Donington Park over the years so it will be interesting to see how we get on but I’m confident as we have a great package all round and the team and me are working very well. The target is to get another set of solid results again this weekend and as long as I’m fighting for the race wins in all three races, I’ll be happy.” 

John Mowatt, Team Co-Ordinator: “We’ve had a dream start to the season what with the three wins in the opening two BSB rounds and then the double at the NW200, so the plan is simple and that’s to keep the momentum flowing. Both Glenn and Tommy are in a good place and the general atmosphere in the garage is one of positivity, which perhaps has been missing in the recent past. As long as we are challenging for race wins and podiums, that’s all we can ask so hopefully we can keep this run of success going at Donington Park.”

Images courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) hope for more good results at Donington Park this weekend.

IRWIN AND HAGER PBM DUCATI READY FOR DONINGTON PARK TEST

April 17, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati team and rider Glenn Irwin head to Donington Park this week for the second Bennetts British Superbike Championship R&G Official Test. After a strong run at Circuito de Navarra earlier this month, the team is looking forward to getting back on track in the UK, as the countdown to the start the 2025 season continues.  The iconic Donington Park will play host to the second pre-season test on Good Friday and Saturday, before the class of 2025 heads to Oulton Park next Wednesday and Thursday, April 23 and 24, for the final test before the season begins over the May Bank Holiday weekend. The team is looking to build on the success of the Navarra test, where Irwin was consistently quick, setting the pace on the first day before topping the timesheets at the end of the event with a best lap of 1min 44:527s. But keen not to get caught up focusing on lap times yet, Irwin is more concerned about getting through as much work as possible during the two days and making sure the important boxes are ticked. Glenn Irwin: “We’re all looking forward to it. At Navarra, it was important we worked through a number of things which are different this year and it was a great test – but it’s important that we don’t get complacent. “At Donington we’ve more new items to try and we’ve got a list of work to get through, which will be our priority. Once we’ve done all that and have a good feeling, I think we can show up well on the timesheets, but more so in race rhythm than in one-off fast laps. “At Navarra, we found areas where I was weak last year but not this year so we were able to use this as a reference. At Donington, we know the track well and have an idea of where we need to be but for me it’s about continuing to evaluate what we have and understanding the feeling of everything rather than get too hung up on what the timesheet says. If it feels good and we’re good, we’re happy!” Jordan Bird, Team Co-owner: The whole Hager PBM Ducati team is looking forward to being back on home soil for the first time this year. Navarra was a really productive test for us so the team and Glenn are heading into our UK testing program in great spirits! “We are looking forward to seeing plenty of BSB fans trackside at Donington Park. Let’s hope the sun is shining for us!”

SUCCESSFUL OPENING TEST AS IRWIN AND HAGER PBM DUCATI TOP NAVARRA TIMESHEETS

April 8, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati team is heading home from the first official Bennetts British Superbike test of the year feeling confident about the season ahead following a strong two days on track in Spain. The team and rider Glenn Irwin joined the class of 2025 at the first of the R&G Official BSB tests at Circuito de Navarra in Northern Spain, ending the event fastest overall, with a best lap of 1min 44.537secs. The team used the two days on track to work on a number of areas, with a particular focus on a new, updated lower seat unit and the new 2025 Pirelli tyre. And despite not putting any pressure on themselves to chase lap times, Irwin still clocked the best lap of the event, sticking in his best lap time during in Monday morning’s session to top the overall timesheets. Glenn Irwin: “We came to Navarra with the objective of just working with the guys again which has been fun. The layout here has improved a lot, it’s a really, really good track now, hopefully we can return. “We had quite a lot of things to try, my Ducati from last year to this is a very different bike but it’s been enjoyable to ride, I feel really comfortable on the bike. “We ended the test fastest which isn’t so important, but we were low into the’45s with 20-plus laps on the tyres every time we exited the pits. No new tyres this afternoon and lots of really good race pace. “The guys adapted the bike to the new tyre and I adapted my riding style a little bit and we’ve had a great, enjoyable couple of days. Roll on Donington!” Frank Bird, Team Co-owner: “It’s mega to finally get the 2025 season underway - it sounds a little bit cliched but it’s been a really long winter! There’s been a lot of hard work and stress in the build up but it’s good to finally get to a track and put all the hard work to the test. “A big thanks to the boys and of course thanks to all our sponsors. It’s been a really productive three days, I like to think we’ve ticked off all the boxes that we had before coming to the test so hats off to the whole team. “Everything ran smoothly, it’s like we’ve never been away but it’s great to finally get going and to be fastest on day one and fastest overall at the end. It seemed to come quite easily so we’re all looking forward to the next couple of tests.”  The team will now head home to the UK and the workshop for some further work, before the next R&G Official Test at Donington Park on April 18 and 19.
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