August 9, 2022

Double Podium For Bird At Nurburgring

Following on from his top five finish in the previous round at Zandvoort in The Netherlands, Cumbrian racing driver Frank Bird was on top form in round four of the ADAC GT Masters Series where he came away with a double podium from the Nurburgring in Germany.

Driving for MANN-FILTER Team LANDGRAF, Penrith-born Frank once again teamed up with 18-year-old Finnish driver Elias Seppanen for the two races in the Frank Bird Poultry Ltd-backed Mercedes AMG-GT3.

 

Throughout the weekend, they were continually towards the front and claimed an impressive top five position in the Free Practice Trophy which preceeded the main action. Qualifying in fourth overall and second Junior car for the opening race, Frank drove a calculated race to end up in sixth overall, but third in the Junior class he is contesting in the green and yellow liveried ‘Junior Mamba’ car.

However, better was to come in the second outing where they had qualified in fourth place on the grid. Another brilliant performance from Bird and the rest of the team saw them come home in a fantastic fourth overall and once again claimed third in the Junior class to seal their second podium of the weekend. However, had it not been for a minor technical infringement during the pitstop, for which they were penalised, it could have been a podium outright for Frank and the team.


Frank Bird: "Sixth and fourth places overall meant the best weekend so far for Elias and me in the ADAC GT Masters, so I am very satisfied. We are improving from race to race and have now been able to climb onto the Junior podium twice. In race one I had some great duels on the track and in qualifying for Sunday's race, I expected a place in the top ten. To start from third on the grid was terrific, and after the start of the race, I was even directly behind my teammate Maro Engel in second place for some corners. After that, however, I could not hold the line and took the third position. Without the penalty, we would certainly have reached the overall podium. I hope that we can maintain this performance in the next races."

 

Round five of the series visits the Lausitsring, again in Germany over the weekend of 19/21 August 2022.

 

For further information, please visit www.adac-motorsport.de

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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