Double Delight For Irwin At Snetterton
Glenn Irwin and the Hager PBM Ducati team got back to winning ways in the British Superbike Championship at Snetterton at the weekend with a double victory on Sunday seeing them reclaim the lead in the title standings.
The weekend was affected considerably by weather conditions with heavy rain falling at times combined with cool temperatures throughout and Glenn encountered both in qualifying on Saturday where he ended up in 14th on the grid. The first race took place later in the afternoon with Glenn outside the points when the race was stopped due to an incident involving Rory Skinner.
Re-started over just five laps of the ‘300’ circuit, Glenn made it count and moved forward throughout eventually taking a solid fifth place. It gave him a much better start position for Sunday’s Sprint race, and he quickly opened up a second lead over Kyle Ryde only for the race to again be stopped. Once again re-started over five laps, Glenn delivered an identical ride and aided by the fastest lap of the race, ultimately took the chequered flag from Tommy Bridewell by 1.4s.
The fastest lap gave him pole position for the final race of the weekend, which saw the best of the conditions and went the full 16-lap distance. A slightly sluggish start saw him drop to fourth on the opening lap, but he steadily moved forward and took the lead for the first time on the seventh lap. From there on in, his lead over Christian Iddon and then Bridewell was never more than a tenth of a second, but he determinedly kept them at bay to take the victory by 0.125s.
The results over the three races saw him lift the prestigious Race of Aces trophy but also re-take the championship lead on 177 points, four ahead of Bridewell.
- After taking ill, joint team owner Jordan Bird was admitted to a local hospital on Saturday and had an operation today (Sunday). The team wishes her a speedy recovery and thanks everyone for the good wishes.
Glenn Irwin:
"I was really pleased with both wins and it’s good to be back in the championship lead. I’ve probably lost a little bit this last month, but we continue to work hard and massive thanks to the team for the bike they gave me. We experimented a little bit in the first race and found some areas that worked well and others where we could still improve but I rode with clarity and resilience, and it was a well-executed victory. The weather conditions changed for the second race which meant I struggled with grip especially in the second half of the race and I lost the front several times. I had to dig deep and did a really good last lap so fair play to Tommy and Christian as they were there all the way. I love racing against Tommy as he’s like me and never gives up. It’s nice to get the Race of Aces trophy as well so a big thanks to the team and get well soon Jordan."
Frank Bird, Team co-owner: “What a bounceback weekend that was and just what we needed after a difficult Knockhill. I’m super happy and proud of the team and Glenn rode brilliantly all weekend and in the wet conditions did what he needed to do and brought the bike home in a solid fifth place. The double today was the icing on the cake and shows all the work we’re doing on both a race weekend and behind the scenes. We got the rewards this weekend so fair play to the team, well done again to Glenn and thanks to all the sponsors for their commitment and enabling us to go racing. We’ve started another wave so let’s keep riding it into Brands, another strong track for us. Well done to everyone and best wishes of course to Jordan, hopefully the wins will have cheered her up!”
British Superbike Championship race one (5 laps)
1 Storm Stacey (Kawasaki)
2 Lewis Rollo (Aprilia) +0.222s
3 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha) +6.369s
4 Jason O’Halloran (Kawasaki) +9.297s
5 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +10.742s
6 Christian Iddon (Ducati) +15.906s
British Superbike Championship race two (5 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati)
2 Tommy Bridewell (Honda) +1.487s
3 Christian Iddon (Ducati) +2.163s
4 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha) +2.197s
5 Andrew Irwin (Honda) +2.642s
6 Danny Kent (Yamaha) +2.682s
British Superbike Championship race three (16 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati)
2 Tommy Bridewell (Honda) +0.125s
3 Christian Iddon (Ducati) +0.740s
4 Danny Kent (Yamaha) +1.122s
5 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha) +1.322s
6 Andrew Irwin (Honda) +2.204s
Championship Points (after five rounds)
1 Irwin 177pts
2 Bridewell 173
3 Iddon 156
4 Kent 147
= Ryde 147
6 O’Halloran 108
Pictures (courtesy of Double Red): Glenn Irwin in action at Snetterton.
